Captive owners spending more on analytics to drive down costs and improve safety culture: CICA panel
Captive owners are increasing their use of analytics, and spending more time understanding their data, as they look for ways to mitigate and minimise factors that contribute to losses in the workplace, according to Gordon Padera, executive vice president at Gallagher Bassett.
Speaking on a Captive Insurance Companies Association (CICA) webinar titled “Culture is Key”, he said captives are spending more on technology that can help them prevent accidents.
Andrew Johnson, chief risk officer at Captive Resources, stressed the important role captives can play in installing a culture of safety in workplaces, by strengthening the link between reduced losses and reduced premiums.
Padera said: “When we work with a captive owner, 50 percent of our time is spent examining the culture of the organisation.” This includes examining the safety culture in the workplace and assessing the extent to which management is focused on maintaining high safety standards. It is important that there are adequate safety procedures in place, and that they are followed as defined.
Management should attend safety committee meetings and training, he said.
“We always ask when the managers last attended safety committee meetings,” he said. “It is easy to say ‘safety is the number one priority’, but what about productivity, profit and quality? Those four elements have to be meshed together.
“Safety can’t stand alone, it has to be part of the process.”
Padera added: “We don’t want to hear people say something is the responsibility of the safety officer. Safety has to be everyone’s responsibility.”
He advised companies to find ways to relate the cost of insurance losses in terms that are easy to relate to and understand for workers, such as expressing a loss in terms of company working hours, rather than just as a number.
“That can make it meaningful for workers and help them buy into the culture you are trying to create,” he said.
Lorraine Martin, CEO and president at the US National Safety Council, stressed the importance of managers spending time among employees as they work, observing the risks they face and listening to their feedback about how to improve working conditions.
Companies should consider investing in cost calculators to measure how much things such as opioid addiction or fatigue are costing a business, which can make it easier to tackle an issue, she added.
