Dive Brief:

• Workplace illnesses and injuries are down, but fatalities are up, reports SHRM. U.S. workplace fatalities totaled 4,821 in 2014, the highest on record since 2008, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show.
• Don Tolbert, technical director of risk control services for Liberty Mutual Group, told SHRM that employers should take a layered approach to minimizing safety risks, which entails controlling safety hazards in a hierarchal sequence.
• The Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety identified the top five disabling workplace risks as overexertion, falling on the same level, falling to a lower level, getting hit by an object and overexerting the body by slipping without falling or reaching for an object.

Dive Insight:

What employers won’t do to ensure safety in the workplace the Occupational Health and Safety Administration will. Employers can minimize safety risks by following OSHA standards, inspecting their facilities and encouraging employees to report safety concerns and violations. 

An important aspect of this is ensuring safety training is implemented and executed appropriately.