When it comes to safety, cheaper services are almost always more expensive, especially in the oil and gas industry. There is no denying price is an obvious and important factor to consider when selecting a safety partner, but focusing only on the upfront cost can distract you from the dangerous and potentially deadly pitfall ahead.
In occupational safety, a provider with exceptionally lower rates is usually too good to be true. It often comes with hidden expenses, particularly in the form of avoidable incidents, that can have serious ramifications for your business.
This isn’t a strange concept to most decision makers. After all, the adage “you get what you pay for” is well-worn in both the home and the workplace. Unfortunately, picking a safety partner only because of their low-price points can cost you a lot more in the long-term and may jeopardize the lives of your workers.
Avoiding and Addressing Accidents
Reportable incidents include a wide range of accidents or near-misses that compromise the safety of people working in the facility. Every single one of these incidents represents a threat to life and limb, as well as financial concern in the form of increased insurance premiums, hefty hospital bills, affiliated downtime and even potential lawsuits or fees as a result of non-compliance.
Reputable and comprehensive third-party HSE partners, like Pharma-Safe Industrial Services, invest heavily in employee training and management systems. While this practice does build into our total operating cost, the output is well-worth the investment. Safety providers that tout cheap rates, however, likely don’t hold their operations to high standards and cut corners to get the job as cheap as possible in an attempt to offset their lower profit margins.
Simply put, better systems and a highly-experienced team focused on prevention and mitigation help establish a safer work environment with less disruptions and fewer reportable incidents.
Maintain Morale and Productivity
Anyone who has spent time leading a team knows that poor morale or bad work practices are contagious. Just like a shopping cart with one bad wheel, a group with even one unproductive member can be seriously crippled. Employees that see their team members cutting corners, ignoring instructions or working without regard to safety are much more likely to reproduce the behavior.
Lack of supervision is usually a part of this problem, but poor hiring practices are often a major factor as well. Partnering with a third-party safety provider whose employee qualifications align with your company’s criteria, helps foster a healthier, integrated team willing to adopt and follow your safety management plans as they should.
Paying the Price for a Poor Hire
Employing the less expensive hire just to see if the partnership works out can be costly, even if you terminate the relationship early on. This applies to both in-house and contracted personnel. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the price of a bad hire is at least 30 percent of the employee’s first-year earnings, and when you consider the financial impact 1 day of downtime has in the oil and gas industry, it’s a mistake most operators can’t afford.
In summary, the time it takes to vet and onboard new employees midway into a project—is time most employers don’t have.
Choose Affordable and Effective Safety Services
There’s no substitute for diligence, experience and commitment, especially in the complex and hazardous oil and gas industry. Pharma-Safe is a proven health and safety partner that offers a full range of services with a strong record of success. Our dedicated and diverse team of professionals understands the needs of operators as well as the safety concerns of workers. We approach problems with a mixture of innovative ideas and time-tested solutions in order to provide scalable and effective safety services to our clients.
Contact us today to discuss your unique project needs!
