Existing burglar alarm installed by a leading major alarm company had radio backup dialer if telephone wires were cut. The telephone wires were plainly accessible from ground level. During a break-in, the telephone wires were cut and the radio backup did not work. The system was not “supervised” meaning there was no indication of wires being cut or radio not functioning. We were contacted following break-in and per our recommendation, the home owner rerouted telephone wires to enter at attic level, not ground level. We identified that the radio dialer was the wrong type to function in the non air-conditioned space where it was located, the glass break sensor was on wrong wall, and a motion sensor was in the wrong location. A “mock strike” by the original alarm company would have revealed these deficiencies without the loss of over $200,000 in uninsured collector’s valuables, and the anguish and the time associated.
Sick days are not that bad.
On average U.S. employees take 4 ¼ sick days per year. So if you have 100 employees at an average wage of $22 per hour, plus labor burden (FICA, soc. security, unemployment contribution, workers comp insurance, benefits, etc.) of, say, conservatively, $5/hr. = $27 per hour. So 8 hours x $27 = $216 per day x 4 ¼ days = $918 per year x 100 employees = $91,800. It turns out that is peanuts.
The much bigger problem comes from days when employees are at work sick.
Most people have three colds per year averaging 9 days each. Adding in flus and other things, call it 30 days a year sick. Randomly distributed for 5 work days from the 7 days per week, this is 5/7 x 30 = approximately 21.5 sick days on weekdays. Subtract the 4 ¼ days employees stay home and that leaves over 17 days at work sick. That’s the problem.
- An excellent study reported in Forbes Magazine online http://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2012/09/12/u-s-workforce-illness-costs-576b-annually-from-sick-days-to-workers-compensation/ “U.S. Workforce Illness Costs $576B Annually From Sick Days To Workers Compensation” makes clear that the resulting lowered productivity of sick workers and long-term illness leading to workers’ comp costs a huge amount.
$4,431 cost to your business per employee per year.
If you take the $576B cost and divide by the number of workers in the U.S. of 130 million that works out to about $4,431 cost to your business per employee per year. With 100 employees that means $443,100 per year. That isn’t peanuts.
There is nothing you can do to completely eliminate the problem, of course. But there are many things you can do to decrease it by a reasonable target such as 25% or 30%. This doesn’t necessarily mean fewer sick days off from work, although that is a likely result. It does mean better health and wellness for everyone and fewer days per year that they are sick. It means a better work climate, happier employees and better productivity.
Perimeter Protective Systems, Inc., is not limited to seeing with blinders on, the way, unfortunately, many security companies approach things. We think holistically to reduce all areas of loss for your company. Sometimes simple procedures and some simple changes in physical facilities , along with training, can bring about this long-term and wonderful result. The losses from lowered productivity are real. We can help you cut them by your target goal. This is part of our consultation services.
Don’t sneeze away your profits.
Don’t suffer a “sick office syndrome” or accept poor health and poor hygiene as the standard for your operations. Also, in companies that greet and meet customers, what could be worse than a salesperson who just sneezed into his or her hand, then next moment extending their hand to the customer for a handshake. I’ve seen it many times. Or receptionists was raging colds handing a pen to a customer to sign-in , for example at an auto dealership.
If $443,100 for your 100 employee company, or $44,310 for your 10 employee company, or $4,431,000 for your 1000 employee company is a matter of real concern to you, call us for some professional help. It is not just a matter of information but effective training modules and ways to motivate people in their own interest to take part in your new program towards health!
If there is forced air heating or central air conditioning, cleaning of ducts is an important, often overlooked item, sometimes for a decade or two! There are ionic air purifiers and ozone blast (to be used when office is closed) machines that kill most germs on all surfaces.
We look for how your place is heated and ventilated. What ergonomic issues are there? Almost always many are not known or addressed but they lead to 40% of workers comp claims as well as decreased productivity all along. We look at policies and procedures and how people interact with the environment. There are training devices and training modules to improve employee awareness of hand washing and other hygiene practices. Are people abstaining from water? Most people do all day long and low grade dehydration decreases immunity and energy. What sources of high frequency sounds near the edge of audibility are there? These cause stress, deplete energy from people and can damage hearing. Are there low frequency sounds below the range of human hearing? These cause disorientation, confusion, weakness and looseness of bowels. Is the lighting comfortable and natural or in a narrow bandwidth which again increases stress, depletes energy, and produces eyestrain and lower productivity. Dust? Allergens? Chemical fumes or outgassing of things like new carpeting and many fiberboard type furniture components. What to do with the chronically sick employee? These are some of the issues that affect that on-average $4300 per year per employee cost to employers from sickness at the workplace.
That is why you need us to come in and help you with these background things while you run your business. You are too busy to do this and most employers and bosses are embarrassed to deal with some of these issues such as chronically or often-sick employees or health and hygiene practices. ▪ ▪ ▪