NIOSH and the National Safety Council have teamed up to present a new class for MBA students at Xavier entitled “Business Value of Safety and Health.”
The course aims to teach the next generation of executives that workers are a critical asset for a company in today’s competitive marketplace and, therefore, investing in their safety and health is more than the right thing to do, it is also the smart thing to do. The course addresses how companies can evaluate OEHS interventions and programs in order to choose and implement the most cost-effective ones that will both improve occupational safety and health for workers and support the business objectives of the company. This type of approach can guide decision making and point to appropriate actions such as initiatives for long-term planning and operations management, among others.
The course includes scenarios of real world application in which OEHS have been incorporated into the company’s business model and produced positive results. For example:
- DynMcDermott is a private New Orleans-based firm that manages the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. According to DynMcDermott, top performance and returns were achieved “because of, not in spite of, our focus on the worker, the public and the environment.” Through its focus on OEHS, the company experienced an 88% reduction in recordable injuries/illnesses from 34 in 1994 to 4 in 2005. Since 2000, OEHS performance has met or exceeded 100% of the performance targets enabling the company to receive 100% of the OEHS performance award fee set by the government. Reductions in waste generation and spill incidents have accounted for $3,878,000 in cost avoidances and savings since 2000, when the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System and EPA Performance Track programs were put in place. Similar cost avoidances have been experienced from the reduction in recordable injuries/illnesses.
NIOSH is hoping to partner with other colleges and institutions to teach upcoming business leaders and those persons who affect the Health & Safety Community.
More information can be found HERE.