W/C Metrics??

Eliant

I'm looking for some suggestion on W?C metrics. What would be good to measure that it's meaningful and can assist us in lowering W/C expenses. New to this arena.

Margaret Morford

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 02-10-03 AT 06:18PM (CST)[/font][p]I have two to suggest. Reducing number of lost days and shortening time it takes to get injured employees back to work.

Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
[url]http://www.thehredge.net[/url]

safety

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 02-10-03 AT 08:45PM (CST)[/font][p]How about tracking the total WC cost and manhours worked for WC cost/MH. When using total WC cost use all administrative cost along with actual WC $ spent including medical, comp and legal costs paid out for the period.

bsa

These formulas are from a safety "old timer."

Incident rate (total # recordable accidents x 200,000 ÷ total hours worked)

Frequency rate (total lost workday [u]cases[/u] x 200,000 ÷ total hours worked)

Severity rate (total lost work [u]days[/u] x 200,000 ÷ total hours worked)

(The 200,000 is 100 employees working 2,000 hours per year.)

I have been using these calculations for a number of years. We have gone from 18.3 Incident rate (11 injuries) 5 years ago to 1.6 Incident rate (1 injury) in 2002. Frequency and Severity are only affected when you have a lost time injury. In fact, we had a lost time injury that lasted almost a year and sent our severity rate through the roof!

safety

I agree with your metrics and track the same ones due to OSHA requirements however they might not reflect WC costs. As you know, a trip to the ER can turn a simple first aid case into a recordable incident for the purpose of OSHA. i. e., over-the-counter medicine in prescription strength for a simple muscle strain. While OSHA would consider this a recordable event the total WC cost would be minimal. Another example would be a diagnostic procedure that may be quite expensive, MRI etc., for an injury that may not be a recordable event under OSHA guidelines. I like to see the bottom line in dollars per manhours worked along with a low ratio rate.