Article

Provided by Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation

The return of hot summer days may have you longing for more people to help keep your work environment cool, calm and safe. When it comes to keeping your employees safe, Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation can help with resources to improve safety practices at your agricultural business from the ground up. 

Those who are BWC policy holders are specifically invited to take advantage of free safety consultation services. Safety consultations are highly recommended for all types of agricultural businesses, including small family farms, industrial agriculture operations, food production, food service or other agribusiness operations. These consultations may often result in improved efficiency, quality and productivity. Participating in the free program is a win-win for your business and its employees.

What happens during a safety consultation?

During a safety consultation, a safety and health professional will help you identify hazards associated with machinery, energy sources, material handling equipment, tools, work methods and your work environment, and work with you to develop cost-effective solutions to reduce the risk of injury or illness.

Depending on the size and complexity of your ag operation you might also benefit from one or more of these services:

• On-site training – BWC can help you develop training and awareness programs tailored to your specific operations and needs, and suggest online and virtual training you and your employees can take at your convenience.
• Safety teams – We will provide you guidance to help form worker safety teams and provide suggestions to improve team effectiveness.
• Safe work practices – We can review your safety practices and suggest ways to improve them.
• Safety programs – We can help you develop safety programs and processes.
• Other BWC specialists – We can work with our other specialists to help you reduce risks from chemical and environmental hazards and tasks that require extensive physical effort.

If you’d like to request a safety consultation, you can either contact your local BWC service office, call 800-644-6292, or submit a request online. Please have your BWC policy number ready. A safety consultant will contact you within two business days.

Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. We’ve got you Covered.

Established in 1912, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation is the exclusive provider of workers’ compensation insurance in Ohio, serving 249,000 public and private employers. With nearly 1,600 employees and assets of approximately $25 billion, BWC is one of the largest state-run insurance systems in the United States. For more, visit bwc.ohio.gov.