What is OSHA's view of safety incentives?
OSHA clarified its stance on incentives in this memorandum issued October 11, 2018. In it, OSHA acknowledges that incentive programs are important tools that can increase employee involvement with safety as long as they are not implemented in a manner that discourages or punishes reporting injuries. A compliant safety incentive program should help companies increase their compliance with regulatory standards. Our recognition and incentive system is based on leading indicators and rewards employees for reporting near-misses and hazards.
What is the ROI of a behavior-based safety program?
Accidents that result in injury, property damage, or fatalities incur direct and indirect costs to your bottom line. The ROI of a behavior-based safety program comes from preventing injuries before they happen. Improvements in leading indicators—such as hazard reporting, PPE compliance, and housekeeping—can reduce recordable incidents, workers’ compensation costs, downtime, and turnover, while strengthening overall safety culture. A positive safety culture can improve morale and employee engagement, which are both linked to higher productivity and better outcomes.
How is SmartCard® different from a typical safety incentive program?
Unlike traditional safety incentive programs that reward lagging indicators (days without an injury, reductions in lagging-indicator measurements, etc.), SmartCard® reinforces behaviors that prevent incidents. It combines supervisor-led recognition, consistent safety communication, and meaningful rewards to create a proactive safety culture. Rewards are always based on leading indicators like performing pre-task inspections, reporting near-misses, and other key behaviors specific to each client's risks. The AOE Rewards platform also comes with built-in safeguards against abuse and favoritism, ensuring none of your incentive budget is wasted.
Do safety incentive programs discourage injury reporting?
Some lagging-indicator programs can unintentionally create pressure to underreport injuries. For instance, if rewards are contingent on remaining injury-free for a set period of time, then employees may be tempted to hide injuries so they won't be disqualified. SmartCard® is designed to eliminate that risk by rewarding safe behaviors. In fact, most of our clients see a significant increase in near-miss reporting and a decrease in injuries.