Texas Mutual Insurance Company is recognizing 164 Texas-based employers for their workplace safety efforts. The award is based largely on each policyholder’s safety record, as well as the types of hazards their employees face.
Two award winners volunteered to share their workplace safety tips.
Pioneer Contract Services Inc., Houston’s largest commercial moving and storage company, is a two-time Texas Mutual safety award winner. The company’s all-inclusive approach to safety has helped lower its workers’ compensation premium by 34 percent.
“Some companies run their safety program from the top down,” said Jerry Beatty, who heads up safety and human resources at Pioneer. “We involve our employees at every stage. They help us develop, implement and enforce safety procedures. When you give your people ownership over the safety program, they are more committed to it.”
Safety-conscious employers like Pioneer can reduce their workers’ compensation claim costs by 20 percent to 40 percent, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. For every dollar they invest in safety, they could get a $4 to $6 return.
Texas Mutual policyholders also increase their chances of qualifying for a dividend by committing to workplace safety. The company has paid more than $738 million in dividends during the past 11 years.
SPS Employer Risk Management, a staff leasing company in El Paso, earned its first Texas Mutual dividend this year. About 80 percent of the people SPS does business with speak Spanish, so the company’s safety program has to cross language barriers.
“Fear is probably the biggest barrier,” said Manny Soto, director of risk management at SPS. “Employees who don’t speak English may be afraid to speak up. We stress to management that Spanish speakers need to trust they won’t be reprimanded for reporting safety hazards or admitting they don’t understand safety instructions.”
Besides earning a safety award from Texas Mutual, SPS was the first staff leasing company accepted as a Voluntary Protection Program Star Site by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. For more information, visit www.osha.gov/dcsp/vpp/index.html.
Source: Texas Mutual Insurance Company
Topics Texas Commercial Lines Workers' Compensation Business Insurance
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