Is your industry acting on group OHS opportunities?

The recent renewal of a 14-year strategic alliance between Workplace Safety and Prevention Services (WSPS) and the Ontario Automobile Dealer Association (OADA) and the Toronto Automobile Dealers Association (TADA) highlights opportunities for workplaces from different sectors to work with WSPS on developing health and safety products and services tailored to their industry needs.

According to OADA executive director Geoff Wilkinson, “our alliance with WSPS allows dealerships to proactively address health and safety in their workplaces. It’s also very helpful having one health and safety source we can go to that has all the expertise we need.”

Among the options available to dealers: a safety group chapter, sector-specific health and safety policy manual service, self-help tools including safe work guidelines and training, and on-site consultations, all tailored to the needs of an automobile dealership. John Aird, WSPS’s strategic alliances manager, reports that dealers who have participated in the programs and supports set up through the alliance have experienced a measurable drop in injury rates and compensation costs.

One of the most successful solutions is the policy manual service, which helps dealers establish a comprehensive workplace health and safety program. As well, WSPS offers participants additional services at special rates. Among these offerings:

• on-site implementation training for up to 25 people
• a violence risk assessment supplement to the manual
• an isocyanates assessment and control program for auto dealers with a body shop

“Opportunities like this offer particular value to smaller and medium-sized operations that may not have the internal capacity to dedicate one FTE (full time equivalent) to manage health and safety,” says Aird.

According to Norm Kramer, a WSPS consultant and facilitator of a safety group chapter specifically for automobile dealers, dealers must stay on top of “a whole gamut of hazards in multiple environments — sales and administration, parts, and service. Hazards include slips, trips and falls, cuts and abrasions, and musculoskeletal disorders.

“As in any workplace,” continues Kramer, “safety has to start from the top. In this instance, the general manager or dealer principle. They are key decision-makers when it comes to developing workplace safety systems, and rely on various members of middle management, typically the sales manager, parts manager, service manager, and shop foreman, to implement them. For these people, health and safety is just one of many responsibilities.”

“This is where industry relationships with health and safety associations such as WSPS can make a difference,” says John Aird. “With our health and safety expertise, we work with partner organizations to develop sector-specific tools and resources that protect workers and meet or exceed the requirements of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and the Ministry of Labour. Our safety group chapters also offer a facilitated forum in which members can learn from or share their experience with peers.

“Working with industry groups such as OADA and TADA also helps us,” says Aird. These groups provide us with insights into the unique challenges of their members, which we draw on to develop targeted health and safety solutions. It’s a highly efficient use of our resources.”

WSPS has alliances with more than 30 industry groups, representing a wide spectrum of agriculture, manufacturing and service sectors. The nature of the alliance varies with each group. Examples include:

• providing information and advice on industry performance, risk and prevention system planning
• developing and delivering tailored products and services through various channels
• contributing to groups’ communication channels with articles and other material
• participating in sector events
• serving as a health and safety advisor
• recognizing success through award programs

For examples of how WSPS supports specific alliances, See “Sample strategic alliances,” below.

How we can help

1. To create new opportunities for your industry sector, contact a member of WSPS’s industry relations team; 1-877-494-WSPS (9777).
2. For one-on-one input into your workplace’s challenges and opportunities, check out WSPS’s full range of consulting services.
3. Learn more about WSPS’s safety groups. Although the 2012 group has already begun, plan now to register for 2013.
4. Attend the upcoming Health & Safety Ontario conference and trade show, where you can speak directly with a WSPS consultant at our booth. (See “Partners in Prevention 2012: 400+ reasons to attend” for a preview of Health & Safety Ontario’s Partners in Prevention 2012 Health & Safety Conference & Trade show, taking place in Mississauga on May 1-2.) 

Sample strategic alliances

Injury frequency benefits for dealers implementing a managed system

The chart below shows the difference in injury frequency between dealers who implemented a managed system with a documented policy manual and all vehicles sales and service dealers (VSS).

Compensation premium ratio

The chart below shows the cost premium ratio for the same group of automobile dealers and the industry overall. The ratio compares the total costs paid out by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board for injury claims compared to the total WSIB premiums paid by dealers. The ratio is expressed as a percentage.

The entire industry incurs compensation costs representing over 50% of the annual premiums paid. This percentage is rising, putting the entire industry at risk of future premium rate increases. Many dealers may be paying an additional NEER (New Experimental Experience Rating) surcharge on top of their annual premiums. With average annual premiums of about $48,000, some dealers could be paying as much as an additional $10,000 to $20,000 annually in surcharges. This comes right off the bottom line and affects profitability.

For the group of dealers that were committed to improving their health and safety with a managed system, they already had much lower costs compared to their premiums, and would be enjoying a cheque from the WSIB for as much as $10,000—$20,000 in NEER rebates annually. This goes right on the bottom line and contributes to the profitability of the dealership by reducing the net premiums you had budgeted to pay annually.  Further, the ratio is continuing to decline for the dealers implementing a managed system, ensuring they are optimizing their potential rebate.

How dealers benefit from joining a Safety Group chapter

The following chart shows performance improvement of dealers since they joined a Safety Group chapter in 2008 to the end of 2009. These achievements earned each of the dealers that successfully completed their plans in 2009 a 4.61% rebate on total WSIB premiums paid. For an average-sized dealer paying $50,000 in annual premiums, this worked out to a $2,500 rebate.