Every business has a duty to provide a safe and secure workplace for its employees. Depending on the industry, this can be quite a challenge. The National Safety Council reports a workplace injury occurs every seven seconds in the United States resulting in 104 million lost production days. Workplace accidents have a direct impact on the bottom line of any organization, increasing costs and shrinking profits. One strategy companies use to lower the risk of workplace injuries and create a safer work environment is using closed-circuit TV (CCTV) monitoring.
CCTV is defined as a self-contained surveillance system comprising cameras, recorders, and displays for monitoring activities in a store or company. This technology has been around since the 1970s and still adds value when implemented properly. CCTV can help companies identify hazards, improve employee behavior, protect the organization from lawsuits, and help prevent workplace injuries. This article will look into how CCTV can help businesses improve workplace safety while lowering costs related to employee injuries.
How CCTV Helps Lower Risk for Employees & Businesses
Identify Hazards
Hazards exist within any organization. Business leaders have the ultimate responsibility to identify and control hazards before accidents impact employees, property, or the outside community. A great way to help in the identification of hazards is through surveillance monitoring such as CCTV. Video monitoring assists health & safety departments in implementing plans to prevent or control hazards before business interruptions can occur. Identifying and controlling hazards before they culminate into adverse events is a must to implement proper risk management within the organization.
Protect the Organization
The United States is a litigious environment and lawsuits are filed daily for anything under the sun. This presents a major risk for any sized business as legal expenses can severely disrupt cash flows and even threaten the survival of an organization. A CCTV safety program can provide companies with the proof they need if frivolous lawsuits are filed by visitors to office property or even employees looking to file fraudulent workers’ compensation claims. For example, fast food chains use CCTV safety programs to monitor visitors who may be looking to fake a slip and fall by pouring liquids on the ground near a soda fountain machine. If these businesses did not have a proper surveillance program in place it could lead to paying out high settlement demands due to a lack of evidence to defend that the accident itself was frivolous.
Improve Employee Behavior
CCTV safety programs are not only for monitoring hazards in the workplace. When employees know they are being watched via candid camera it provides the proper nudge to promote positive workplace behavior. Employees know if they are engaging in hazardous or even illegal activities while on the worksite, they cannot talk their way out of video evidence of such acts. Internal culture is the lifeblood of any organization and adverse employee behaviors can be detrimental to the long-term success of the business. CCTV safety programs help protect this internal culture by improving employee behaviors for the better.
Real-Life Training Examples
CCTV monitoring at work is not only for protecting the business, but also for helping to bolster existing health & safety programs. Over time, CCTV will most likely capture adverse safety events on video. These can then be used to provide real-life examples of the importance of established safety protocols and policies. For example, a business with a warehouse operation will most certainly have video of forklift maneuvers that have either resulted in near misses or actual accidents on-premises. These videos help drive home why safety policies are in place and the potential results if such policies are not followed consistently. No employee wants to become a safety video star by being an example of what not to do. This is another key way CCTV safety programs help change the internal culture to create a safer environment for all employees within the organization.
CCTV Injury Prevention
Employee injuries cost U.S. companies over a billion dollars per week, according to a 2017 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index. CCTV safety programs can help identify hazardous actions by employees which could lead to future injuries and help intervene before an injury occurs. It can also be a great tool for ergonomic studies to help prevent musculoskeletal injuries. CCTV can be useful in teaching employees about ergonomic and biomechanics-related injuries with visual evidence displaying their root causes. CCTV equipment may not always be the cheapest safety resource, but it can prove great return on investment if it is used properly to prevent workplace injuries.
Wrapping Up
CCTV at work can be a powerful resource to help businesses provide a safe and injury-free workplace for employees. This article outlines a few benefits of a CCTV safety program, which heavily outweigh the costs of implementing a system. CCTV helps identify hazards, keeps employees safe, and helps improve existing safety programs. If your business is seeking a solution to help with workplace injuries or other hazards, a CCTV safety program is a great avenue to explore.
If your business needs assistance when it comes to workplace injury prevention, please contact Work-Fit to see how our services can help your organization today!
