Success Stories from Employers

Creating a safer place to work requires changing two misconceptions about business realities:

• That it is acceptable for people to become seriously injured or killed on the job.
• The high costs related to workers' compensation claims and coverage is an unavoidable expense.

Implementing an effective safety and health management program, using information provided by Oregon OSHA, can transform your workplace. Rather than take Oregon OSHA's statements at face value, read some success stories from Oregon employers that have been able to transform their safety culture and improve their bottom line.

Oregon OSHA helped point us down the path to becoming responsible for our safety and health. In 2000, we had 12 recorded injuries and workers reporting muscle aches all the time. That year, with Oregon OSHA's help, we implemented an ergonomics program and began working towards the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). Over the next year, we had 6 recorded injuries and a much happier workforce. Frito-Lay Beaverton joined the Oregon OSHA VPP program in 2002.

One solution we developed was to contract with a physical therapist to be on-site for several hours per work. The physical therapist works with production employees to relieve aches and pains, and help analyze their work routine to offer suggestions. When our employee isn't working in pain, they are a more productive worker.

With the safety and health changes implemented during the past few years, our facility went from facing workers' compensation costs of over a million dollars per year to just a fraction of that today.

Information about the Oregon OSHA Voluntary Protection Program