It's an old adage that "safety pays." But, at Richards Corporation, we've found that safety sells. And the ABC Gold Safety Award in our lobby are part of what drives sales. Our clients are increasingly making safety records a priority in their contractor selection process. We're often asked to provide our workers' comp experience modification rate, injury frequency and severity rates, and OSHA citation history. We know that an excess in any of these parameters could cost us the contract. That's what we call "opportunity cost," and it far exceeds the cost of workers' comp premiums and the indirect costs of accidents.

All of these numbers are, of course, "lagging indicators" that tell us where we've been, not where we're going. What's needed are leading indicators. We've found that the ABC Safety Training and Evaluation Process (STEP), which is the basis of the ABC Safety Awards, is more than an excellent road map. It's a Global Positioning System of safety, sitting right up there on the dashboard. Follow that, and you'll avoid the perils and pitfalls that have left others crashed and burned at the side of the road. Moreover, anybody who's along for the ride with you can clearly see where you're going and your customers will appreciate the smoother ride.

Safety awards benchmark your progress along this road right from the beginning. Awards are given in graduated levels from bronze to silver to gold to platinum. The most basic award, bronze, is available after modest effort. And any one of these in your lobby, your brochures, your corporate identity, helps you sell your business to an increasingly safety-conscious clientele.

Safety, indeed, sells. Clearing the initial obstacles of mod rates and injury and citation history merely gets your company into the game. The company that sets itself apart is the winner! We've found that STEP helps us do just that.