“Prevention is better than cure” is how the adage goes, and so Rand Mutual Assurance (RMA) is embarking on an OHS Programme which it believes will help to better equip its clients to effectively reduce injury, illness and fatalities in their work environments.
Taking the prevention of injuries and diseases to the next level
Programmes that focus on prevention and awareness of occupational injuries and diseases have been found to have enormous social and economic benefits for both employers and employees, locally and internationally. This includes improvements in productivity and competitiveness of employers, safe working environments for employees and an overall improvement in their quality of life free from injury or disease.
Through this programme RMA intends to ensure a more equitable provision of compensation benefits to injured workers, including medical treatment, financial compensation and access to rehabilitation and return-to-work services.
The programme aims to help reduce premiums paid by employers. Premiums are aligned to each company’s claims experience which in turn can often be tied to good safety and preventative measures.
RMA believes that this programme will contribute towards:
• the promotion of health and safety in the workplace; and
• prevention and reduction in the number of occupational injuries and diseases in Class IV and Class XIII industries.
What are the key components of this health and safety programme?
In line with established key elements of successful occupational health and safety programmes, it will include: Leadership, Stewardship, Worker engagement and participation, Hazard risk identification and assessment, Hazard prevention and control, Education and training, and Medical surveillance.
To assist in developing an effective intervention programme that promotes occupational health and safety, RMA intends to encourage employers to collect and share their medical surveillance data. This data will also be critical in the future assessment of rates.
What are the expected benefits of participating in the programme?
Benefits for Employers
• Improvement in compliance with requirements
of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) and Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases (COID) legislations;
• Increased productivity;
• Reduced absenteeism; and
• Reduced assessment rates and possibly premiums.
Benefits for Employees
• Prevention and/or reduction in the number of occupational injuries, diseases and fatalities; and
• Improvement in quality of health.
Benefits for Government
• Creation of safe work places as encouraged by the International Labour Organisation; and
• Effective enforcement of compliance.
Benefits for RMA
• Fair pricing of COID cover; and
• Fair compensation, optimal rehabilitation and speedy return to work.
How will this programme be rolled out?
The programme will roll out with various awareness campaigns focusing on high-impact injuries and diseases, in order of priority. In other words, the most prevalent injuries and diseases experienced within the RMA client base will be addressed and rolled out first.
This year-long programme will be launched with an awareness drive focusing on Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL). The NIHL campaign will run from October 12 to March 1, 2018. Both Classes IV and XIII, which are equally affected by NHIL, will be targeted.
RMA is normally at the receiving end of system and process failures, immobilised to assist in managing this cost. Bringing these failures to the forefront will contribute to sustainable partnerships going forward.
Feel free to chat to RMA about your involvement in the campaign. Surely you agree, participation makes good business sense.
Contact us on 0860 222 132, contactcentre@randmutual.co.za, or visit our website: www.randmutual.co.za.
