Over the past two years, venture capital has invested heavily in digital musculoskeletal (MSK) technologies. These technologies often focus on injury treatment, improving overall MSK health, and preventing injuries in the workplace.
But how much can these workplace health and safety technologies save employers?
Bardavon has introduced a new Injury Prevention ROI Estimator to estimate savings when investing in digital MSK technology accurately. This proprietary estimator leverages internal data and market research, vetted by a dedicated Bardavon research team. Using internal and external data, the tool accurately predicts injury prevention across industries—from transportation to manufacturing.
Read on to learn how implementing digital musculoskeletal technology creates a significant return on investment for your workplace—regardless of industry.
How Does Injury Prevention Translate to Savings?
Wearable injury prevention tech can provide significant value to employers and workers in three main areas:
- Injury prevention tech can reduce the number and severity of MSK workers’ compensation injuries.
- MSK injuries for off-duty workers (resulting in commercial healthcare cost savings) can also be reduced in frequency and severity.
- Robust injury prevention solutions can reduce employee turnover.
Reduction In Number and Severity of MSK Injuries for Off-duty Workers
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30% of workers’ compensation injuries resulting in days away from work involve MSK injuries. Bardavon’s Data Science team has found these injuries account for approximately 80% of the total workers’ compensation cost.
Movement education and correction also reduce the severity and cost of injuries during a shift. Employees that minimize risky movements reduce bodily wear and tear.
An employer partnered with an injury prevention program can offer supplementary MSK technology programming for the worker at home. Mobile injury prevention apps that engage the employee to improve strength, mobility, stability, and flexibility for off-duty activities can continue to coach the worker through safe movement at home.
Reduction In Number and Severity of MSK Injuries for Off-duty Workers
Digital technologies can improve overall MSK health, reducing injury incidents outside of work. Employers ultimately pay for off-duty injuries through commercial-health-sponsored plans. Mobile injury prevention apps that engage the employee to improve strength, mobility, stability, and flexibility for off-duty activities can continue to coach the worker through safe movement at home.
Reduction in Employee Turnover
Another key benefit is the technology’s impact on employee satisfaction and retention. There are 9.6 million unfilled jobs in the U.S. and 3.9 million quits in March of 2023 alone. Workers have abundant choices when it comes to where they work and are seeking additional perks. Making workers feel safe and valued at work is imperative to employee retention.
A smart workplace leveraging cutting-edge technology can offer a “wow” factor. Workers are often excited to gain access to this elite technology, which has been a mainstay in the sports industry for years.
Introducing Bardavon’s Injury Prevention ROI Estimator
Bardavon has developed an ROI estimation tool that provides a dynamic solution for evaluating a musculoskeletal technology program’s potential return on investment designed for injury prevention. This tool provides a valuable assessment of the benefits of implementing such a program for a company and its employees.
There are four assumptions necessary to estimate the savings related to the reduction in frequency and severity of commercial insurance injuries:
- The current percentage of employees covered by the injury prevention program that typically sustain a commercial MSK injury per year
- The current average cost of a commercial MSK injury per year (including medical, pharmacy, and therapy care)
- The estimated reduction in the percentage of covered workers with commercial injuries per year
- The estimated reduction in the cost of a commercial injury
Our team can use this tool to provide you with ROI estimations you can feel confident in. The tool has industry estimates for what the assumptions described above should be. But it also allows our team to plug in the specific assumptions you want based on your unique situation and immediately provide an estimated ROI customized for you. Our team can then help you measure how the program is performing relative to this estimate along the way and make adjustments to the program or the assumptions as needed.
Learn how injury prevention technology can affect your business and return your investment by clicking here to contact us. We will reach out quickly to arrange a meeting where we can plug your data into our tool and immediately provide you with a valid ROI estimation.
What Might the ROI Look Like?
Imagine a trucking and transport company with 1,500 employees sees an annual injury rate of 2.5% of workers’-compensation-covered employees. How much could this hypothetical trucking company save in costs associated with employee turnover, workers’ compensation injuries, and commercial MSK health injuries with Bardavon’s injury prevention solution?
- With an annual worker turnover rate of 23% and $27,500 in worker replacement costs, a 6% reduction in turnover could lead to savings of $1.2 Million.
- If the company sees 3.5% of workers’-compensation-covered employees experience injuries that cost an average of $30,000 per injury each year, reducing the injury rate by 0.5% and the cost per injury by 10% could lead to savings of $360,000
- If the company sees 3.5% of employees experience commercial MSK injuries that cost an average of $10,000 per injury each year, reducing the injury rate by 0.5% and the cost per injury by 10% could lead to savings of $120,000
Altogether, this adds up to $1.7 million in savings per year.
About Injury Prevention Technology in the Workplace
Emerging musculoskeletal tech solutions may offer unique features, but here are some of the stand-out characteristics of injury prevention technology in the workplace:
Wearable sensors. Many companies use workplace injury prevention technology that attaches to the worker’s body to monitor movement speed and position.
Body part and movement coverage. Injury prevention tech focuses on preventing injuries to specific body parts such as the back, shoulder, and knee.
Real-time feedback. Injury prevention (IP) tech can provide haptic feedback to workers when they experience increased injury risk. Some products also provide audio feedback while on the job.
Advanced reporting. Information, including overall load, fatigue, trends, and movement performance grading, can be reviewed by workers, safety managers, and employers.
Training insights. Wearable tech checks job tasks and flags risky movements. Data collected helps make personalized training materials to guide workers on how to do each task safely.
Key Takeaways
In injury prevention, what’s good for workers is also good for an employer’s healthcare budget.
Injury prevention technology in our Safety Intelligence Suite helps employers pinpoint tasks with invisible injury risks and identify simple changes with significant results. The program also includes digital task assessments to identify safe movement techniques in each task and a Movement Coach to guide workers through the process.
When multiple digital MSK technology components come together to support workers before, during, and after injury, the landscape of safety and workers’ compensation shifts.