HQ BaselineWorkplace safety
Baseline Testing as PPE for the Brain: A Safety Director's Guide to Cognitive Assessments at Onboarding
You've invested in every kind of personal protective equipment for every part of the body — except the most important organ of all.
If you’re a safety director, you already require hard hats, safety glasses, fall protection, hearing conservation, and respiratory protection. You’ve invested in every kind of personal protective equipment for every part of the body — except the most important organ of all.
The concept: a baseline is PPE
A cognitive baseline test at onboarding is PPE for the brain. It documents your worker’s healthy brain function before any occupational exposure. If they later sustain a head injury on the job, their post-injury cognitive performance is compared to their baseline — providing objective, individualized evidence of impairment that supports medical treatment, return-to-work decisions, and workers’ compensation documentation.
Implementation is straightforward
Implementation can be integrated into existing pre-employment or annual physical examination processes. According to ImPACT Applications’ occupational health resources, computerized cognitive tests take 20–25 minutes. Balance testing adds 5–10 minutes. Results are stored in a secure, HIPAA-compliant system and retrieved only when an incident occurs.
The cost is minimal — typically $15–$75 per worker — compared to the average brain injury workers’ compensation settlement. The National Safety Council estimates that workplace injuries cost employers over $167 billion annually, with head injuries among the most expensive injury categories due to lengthy recovery periods and long-term disability claims.
Risk management value
From a risk management perspective, a baseline testing program also demonstrates organizational due diligence. In the event of litigation, the ability to show that the company proactively assessed brain health and implemented evidence-based injury management protocols can significantly reduce liability exposure. For the case law view, see our liability & risk management piece.
How we help
At Headquarters, we offer workplace baseline programs designed for industrial and occupational settings, with group pricing, on-site administration, and integration with existing safety and occupational health workflows. Contact us for employer pricing and implementation planning.