Businesses that take safety seriously may consider pursuing the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP ) through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Being awarded SHARP status demonstrates excellence in safety.

The initiative recognizes employers who have used OSHA’s On-Site Consultation Program services and “operate exemplary safety and health programs.”

By reaching SHARP status, an employer is granted an exemption from OSHA-programmed inspections for up to two years.

OSHA also outlines other benefits of the program:

• Protecting workers and developing safe practices and programs
• Lower workers’ compensation premiums
• Improve your worker retention
• Reduce employee days away from work
• Better workplace morale and culture
• Establishing a reputation for leadership and safety

In addition to the federal SHARP, similar programs exist at the state level across the U.S. A few examples of state-led SHARP initiatives include:

Minnesota

To be recognized by MNSHARP , companies must work with state officials to develop and implement a written safety program, which must include:

• Management leadership and employee involvement
• An allocation of resources to address safety issues
• Systems that identify and control workplace hazards
• A plan for employee safety training and education

Incentives for participating include assistance from the Minnesota OSHA Workplace Safety Consultation unit, public recognition for employers and employees and exemption from Minnesota OSHA Compliance scheduled inspection lists.

Minnesota also has a program specifically geared toward the construction industry .

Wisconsin

The Wisconsin SHARP initiative is run through the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

To achieve SHARP status, a company must:

• Have a history of maintaining an injury and illness rate below the national average for its industry
• Participate in a comprehensive consultation visit for both safety and health
• Participate in a full evaluation of the health and safety management program in place for the company
• Involve employees in the consultation and safety management processes
• Correct all serious, other-than-serious, and regulatory hazards found
• Have all basic elements for managing health and safety in place

Nebraska

In Nebraska, the state’s SHARP requires qualifying employers to go through a comprehensive consultation and review.

Companies must agree to a safety and health survey by state officials, review of an employer’s safety and health program, correct any hazards identified, and more. Once a business is SHARP certified, the benefits include :

• Learning how to maintain a safe and healthy workplace through the development and implementation of proven effective safety and health management systems
• Receiving no-cost consultative assistance and training provided by qualified professionals experienced in helping employers develop safety and health management programs and identify safety and health problem areas
• Meeting program requirements to obtain a certificate of recognition from OSHA and removing the company from OSHA’s routine inspection list for one year

The Nebraska Department of Labor also presents a certificate of recognition and a SHARP program flag from the state’s governor and commissioner of labor.

Conclusion

Safety should be of paramount concern for all employers. And there are benefits to following strong safety procedures.

Check the OSHA SHARP website for more information.

Safety-focused employers have a new tool to spot trends and learn which serious injuries may be most prevalent in their industry.

In September 2024 , the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launched a new severe injury dashboard.

The digital tool — which includes information on severe injuries going back to 2015 — allows users to search and download data by:

• Year
• Industry
• State
• Establishment name
• Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System codes

As of this writing, the dashboard includes data through July 31, 2024, and gives users the ability to filter and download results. The filters are detailed, accounting for hundreds of different injury types, the source of the injury and even which body part was affected.

The dashboard provides an example of a broad search result showing incidents since 2015:

• More than 93,000 total severe injury reports
• Nearly 76,300 total workers hospitalized
• Nearly 25,000 total workers with amputations

For a more granular example, one could search for 2023 severe injuries in hospitals in Wisconsin. Though that search only returns three results — two hospitalized workers and one amputation — the dashboard also provides specifics on the injuries:

• Fall on same level due to tripping over an object
• Fall on same level due to slipping
• Injured by slipping or swinging object held by injured worker

Safety professionals could use broader search results, and go back several years, to find potential areas for improvements depending on the workplace type.

Lastly, OSHA has provided an instructional video on how to use the dashboard.

This is the second in a four-part series of SFM blogs recapping our November 2024 webinar, De-escalation in the workplace, An SFM webinar for policyholders.

The second segment of SFM’s de-escalation webinar focused on incorporating these tactics into workplace safety programs.

Carl Gruber, SFM Loss Prevention Specialist, outlined the four basic elements of creating a de-escalation training program:

• Define responsibilities
• Select a training program that suits the business
• Create the training program
• Craft goals and plan for continuing education

A strong safety program that includes de-escalation tactics can help employers retain workers and establish a safe working environment, Gruber said.

“We all know that retention of staff is a huge thing right now — not just from the time and money aspect of recruiting, but also from the aspect of getting the right person for the job,” he said. “You picked that individual for a reason. And you don’t want the reason they are leaving to be because they feel unsafe or like they don’t belong.”

Gruber also discussed selecting training programs based on the type of business, including:

• School districts
• Health care
• Other categories of employers and factors to consider (type of worksite, schedules, guests being onsite, etc.)

Check out the complete recording of the webinar and view other posts in our blog series highlighting the presentation:

• Part I: An introduction – Workplace violence and de-escalation
• Part III: Handling workplace violence claims
• Part IV: Legal aspects of a workplace violence injury

This is the first in a four-part series of SFM blogs recapping our November 2024 webinar, De-escalation in the workplace, An SFM webinar for policyholders.

More than 20,000 private-industry workers experienced nonfatal workplace violence in 2020, according to a 2024 report from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

That’s why de-escalation in the workplace is so important.

In November 2024, SFM held a webinar focused on de-escalation. Dana Mickelson, SFM Loss Prevention Specialist, kicked off the presentation by:

• Defining workplace violence
• Discussing the prevalence of workplace violence and injuries
• Defining de-escalation

“It is important to recognize that such violence can have broader implications beyond workers’ compensation,” said Mickelson, who has 21 years of experience in the field.

Mickelson further outlines categories of workplace violence:

• Criminal intent
• Incidents between customers and clients (most common)
• Worker on worker violence (workplace or interpersonal conflicts)
• Physical relationships (spouses or significant others)

“All categories could result in workers’ compensation claims, depending on the factors of the incident,” Mickelson said.

Health care and school environments more likely to see workplace violence, she said, relaying injury data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, including days missed based on workplace violence incidents. Mickelson also cited SFM claims data, which aligns with national trends.

There are certain factors that contribute to workplace violence, including working alone, working in areas with a high crime rate, jobs where alcohol is served and others.

Lastly, Mickelson provided a definition of de-escalation: The process of managing others’ behaviors using several tactics, including verbal and non-verbal communication.

Check out the complete recording of the webinar and view other posts in our blog series highlighting the presentation:

• Part II: Incorporating de-escalation into your workplace safety program
• Part III: Handling workplace violence claims
• Part IV: Legal aspects of a workplace violence injury