Have you ever really stopped to think about all the ways a work-related accident would impact your business? Beyond your business, an accident on-site or during an employee’s working hours can have a wider spread of impact. It can affect:
- Your clients
- Your finances
- Your insurance
- Your equipment
- Your employees (& their families)
This week, we’re covering some of the most common costs associated with a workplace accident, and taking a closer look at who or what it affects within your business (and the wider community).
We all pay the price of a fatigue- or drowsiness-related accident.
The cost: downtime
Who does it impact?
Downtime intertwines with several other costs listed below and can severely impact all stages of production for an ongoing job or a project.
Depending on the severity of an accident, we can’t categorically define the timeframe or how widespread the impact is felt. We can however assume an accident involving a vehicle or equipment can impact the individual employee, the equipment, and the business at the very least.
The cost: equipment damage
Who does it impact?
The company, directly.
The cost of an accident can have catastrophic effects on the equipment your business uses each and every day. And we’re not exactly talking equipment that is cheap to replace, either.
MINING
Capital costs for various pieces of mining equipment can start in the thousands, while wheel loaders and dump trucks can range in costs from half a million dollars up to several million dollars and beyond.
Imagine the damage to even just one piece of equipment. And even if equipment does not need to be replaced, you will need to, at the very least, budget for repairs.
ROAD FREIGHT AND TRANSPORTATION
Tanker trucks and service vehicles can incur costs of up to $500,000 (and beyond) so along with the confronting statistic that driver fatigue, along with long driving hours and night-time driving, has been a contributing factor in 19.9% of fatal accidents involving trucks isn’t it time you considered a solution to reduce the risk of drowsy driving in your freight or transportation company?
COACH OR BUS TRAVEL
Depending on the capacity of specific vehicles, coaches and buses can cost anywhere from five to six figures, and beyond. You can read more about the overwhelming impact fatigue has in heavy-vehicle crashes in this blog post.
The cost: disruptions to your timeline or schedule
Who does it impact?
Your employees and your business… and of course your own clients!
Various 24-hour and/or high-performing operations all over the world work methodically to a fixed schedule to meet client demands.
A vehicular or equipment accident caused by drowsiness or fatigue disrupts that timeline and can have a direct impact, not only on your own business, but on that of your clients too, pushing their schedules back and impacting their own business and clients.
The cost: reputation
Who does it impact?
Your business (and its distinguished people), as well as your clients.
The legitimacy and reputation of a business in today’s age is only magnified through the internet and social media, so more can be said about a business without the business’s knowledge than ever before.
A crisis management plan is not unusual in a business, but to execute it requires time and a financial investment.
A publicised accident attributed to drowsiness at your site or within your company can have a dreadful impact on your business’s image. It can affect trust, credibility, confidence, and integrity.
Many brands and companies in the past have shown us that it is possible to come back from a hit to one’s reputation. Toyota did it a few years ago, where they “planned for the worst” and put their executives “out in front”, but what if the entire process could be avoided? (Hint: drowsy driving accidents can be prevented.)
The cost: loss of life
Who does it impact?
Everyone: your business and its directors, your employees, the wider community, stakeholders, supporters, and of course your employee’s family and friends.
Unfortunately, it seems many companies do not act upon the risk of drowsiness until they’ve suffered the most impactful cost of all: the injury or loss of a life onsite or on their way to or from a work shift.
Drowsy driving accidents can be prevented
What will it take for organisations all over the world to realise that a drowsy- or fatigue-related accident can, in fact, be prevented?
Optalert offers the world’s first and only predictive drowsiness detection technology, protecting employees not only during their shifts in high-risk or 24-hour environments, but also as they travel to and from a shift, at any hour of the day. The predictive, all-time nature of Optalert’s protection is truly unique and is not offered by any other company in the world.
Contact Optalert today
If you don’t want to pay the price for a drowsy-related accident at your workplace or involving your employees, then you need Optalert. Contact us now.
