Accidents on job sites are a source of constant anxiety for field service contractors. Besides concerns about injuries to team members, job site accidents can lead to significant costs. Lost hours, delays, property and equipment damage and increased insurance costs can quickly erode profits and stifle business momentum.
Given that field service cannot be fully automated, there’s no way to completely eliminate the risk of accidents on job sites. But calculating the real-world costs associated with accidents will likely motivate contractors to prioritize safety and the uninterrupted completion of jobs, not just for the well-being of their techs and other team members but for the sake of their business. Reducing the number and severity of accidents your company experiences helps limit losses and maximize revenue.
Industry- and service-specific formulas for determining the hard costs of accidents are widely available. Even a quick overview of the potential losses associated with accidents and how they can add up illustrates how important safety is.
- Lost time: In addition to time spent documenting the accident, there’s potential for lost work hours related to time off, transitioning new team members to the job, repairing or redoing work lost in the accident and communicating with your team and customers.
- Damage: Contractors must absorb any costs for lost or damaged equipment and materials. If customer property is damaged in an accident, compensation costs will go up.
- Fines: In the unfortunate event a company is determined to be liable, fines and fees may apply, as well as any additional costs to ensure future compliance.
- Insurance: Increased insurance premiums are a frequent result of workplace accidents, regardless of liability.
The hard costs are compounded by unseen costs that are just as real but harder to measure. Customers may lose confidence in your team, especially if the accident or any related delays affect their operations.
Additionally, a team’s confidence and solidarity can suffer following an accident. If team members feel their safety is at risk or undervalued by their employer, overall company culture can decline, having enormous long-range effects. And eventually your public reputation may be severely damaged if the community has reason to think safety isn’t a top priority.
BuildOps’ mobile field management software for technicians provides key tools that are essential for managing safety. With our cloud-based app, techs have a tool that streamlines communication between the office and the job site, providing immediate access to important data and reducing the risk of poor decision-making or guessing, which can have catastrophic results.
With BuildOps’ standardized workflows, techs can focus their attention on the job at hand without distraction. Video and photo documentation offer a comprehensive history, critical for reporting and training. BuildOps’ reporting function can help you identify and track the most common causes and conditions for accidents and take steps to address them.
If you want to learn more about how BuildOps can help your team complete jobs more safely and keep down the costs associated with accidents, get in touch to schedule a demo.
