National Safety Survey: Can We Still Afford to Be Safe?

Rex Butler, ASP, the manager of environmental and safety at the Central Iowa Power Cooperative, is worried about the safety profession. The root of his concern is a common culprit these days: the economy.

“I'm trying to be optimistic about the economy in the future as best I can, but I do have fears on how safety may be impacted in the long run when we suffer from setbacks and cuts,” he says.

Difficult economic times, coupled with the number of EHS professionals retiring, may result in less-experienced professionals entering the field, Butler predicts.

“If economic times get more dire, there's a potential for more and more inexperienced people to get into our profession out of sheer necessity because we just don't have the people with the training or the background coming in from the ground up,” Butler explains. Once these professionals enter the field, he added, they may realize there's more than meets the eye to the EHS profession.

“It can be pretty overwhelming, and I worry about those folks that need the help and support from their companies and from other safety professionals and organizations,” he says.

BUDGET WOES

Butler was one of nearly 1,000 EHS professionals who responded to EHS Today's 2009 National Safety Survey. Among the roughly two dozen questions, which focused on job duties, work environment, targeted injuries/illnesses, management support, EHS programs, OSHA performance and more, the economy was a sticking point for many respondents.

In fact, 10 percent of responding EHS professionals say their budgets have decreased by more than 10 percent in 2009, and an additional 13 percent say their budgets decreased from between 1 and 10 percent.

Almost half (47 percent) of EHS professionals, however, reported that their budgets remained the same. Eleven percent reported budget increases of 1 to 10 percent, and a fortunate 4 percent of respondents saw their budget go up by more than 10 percent in 2009.

Because of the economy, EHS professionals reported lower morale among employees, reduced or eliminated incentives programs, reduced travel opportunities, reduced training, layoffs, facility closures and fewer new equipment purchases. One respondent even claimed he had just lost his job and was preparing to file for unemployment.

“Management has a knee-jerk reaction and is cutting all budgets with little concern for worker safety,” one professional wrote. Another said the economic woes have “slowed our ability to introduce some ergonomic improvements.” Yet another respondent worried that some employers will stop buying PPE and assume workers will “just work safely” without protective equipment.

But not everyone views budget cuts as a threat to EHS programs. Several respondents pointed out that their companies used layoffs as an opportunity to shed the most inexperienced employees or those who took risks or shortcuts, which ultimately improved safety performance. Another said budget cuts allowed them to find more creative solutions, and another EHS professional said a tighter belt resulted in a more vigilant attempt to reduce the costs associated with injuries. If anything, he wrote, more attention now is placed on safety to help to reduce overall costs.

Still, it's hard to avoid the fact that slashed budgets might put safety programs at risk. Various respondents pointed out that there is the possibility that fewer accidents will be reported in this economy.

“People are clearly feeling like an injury could cost them their job — even if that isn't true, it's a difficult perception to fight,” one professional wrote.

Count Butler among those concerned. While he says his EHS program fortunately has not been negatively affected by the economy, he fears for the future of the profession at large.

“I'm worried about the repercussions of the failing economy and what it could do for our profession and for safety in general at companies,” he says.

WELCOMING OBAMA … OR NOT

The survey also asked EHS professionals to rate President Barack Obama's approach thus far to occupational health and safety. The responses drew a mixed bag: Sixteen percent rated his performance as good, 26 percent considered it average and 13 percent rated it fair. Fifteen percent of responding EHS professionals, meanwhile, rated Obama's performance as poor and more than a quarter (27 percent) said it's too soon to tell.

“The challenge that I would give to Obama is to be concerned about health and safety,” one EHS professional wrote. “Be concerned enough to be educated about what the businesses and employees are doing and not doing and not just throw money at it and say its all good.”

“Since Obama's answer to every problem is money, put real money into programs that want to improve their safely effectiveness without OSHA fines,” one respondent suggested. Another worried that Obama was moving too quickly: “OSHA [should] really review the changes being made. All things take time and Obama is taking these [changes] too fast.”

Ultimately, it looks like EHS professionals will have to agree to disagree. “Stay clear of the Obama administration. They have been doing a fine job so far,” one respondent said. Another declared, meanwhile, “I do not want Obama's administration involved in anything to do with health and safety.”

Finally, one respondent highlighted some of the challenges Obama faces and considered where safety fits in: “I think it would be better if he just stays focused on the economy and our own government, CEOs and bankers destroying our country from within,” the respondent wrote. “Don't you think that is enough for the guy to do?”

HOPES FOR OSHA

The question “What occupational safety and health challenge would you most like to see OSHA address during the Obama administration?” also yielded a variety of responses. Here, professionals suggested that OSHA focus on ergonomics, update antiquated standards and not be so quick to hand out fines instead of examining a violation's circumstances. Others called for a speedy nomination of an OSHA administrator, and one respondent suggested a focus on the issue of workplace aggression.