A SAFETY SUCCESS STORY
THE PROBLEM
For years, a National Senior Living chain had struggled with slips, trips, and falls, resulting in high numbers in frequency, severity and Worker’s Comp dollars. Over the years 2011-2013 they averaged $5,083 per each slip and fall claim, incurring roughly 125 claims annually for an average of $635,000 in annual costs due to slips and falls. During this period they had a slip-resistant shoe program with another vendor. When factoring in the indirect costs of these claims, it was estimated that these claims cost the Senior Living Chain approximately $1,880,854 for a three-year period.
OUR SOLUTION
They decided to implement a comprehensive slip-resistant footwear program mandating Shoes For Crews® (SFC) safety shoes for their entire workforce of approximately 12,000 employees. They would provide 1 pair of SFC shoes every 6 months (2 pairs annually per employee) at no cost to the employees. Also, SFC also offered the Senior Living Chain their guaranteed warranty payment should any of their staff slip or fall while wearing Shoes For Crews slip-resistant shoes.
CHALLENGES RESOLVED
With more than 300 Senior Living Communities in 48 states, it had been a challenge to ensure consistency for all of their valued employees to be wearing the proper footwear, but Shoes For Crews had a plan for that! Their on-site fitting program and bulk ordering process made it easy for all of their staff to see the selections, get properly sized and select their shoes as they kicked off the program. Shoes For Crews then created a dedicated customer portal for the company, linking conveniently from their company intranet to facilitate easy ordering, payments, and shipping via the managers ordering SFC shoes for their staff.
“Our reductions in Worker’s Comp dollars more than cover the investment in Shoes For Crews— we calculate an approximate savings of over $600,000.” —Safety Manager, National Senior Living Chain
IMPLEMENTATION WAS EASY
Establishing the Shoes For Crews program was smooth and easy, and implementation took less than 30 days. After the initial setup process, the program basically ran itself. Now, managers simply collect and place orders for their staff at their convenience with Shoes For Crews easy-to-use online ordering portal.
IMPRESSIVE RESULTS
Their goal was to see a significant reduction in the frequency and severity of injuries—and they saw a huge impact! With Shoes For Crews, they have experienced a huge drop in accidents (see chart at right). Their reductions in Worker’s Comp dollars more than covered the investment in the shoes for their employees. In fact, they calculated an approximate savings of over $600,000 annually on slip and fall claims. The employees enjoy the shoes, find them comfortable and durable, and have a better sense of security in them, according to survey results. Overall they were extremely satisfied with Shoes for Crews, especially with SFC's "excellent customer service."