Case Study: weavix™ Incident Investigation Prevents OSHA Recordable

How a Leading EPC Prevented an OSHA Recordable using weavix™

Reliable incident investigative solutions to give you and your workforce peace of mind

Enterprises take every precaution necessary to ensure their facility is safe for their frontline workers. Even so, the nature and environment certain job functions have come with a certain degree of risk that cannot be avoided, no matter how prepared or cautious an organization is. When there was an incident in this chemical production facility that resulted in injury, weavix™ provided the insight for a comprehensive and transparent investigation.

Major Findings

• Accurate and individualized activity logs
• Clear historic analysis for investigative measures
• Data-driven insight into further safety concerns and solutions

About

• Industry: Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC)
• Company Size: Large Enterprise (250+ employees)
• Location: Gulf Coast, US
• Use Case: Incident Management

The Situation

At the beginning of a shift, a contractor arrived at the facility to file an incident report and for workers’ compensation. According to his account, a small accident occurred the following day while on shift but, thinking nothing of it, he continued working. After his shift, he reported feeling more discomfort in his arm and decided to visit the hospital and received an x-ray. The doctors found that, as a result of the alleged accident sustained earlier that day, he had broken his arm. Since this reportedly happened while he was working, he filed for workers’ compensation to cover the hospital bills and the expected missed work due to the accident.

The Problem

While we trust our frontline workforce to not take advantage of their employer, incidents like this need to be investigated properly to validate the claim and to see if additional measures need implemented. Using weavix™, management now has an accurate look at the historic location and activity of every worker within the facility. In this scenario, having this historical data allowed managers to:

• Review the report and examine it with their location and activity
• Identify other workers near the incident to collect multiple perspectives of the incident       and corroborate the report
• Evaluate current safety measures to ensure the worker was following protocol and if any recommendations were needed to stop future accidents

According to the National Safety Council, the average cost of a medically consulted work injury was $44,000, which does not include workers’ compensation insurance. Without a way to validate these claims and audit safety measures throughout the facility, the costs of safety and injuries can drastically increase over time. Incidents that require OSHA reporting also go through a federal review process and, if any violations are found, can result in a nearly $15,000 fine per violation, more for repeated violations.

The Solution

To ensure that each incident is investigated completely and to the fullest extent possible, this enterprise turned to us. weavix™ is used to digitize, review and analyze historic data acquired from the frontline workforce to optimize operations and guarantee a safe workplace. As an incident management solution, weavix™ gives an accurate representation of chronicled events happening throughout your facility in one platform. In this case, our Internet of Workers™ platform provided clear insights and information surrounding the reported accident that allegedly caused this worker to break his arm.

The End Result

Using historic activity and location data acquired with Workforce Diagnostics™, this organization was able to launch a comprehensive investigation. weavix™ gave management the necessary information about who was around at the time of the incident, what was being said, and the activities leading up to and following the alleged incident. Through this analysis and interviews with his peers, the investigation was unable to corroborate his account as he initially reported.

It was later determined that the incident that caused his broken arm was separate from work, having occurred while he was on personal time and off-site. weavix™ gave management the insight needed for a full investigation into the incident and, in turn, saved this enterprise from untrue claims and a false report to OSHA.

Incidents can occur no matter how prepared and well-thought-out your safety procedures are. In the event of an incident in your facility like this one, weavix™ is your single source of truth, giving you the transparency to conduct your investigation quickly and effectively.

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