Development of Cost Estimation Tools for Total Occupational Safety and Health Activities and Occupational Health Services: Cost Estimation from a Corporate Perspective

Abstract

information on OSH activities and occupational health services. Conclusions: The standardized information obtained from our OSH and occupational health cost estimation tools can be used to manage OSH costs, make comparisons of OSH costs between companies and organizations and help occupational health physicians and employers to determine the best course of action. (J Occup Health 2014; 56: 215-224) Key words: Costs and cost analysis, Economics, Occupational safety and health Occupational safety and health (OSH) activities are conducted as part of business administration and entail corporate costs. Companies have to adhere to legal, financial and moral requirements of OSH 1) , and employers have to consider the welfare of their employees and provide adequate OSH to ensure that activities are efficient and productive. Employers have a need for relevant and comparable information so that they can prioritize their budget and thus attain the greatest OSH gains for their workforce 2−4) . OSH staff implement OSH activities according to a company's individual policies while at the same time maintaining communication with employers and employees and attempting to provide the highest quality OSH at an appropriate cost 5) . OSH costs are not wasted expenses but an investment in prevention. Especially in occupational health (OH) services as forms of health management and health promotion, OH costs are a human resource investment for improvement of health and wellness The aim of the present study was to develop standardized cost estimation tools that provide information to employers about occupational safety and health (OSH) activities for effective and efficient decision making in Japanese companies. Methods: We interviewed OSH staff members including full-time professional occupational physicians to list all OSH activities. Using activity-based costing, cost data were obtained from retrospective analyses of occupational safety and health costs over a 1-year period in three manufacturing workplaces and were obtained from retrospective analyses of occupational health services costs in four manufacturing workplaces. We verified the tools additionally in four workplaces including service businesses. Results: We created the OSH and occupational health standardized cost estimation tools. OSH costs consisted of personnel costs, expenses, outsourcing costs and investments for 15 OSH activities. The tools provided accurate, relevant

Total Health-Related Costs Due to Absenteeism, Presenteeism, and Medical and Pharmaceutical Expenses in Japanese Employers

“…To support employers in setting workplace health priorities and strategies, it would be beneficial to analyze the cost-effectiveness and/or the cost benefits of workplace health initiatives from a total (productivity and medical/pharmaceutical) cost perspective. In prior articles, cost estimation tools for occupational health services 30 and calculated costs of each occupational health activity in Japanese manufacturing companies were described. 31 To compare the effectiveness of workplace health initiatives, assessing an employer's total cost burden of health conditions and health risks would provide the baseline information for a pre-post impact analysis.…”

Establishment of reference costs for occupational health services and implementation of cost management in Japanese manufacturing companies

“…We developed a standardized cost estimation tool and reported the detailed process in a previous paper 5) .T h e development process is shown in Fig. 1.…”

“…For strategic cost management, a business has to conduct a cost calculation 4) . We developed a standardized cost estimation tool to calculate actual OH services costs, from an employers' perspective, based on an activitybased costing method and published the results in a previous article 5) . In activity-based costing, cost estimations are generated according to activity 6) .…”