Strategic Effect of Army Civilian Workplace Injuries and Illnesses

摘要

This study seeks to determine the strategic effect on the Army of occupational injuries and illnesses to Army Civilians. Army Civilians number more than 250,000 and they are critical to the Army. Workplace injuries and illnesses degrade the Army's strategic stance in both measurable and subjective ways, costing the Army almost $200 million annually, degrading productivity, disrupting services, and reducing quality of life. Lately, the Army has improved safety and embedded a more effective safety culture, but it has not improved its program for reducing civilian accident costs or returning injured workers to the workplace. Some programs have proven to be effective, but are not being leveraged by commanders, many of whom resist accepting previously injured workers back into the force. To add to this problem, the reporting of Army civilian accidents is poor at best, resulting in a lack of centralized accident data and an inability to determine if the Army is providing equal treatment to workers with regards to the resolution of accident cases, the awarding of associated benefits, and the process of returning injured workers to their jobs. This study recommends that the Army take steps to reduce the negative effects of accidents, such as the fielding of a central, standardized civilian accident reporting system; better enforcement of the Army's own requirement to report civilian accidents; improving the Army's infrastructure for compensation programs; and instituting management metrics and an associated management program to force commanders to justify their performance in these areas.