Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
treatment,.or.irst-aid.injuries..These.calculated.rates.would.not.normally.be.calcu-
lated. on. a. national. basis,. but. could. be. used. to. compare. your. progress. on. a. yearly.
basis,.or.between.jobsites.or.projects.
The.severity.rate,.which.is.often.called.the.“lost-time.workday.rate,”.is.used.to.
determine.how.serious.the.injuries.and.illnesses.are..The.same.formula.can.be.used.
to.calculate.the.restricted.workday.case.rate..A.company.may.have.a.low.incident.
rate.or.few.injuries.and.illnesses.but,.if.the.injuries.and.illnesses.that.are.occurring.
result.in.many.days.away.from.work.or.restricted.workdays,.the.lost-time.workdays.
or.restricted.workday.cases.can.be.as.costly.as,.or.more.costly.than,.having.a.large.
number.of.no.lost.workdays.or.restricted.workday.injuries.or.illnesses,.which.have.
only. medical. costs. associated. with. them.. Lost-time. workday. cases. can. deinitely.
have.a.greater.impact.on.your.workers'.compensation.costs.and.premiums.
Calculation.of.the.severity.rate.is.similar.to.the.incident.rate.except.that.the.total.
number.of.lost-time.workdays.or.restricted.workdays.is.used.in.place.of.the..number.
of. OSHA. recordable. injuries/illnesses.. The. severity. rate. for. a. company. can. be.
.calculated.in.the.following.manner:
Number of your lost-time workdays
×
hours that your employees worked during the year
200,000 (work hour constant)
Severity rate
=
Total number of
.
The. incident. and. severity. rates. are. both. expressed. as. a. rate. per. 100. full-time.
workers..This.provides.a.standard.comparison.value.for.a.company.whether.it.has.
20 or. 1,000. workers.. Thus,. both. the. 20-employee. company. and. 1,000-employee.
companies.can.compare.their.safety.and.health.performance.to.each.other.
Sometimes.the.temptation.exists.to.focus.on.only.the.lost-time.workday.cases,.but.
how.can.you.identify.which.injury.or.illness.is.going.to.result.in.a.lost-time.workday?.
At.times,.the.difference.between.a.medical.treatment.injury.and.a.lost-time.workday.
injury.may.only.be.a.matter.of.inches.or.chance..Thus,.it.is.more.logical.to.address.
your.total.injury.problem.
Workers' comPensAtIon
Each.employer.is.expected.to.provide.protection.for.his.or.her.workers.who.become.ill.
or.are.injured.by.something.within.the.workplace..The.premiums.that.the.employer.pays.
are.to.provide.medical.treatment.and.supplemental.income.when.a.worker.is.unable.to.
return.to.work.immediately..This.supplemental.income.is.usually.66.6 percent.of.the.
worker's.wages.and.is.not.taxed..Once.a.worker.iles.a.claim.for.workers'.compensa-
tion,.the.employee.is.not.usually.allowed.to.sue.his.or.her.employer.
Thus,.workers'.compensation.premiums.paid.by.the.employer.act.like.a.protection.
or.insurance.policy.against.liability.when.a.worker.suffers.injury.or.illness.due.to.a.
hazard.within.the.workplace.
The.employer's.premium.is.based.on.the.type.of.industry.as.well.as.the.injury.
and.illness.history.of.the.employer's.workplace..The.more.injuries.and.illnesses.that.
employers.experience,.the.higher.the.premium.paid.by.the.employer..Also,.the.more.
days.away.from.work.experienced.by.the.workers,.the.more.the.premium.increases.
