A new study from Travelers examined 1.2 million workers compensation claims and noticed something about them: the majority of workers filing the claims fell into two groups. They were either new, inexperienced workers, ir they were aging.
Travelers also looked at records for missed workdays — 18.6 million of those. They saw the same pattern.
New workers
34% of workplace Injuries took place during the first year on the job. This group also made up 34% of the costs of workers compensation, and lead to more than 7 million lost workdays.
The solution? Rigorous safety training makes sense for new hires, and they may need more oversight than more seasoned workers.
Old workers
The data on aging workers was less clear. For instance, the number of injuries didn’t increase with age. Middle aged workers (ages 35-49) actually hd more injuries than either older or younger workers.
But older workers required more expensive care. The medical care for people 60 and older averaged 140% the cost of medical care for those under age 25. Old-timers’ health care costs were just 15% higher than those of the workers in the middle, but they also had fewer I injuries — just 13% of the total.
Paying attention to ergonomic factors and being vigilant about slip and fall hazards can help. Encouraging personal responsibility for health can also have positive results, since lifestyle choices can affect the degree of injury and resilience.
Time off
The amount of time people required to get back to work was greater than you might imagine. The average amount of time needed to recover from strains and sprains, the most common category of injuries, averaged 53 days. The length of time went up to 137 days — four and a half months — for dislocations.
Clearly, avoiding injuries will always be a top goal.
Don’t lose time because of your machines, either. If you use Indramat motion and control systems, they are well past their expected end of life. That doesn’t mean they can’t keep going! We offer factory reman and repair, both of which bring your components back to you as good as new — or even better. Call (479) 422-0390 for immediate assistance.