For construction companies, which often face workplace injuries and illnesses, workers’ compensation insurance is a must. But many companies fail to realize that the cost of an employee injury extends far beyond the coverage of most insurance plans.

Consider this scenario: A company is a general contractor for a new 24-story commercial office space. While installing drywall, one employee slips and falls off his ladder and breaks a leg. It’s then determined that he will be unable to work for at least three months. How will the business cover the three-month gap of recovery time – especially in today’s tight labor market?

While workers’ compensation insurance covers medical expenses and wage replacement, there’s a laundry list of other items that must be dealt with to keep a business running smoothly. And dealing with those things can cost time and money. OSHA reports that the lower the cost of a claim, the higher the indirect costs to a business, with the highest direct-to-indirect claim cost ratio of 4.5. While they may account for the majority of the costs of an accident, indirect costs are typically uninsured and therefore unrecoverable. That means for every $1,000 claim, a business could pay an additional $4,500 out of pocket for indirect costs – things like lost productivity of the injured employee, time spent hiring and training a worker to replace the injured team member until he returns to work, OSHA fines, property damage and repairs and more.

That’s why most companies have established proper safety education and procedures that help mitigate the risk of workplace accidents, protect employees and avoid unnecessary costs. Yet, even with those protocols in place, accidents unfortunately do happen and sometimes they are beyond control. By implementing an accident preparedness plan, construction companies can lessen the indirect costs of workplace injuries and be prepared to handle an accident when it happens.

There are three steps to take to ensure a company and its employees are prepared to act once a safety incident takes place.

1. Create a formal crisis management plan

A crisis management plan is key to handling an emergency situation quickly and effectively. The plan should outline the most likely scenarios the organization might face and include detailed steps for who is responsible for what. For example, if an employee is injured while using certain machinery or equipment, who is responsible for shutting it down and inspecting it? If a jobsite needs to close down, who makes that call? If the media shows up, who will handle the interviews and what details are they cleared to share? Once a thorough plan is written, established talking points and outlined each piece of the process, test it and train employees so that, when the time comes, they can act swiftly. Be sure to review it with subcontractors as well, and ensure they have their own plan and policies in place.

2.Prepare A “bench”

When an employee – or more than one – is injured and off the job, even if just temporarily, it’s important that the construction project stays on track and the work continues smoothly. By constantly fielding resumes and interviewing potential applicants, a company can build a bench of potential employees – both full-time and contract employees –ready to hire at a moment’s notice.

3.Review safety procedures regularly

Safety procedures should be evaluated regularly, especially after a worker suffers a major injury. During the evaluation process, look at the cause of the accident and determine ways it could have been avoided. Perhaps additional or more specific training (like proper lifting techniques), new safety equipment or longer breaks are needed. Share any changes to safety procedures with employees and workers to ensure they understand the updates. Also encourage feedback and ideas from the team on the jobsite, as they might have more insight into the deeper, underlying issues.

While 100 percent prevention of workplace injuries might be impossible, a company can mitigate the risk and frequency of such incidents and ensure it is prepared to handle a crisis situation quickly. By doing so, employee safety and the company’s bottom line is improved.