Loss Prevention Solutions: Improve Safety, Reduce Insurance Costs

The Schwan Food Company saved approximately $10 million in fewer losses and reduced insurance costs by improving its safety record and electronically tracking proof of training and inspection.

No matter what type of company you are, you need to comply with OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) regulations. If you have employees that physically transport your products around the country, you have DOT (Department of Transportation) requirements to obey, as well. Demonstrating compliance can be difficult when documents are kept in paper form in disparate locations. The Schwan Food Company, which sells frozen food via delivery trucks, grocery store freezers, online, and food service locations, encountered this difficulty. Employee training, particularly on safety, is of utmost importance at Schwan, so its safety department sought a solution to efficiently track training awareness initiatives (i.e. documents proving participation/compliance, knowledge retention).

With 22,000 employees, the company needed a way to electronically track safety training information and report results. Safety training is conducted at nearly 500 sales and distribution centers throughout the United States that act as home bases for employees who deliver products to consumers' homes, grocers, and schools. "Previously, after safety training was conducted, we filed handwritten documents at each location," says Melissa Gile, safety specialist with The Schwan Food Company's corporate risk management department.