In the November issue of Risk and Insurance magazine is a very interesting article on a better approach to safety. The article is about how the magazine selected Honda Manufacturing of Indiana for their PreVent Award. The premise of the safety article is trusting the employee to be a part of accident prevention.
The article explains how Soichiro Honda, the founder of Honda Motors “was adamant about protecting the individual in the workplace.” This philosophy is followed by Honda Manufacturing of Indiana. The company strives to give the employees both “the physical and mental training to be prepared to do their jobs effectively and safely.” (WCxKit)
When new employees are hired, they do not start work immediately. Instead, they are provided a two week physical conditioning program emphasizing exercises to simulate the movements they will be required to perform on the job. The program also teaches the employee how to position the body in the best way for job performance in an ergonomically correct manner. If there are any doubts, please note the employees who complete this physical training have an 80% lower injury rate than employees who did not complete the physical training program.
The lead safety person at Honda Manufacturing of Indiana credits this ‘whole person approach’ with the effectiveness of their program, plus the company’s safety program has strong support from the upper management. When Honda was constructing the plant that opened in 2008, the safety program was consulted to build ergonomically correct processes into the production. Honda allows each manufacturing plant to structure its own safety program around the belief that the local personnel know their own facility better than anyone else.
The employees are encouraged to use the physical conditioning program outside of the workplace, plus the employees are taught to monitor their own stress and fatigue levels. They are taught how off the job stress can put them at an increase of injury on the job.
The safety program at Honda is based on the premise that the employee knows the job better than anyone. The employees know what the hazards are and what causes stress on their body which can ultimately hurt them. Honda takes the approach of listening to the employees, trusting what the employees have to say about performing their jobs safely, and using that guidance to create safe working conditions. By listening to the employees and implementing safety recommendations, Honda created a safer working environment.
When Risk and Insurance magazine was considering various companies for the PreVent Award, it was looking for companies that implement safety programs to prevent work place injuries and provide a safe working environment. The magazine was looking for employers that were proactive in injury prevention beyond the traditional safety and loss control programs.
The criterion for the PreVent Award which is given each November includes
1.Total Injury Prevention Focus – which starts with recognizing all potential sources of workplace injuries including suboptimal equipment, inefficient work processes, excessive repetitive motions, poor body mechanics and/or ergonomically incorrect processes.
2. Risk Assessment – identifying all potential risk that can lead to injuries
3. Proactive Approach – comprehensive strategies to address losses and prevent them from reoccurring. (WCxKit)
We strongly support safety as a primary means of reducing workers compensation cost. For more information on how to improve your safety program, please contact us.
Author Rebecca Shafer, JD, President of Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is a national expert in the field of workers compensation. She is a writer, speaker, and website publisher. Her expertise is working with employers to reduce workers compensation costs, and her clients include airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality, and manufacturing. She is the author of the #1 selling book on cost containment, Manage Your Workers Compensation: Reduce Costs 20-50% www.WCManual.com.
Contact: RShafer@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com
It is never too late to start thinking about how to be more proactive when it comes to handling your insurance losses. You can implement a program or plan any time, provided you roll it out to the right people and your employees or workers understand the initiatives and reasons behind it.
Sometimes workers don’t understand how insurance works. Commercial insurance is a monster to address. It is hard to explain how an underwriter comes up with the numbers they do in order to assign a premium to your workplace. But the bottom line that should be communicated is that every dollar that goes out from the insurance company/TPA could affect the insurance cost. If you have higher costs, maybe you cannot give out higher bonuses. Or maybe increased costs result in certain workers not getting a pay raise. All workers will understand when you put it into a sense of how if affects them directly. So let’s go over some simple loss reduction techniques to refresh your mind for 2012:
1. Make a commitment to promoting safety
If you are going to do this, go all out. You need to establish the rules and procedures, and then you need to come up with a way to drill it into everyone’s mind. The perfect way is by having rules enforced, and violators punished. Not harsh, severe punishments, but more than a slap on the wrist. Make them park in the back of the lot. Make them wear a different color safety hat than everyone else, or a vest that claims they broke the safety rules. Have the punishment be something that is part tongue-in-cheek, but it gets the point across and leads to some good natured ribbing from other coworkers.
On the other side, reward safety achievements. Use gas cards or coupons for free food as gifts. Do raffles and hand out a few prizes to the person that was the most safety-oriented. Whatever you do, make the reward something more tangible than a pat on the back.
Also you can post safety rules and violations on signs and place them all over your work floor, in the bathrooms, in the break areas, etc. Make sure they are at eye-level where people can see them, and color them accordingly so they are hard to miss. Use diagrams and stick people to represent the injury that could occur if you stuck your hand into the saw blade with the machine on. If may seem elementary, but your workers will see those drawings everyday and probably laugh at them, but the more they look at them, the more they remember, and the safer they just might be.
2. Make safety paramount
When you have a safe work environment, you have more productive employees. This is due to the fact that your safe machines are running like they should. Nobody is worried about something breaking or someone getting injured by doing certain jobs. Safe workplaces have fewer workers comp claims.
Obviously there is a direct link between safety and work comp. The less safe you are, the more work comp injuries you will have. And that leads into higher premium exposure. If your claims skyrocket, the costs increase, and that could increase the cost of your premium for your work comp policy. So it all begins with safety. Safety is the key to keeping comp costs down. Which, in-turn, controls premium costs.
3. Have well-defined safety policies and the need to implement them
If workers are not following the safety rules, that is a problem. A rare violator that has to wear the vest of shame is one thing. But if you have a guy breaking the safety rules everyday, you have an issue. You have to investigate why the worker is not following the rules. Document your findings, and then follow through with safety training or re-education on the proper safety function for the particular machine or device they may be using. Maybe they were taught by another employee to use the machine incorrectly. Whatever the reason, investigate it, document it, then retrain and follow through until the person understands and is capable of safely operating the device or doing the work task within your defined safety rules and procedures.
4. Can the employer fire a worker that disobeyed a direct, known safety protocol?
Wow, is this a Pandora ’s Box of a question!!!!! There are numerous case law decisions within any jurisdiction that comment on this matter. I hear this question ALL THE TIME! The answer is "Yes, sometimes" and "No, at other times."
My advice is to always consult your counsel and adjuster before you do anything. Improper termination may open yourself to a world of fines and legal issues, and even though you think you may be doing the right thing that is not for you to decide. Consult your attorney before ever making such a decision. The choice will vary by accident, and no two will be the same.
5. Safety violations cost employers money!
If people are hurt, they cannot do their job, which decreases production, which in turn decreases profit. Jobs get completed late, others have to make up for the gap in work, etc. As mentioned earlier, safety violations in any form will always cost you money. The safer you are, the more productive, the more profitable.
Think Zero Accidents as your goal! People say, "Oh, that's impossible." But it's only impossible if you don't try.
6. High employee morale helps to reduce losses
Several studies show the link between morale and workers comp losses. Happy workers are happy because they have jobs they like; they have manageable workloads, safe working environments, etc. Disgruntled employees are overworked, underpaid, and under stress. They typically are working with potentially unsafe materials, in an unsafe shop, where there is a lot of risk for injury. Sooner or later they will stumble upon that risk, and injure themselves.
Actually the studies linking morale to work comp show they are linked up mostly in subjective injuries: back pain, muscle pain, headaches, etc. The more unhappy the workforce, the more subjective claims seem to surface.
7. Timely claim reporting saves money
And as always, and we say it time and time again, the sooner you get that work comp claim to your carrier to be assigned to an adjuster, the quicker they are on the case, the better the result will be. The more you delay in calling it in, the more it will cost you down the road. WCxKit
So, remember, it’s never too late to start thinking about safety, and how it impacts your bottom line. Think carefully about each job task and what risks your workers face. Solicit feedback from your employees. Involve them in this process, and hear what they have to say. The more they are involved, the more they will participate, and the more successful your program will be. Be safe!
Author Rebecca Shafer
, JD, President of Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is a national expert in the field of workers compensation. She is a writer, speaker, and website publisher. Her expertise is working with employers to reduce workers compensation costs, and her clients include airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality, and manufacturing. She is the author of the #1 selling book on cost containment, Manage Your Workers Compensation: Reduce Costs 20-50% www.WCManual.com.
Contact: RShafer@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
Fishermen across South Shore and Southwest Nova Scotia are being reminded by the Workers Compensation Board of Nova Scotia (WCB) and the Department of Labor and Advanced Education to practice safe fishing and avoid injuries.
“Fishing is one of the most dangerous occupations in the province, particularly in the harsh winter months,” said Stuart MacLean, acting CEO of the WCB. “We want to remind everyone in the industry to wear proper life vests and check their safety equipment and work procedures to ensure no one gets hurt this season.”(WCxKit)
In 2010, nearly 400 people working in the fishing industry were injured on the job. Of those, 150 were serious injuries that resulted in time lost from work. In the last three years alone, 23 people have died while working in the fishing industry. That is more than a quarter of all workplace fatalities in Nova Scotia during that time.
While injuries related to weather, conditions at sea and overloaded boats are often serious and tragic, sprains and strains are common and financially costly. These injuries are caused by hazards associated with the way work is designed and carried out such as lifting heavy loads.
The seafood processing sector also had its share of injury, with more than 400 injuries in 2010, including nearly 100 injuries causing time lost from work.
“Fishing is a vital part of our culture in Nova Scotia,” said Marilyn More, Minister of Labor and Advanced Education. “That work has incredible value, contributing millions to our economy every year. It is critical that this work be done safely; to reduce the terrible human and financial toll workplace injury takes in this province.”
Seafood processors and any fishing vessel that is based in Nova Scotia must comply with the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Premiums paid by fishing industry employers for workplace injury insurance are among the highest in Nova Scotia. The 2012 rate is $7.85 per $100 of payroll, up from $7.50 in 2011. That’s well above Nova Scotia’s average assessment rate of $2.65 – a direct result of the number and severity of injuries in the fishing sector.
There are positive signs that the fishing industry is taking action to improve its safety performance. In 2010 the Fisheries Safety Association was established with a mandate of reducing workplace injuries, and over time, workers’ compensation rates.
The WCB partnered with the Fisheries Safety Association and Advanced Labour and Education to produce an advertising campaign featuring hard-hitting safety messages such as “What’s harder? Telling your crew to put on lifejackets or telling their families they aren’t coming home?”(WCxKit)
“We are making progress establishing a safety culture in Nova Scotia, and by working together we can extend that progress to the fishing sector,” said MacLean. “The fishing industry needs a clear focus on safety. Fishermen have faced dangerous conditions for too long.”
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contactInfo@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
A Scottish laborer broke two ribs after falling off the edge of a temporary staircase after a colleague removed the guardrail.
According to a report from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), David Tourish, 38, from Moodisburn, was working for Walker Group (Scotland), Ltd., on the site of a new build house in Ravelston Dykes, Edinburgh, when he and a colleague were asked to carry some doors upstairs to keep them out of the way during building work.(WCxKit)
A temporary staircase with half landings had been put in while the house was built, and there was a gap between one of the half landings and the wall, with a feature window behind it. For most of the project, this gap had been protected by a guardrail, but two days before Tourish's fall, this had been removed by a joiner to allow him to fix plasterboard to the wall. He did not replace it.
Tourish and a colleague started to carry the doors upstairs. They managed to carry seven or eight doors up the stairs without a problem, with Tourish's colleague in front, and him behind.
However, as they carried the next door up the stairs, Tourish stepped off the edge of the half landing and through the gap, falling nearly 10 feet to the landing below. He was taken to hospital, where he was diagnosed with bruised kidneys and two fractured ribs. Tourish was off work for three months while his injuries healed and needed physiotherapy after he went back to work.
A Health and Safety Executive investigation found that the work had not been planned properly as an adequate risk assessment had not taken place; that the site manager was aware the guardrail had been removed and should have known there was a risk to his team, and that the work was not carried out in a safe manner. Thirty-eight people in Britain died after work-related falls from height.(WCxKit)
At Edinburgh Sheriff Court Walker Group (Scotland), Ltd., pleaded guilty to breaking Regulation 4 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and were fined £8,000 ($13,000).
Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers Compensation costs, including airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact: Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
One of the most common causes of workers compensation claims is the improper lifting of a heavy object by an employee. It is also one of the easiest workers compensation claims to avoid. When an employee injures a back, it is usually not the heavy weight, but the method of lifting the weight that was improper. These back injuries can be avoided. The teaching of proper lifting techniques, to any employee who may be called upon to physically move objects, is an essential part of any good safety program.
There are at least 6 common things that employees do that cause them to hurt their back. They are (this is not an all inclusive list)
1. Twisting while lifting
2. Holding the object too far away from the body
3. Lifting with the back bent
4. Contorting the body to lift in an unnatural way
5. Losing their balance while lifting
6. Not coordinating their lift with other co-worker(s)
1. Twisting while Lifting
When a heavy object needs to be moved from a floor or other level to a higher level, the employee will often be paralleled to the higher level when the object is picked up and will have to twist to set the object on the higher level (shelf, cart, conveyor belt, etc.). The employee should approach the object perpendicular to the higher level where the object is going to be placed, with the employee, the object and the higher level in a straight line. This puts the object in the middle between the employee and the higher level, allowing the employee to lift the object without twisting. It also allows the employee to have the head facing straight forward to keep all parts of the spine in a straight line. (WCxKit)
2. Holding the Object Too Far from the Body
Sometimes employees just do not want to get dirty. If the object is dirty, greasy, oily, etc., the employee may be inclined to try to lift the object while holding the object away from the body. This is difficult to do with light objects and a recipe for an injury with heavy objects. The further the object is from the body, the harder it is too lift and the more strain it places on the body. The employees need to be taught to hold the object they lift as close to the body as possible to avoid strain on the back.
3. Lifting with the Back Bent
When employees have not been taught the proper lifting techniques for heavy weights, they are often inclined to keep the legs straight and the back bent. This is backwards of the proper way to lift. The employee should be facing the object with the feet shoulder width apart. The employee should keep the back straight and bend the knees to lower the body closer to the object. This allows the employee to lift the object with the strength of the legs instead of placing tremendous strain on the back by trying lift with the back bent.
4. Contorting the Body to Lift in an Unnatural Way
Often the box of supplies, or bucket of parts or other heavy object is surrounded by other objects that are in the way of the employee trying to lift the object needed. When the employee contorts the body to lift a load in a cluttered area, the worker is inviting injury. While it takes a little longer, the employee should be taught to move other items out of the way (using proper lifting techniques) before trying to lift a heavy object. The employee should be sure the area around the object and the pathway from the object is clear prior to lifting it.
5. Losing Balance While Lifting
There are different ways the employee can lose his balance while lifting a load. Common mistakes include placing the feet too close together, picking up an irregularly shaped object where the load is uneven, trying to pick up a stack of two or more objects at the same time, or trying to pick up an object that is too heavy. The employees should be taught that the feet need to be at least shoulder width apart, or slightly wider. If the load is unevenly balanced, the employee should redistribute the weight of the load if more than one object, or to get someone to assist in lifting the object if the weight of the object is unevenly distributed.
6. Not Coordinating the Lift with Others
When two or more people are lifting a heavy object at one time, not only is there a strong probability of a back injury if done incorrectly, the employees may badly smash toes. When it takes more than one person to lift an object, and a forklift is not option, it is imperative that all the parties to the lift communicate where they are holding or grasping the object, where they are moving the object to, and when they will lift simultaneously. (WCxKit)
Proper lifting can easily be taught to all employees involved in any type of manual labor. The basic points each employee needs to know include
- Keep the back straight at all times
- Keep the load as close to the body as possible
- Keep the feet at least shoulder width apart with the toes turned slightly outward
- Bend the knees, not the back
- Keep the object to be lifted directly in front of you to avoid twisting
- Keep your head forward facing the object
- Breathe out as you lift
Author Rebecca Shafer, JD, President of Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is a national expert in the field of workers compensation. She is a writer, speaker, and website publisher. Her expertise is working with employers to reduce workers compensation costs, and her clients include airlines, healthcare, printing, publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality, and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact: RShafer@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) revised a directive that provides guidance on OSHA procedures aimed at eliminating hazards and reducing worker injuries, illnesses, and deaths during commercial diving operations, according to the agency.
"Commercial divers who spend extended periods of time underwater are exposed to hazards such as drowning, circulatory and respiratory problems, and hypothermia," said assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health Dr. David Michaels. "The guidance provided in this directive will help ensure consistent enforcement and compliance with OSHA's commercial diving operations standards."(WCxKit)
OSHA's commercial diving standard (29 CFR 1910 Subpart T), issued in 1977, applies to diving and related support operations in the general, and construction and maritime industries. OSHA published a Federal Register notice in January 1985 that exempts scientific diving from the commercial diving standard's requirements if those diving operations meet certain conditions. OSHA amended the standard in February 2004 to allow recreational diving instructors and guides to comply with an alternative set of requirements instead of the decompression chamber requirements in the existing standard.
This revised directive updates 2006 commercial diving operations directives. Changes in the current directive include:
1. Providing information to OSHA compliance officers, consultants, government and industry groups in support of interventions to help minimize worker exposure to commercial diving hazards.
2. Listing answers to commonly asked questions about commercial diving operations.
3. Clarifying the requirements for and duties of workers who assist divers with their diving suits and gear, communications equipment, and other functions.
4. Updating the instruction to ensure that current editions of other OSHA instructions, as well as industry standards and manuals, are referenced.
5. Updating the instruction about no-decompression air dives (Appendix D) based on Revision 6 of the U.S. Navy Diving Manual.
6. Additions to electronic links to enhance the directive's web-based usability.(WCxKit)
Also included in the directive are inspection procedures for before, during and after dives, equipment maintenance, and recordkeeping requirements.
Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers Compensation costs, including airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact: Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
A Hokitika forestry worker was off work for months with debilitating spinal fractures, bruising, and kidney injuries after he was hit by a log while in a designated safe area in New Zealand.
According to a report from the New Zealand Department of Labor, his employer, Thomas Logging, Ltd., was fined $17,000 in the Greymouth District Court and ordered to pay reparations of $20,000 following the accident in the Kaniere Forest Block near Hokitika last September.(WCxKit)
The employee was sharpening his chainsaw in an area of the site designated for employees and visitors because it was originally located away from any hazards. However, the layout of the site had been changed two days prior to the accident. This meant the safe area was no longer in a safe place.
At the same time, another employee was using an excavator nearby to clear cut logs. A 5.5 meter log came loose from the excavator hitting the employee in the back, causing his injuries.
“The company carried out a hazard identification before the work started. Then, two days before the incident, they changed the layout of the work area without changing the designated safe area and that put employees in danger of being hit by moving logs and machinery,” said Christchurch Service Manager, Margaret Radford.(WCxKit)
“This employee could have been spared these debilitating injuries if a simple hazard identification was done again after the site layout was changed, and the safe area moved,” Radford added.
Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers Compensation costs, including airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact: Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
Our WORK COMP Book: www.WCMANUAL.com
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
A worker who sustained burn injuries while changing grease in a fryer at a plant in New Annan, Prince Edward Island, has prompted the implementation of several safety measures, according to a report from the Canadian OH&S News.
At approximately 2 a.m. June 21, a worker at Cavendish Farms, a processor of frozen potato products, was changing grease in a fryer by operating a series of valves. When the grease went into one of the filtering systems, water that was somehow left in the system from a previous cleaning caused the grease to overflow, explained Bill Reid, director of the Occupational Health and Safety Division for the Workers Compensation Board of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown.(WCxKit)
Board officials investigated the incident and issued a stop-work order on the equipment. Within the day, the employer implemented engineering controls to relocate the control valves to a remote area so that workers do not have to go under the equipment.
A barrier has also been installed over the valve to prevent grease overflow and the company also came up with a new procedure for the cleaning process to ensure no water could be left in the filtering system. The system is also expected to be replaced this fall.(WCxKit)
The stop-work order was lifted the day after these engineering and administrative controls were put in place, Reid says.
Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers Compensation costs, including airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact: Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
Every day employers introduce increased risk for worker injury. At any given time, outside or internal forces can create a new hazard for injury. With the injury comes medical cost, lost wages, decreased production, decreased profit margins, more strain on current workforce, and other negative issues.
Below we will discuss a few factors involved in the increased risk of worker injury, and the way to decrease the hazard when these forces are present in your workplace.(WCxKit)
1. New equipment in the workplace:
Your workforce has a span of experience that varies by employee. Some workers are new to your industry, whereas others may have decades of experience. But new equipment is a great equalizer.
When there is hazardous equipment on the work floor unknown to your operators, the risk of serious injury increases dramatically. Your workers are unfamiliar with these machines, and, without proper training, a severe injury may occur.
The way to prevent injury is to take the time to properly train each employee on proper use of the new machine. Make sure they complete the training course and can pass a safety test before operating the equipment. This should decrease your risk, and make your workers safe.
A lot of employers ignore training, letting experienced workers train others. Managers can be surprised that older workers typically do not have the advanced technological experience to know these new machines inside and out, and therefore, without a properly trained workforce, you run the risk of increased worker injury.
2. Benefit reductions:
As the economy continues to struggle, employers are scrambling to find ways to continue to stay above water. Some are experimenting with decreasing fringe benefits made available to employees, or by decreasing the employer contribution which increases employee cost for the same benefit package they may have had for years.
Backlash against this can lead to an increase in workers compensation claims. It is not going to be across the board, but some people may adopt the attitude they want to show the employer what happens when they alter the benefits. This is done by workers who stop caring about their jobs. They do not do safety checks or machine checks before operation. They do not clean up as they used to. They do not work as hard as they once did. The end result is other workers injured by someone else’s carelessness.
3. Demotions within the company:
Similar to what was discussed in item two, workers who are demoted or moved to another job title may hold a grudge. They become upset and want to sabotage their employer through a lackluster work performance, decreased safety awareness, decreased work production, etc. All of these are detrimental to the employer, and another employee may become injured inadvertently by the disgruntled employee’s issue with the employer.
When job titles change or people get moved around to other job duties, watch for an increase in claims. If this happens, employers should talk to employees immediately. Let them know that these moves are not a personal attack and may not be permanent. You need to make those workers feel like they are part of the team again, so they stay on board and on top of their safety protocol.
4. Plant shutdowns/layoff notices:
Probably the most common time a claim count increases is when workers are notified of a potential layoff or worse — an entire plant shut down. Workers with any type of injury feel if they do not report it now they will miss out. Often any worker who has ever had any sort of pain while working is going to come forward to tell you how injured they are, and how they kept working to try and be of some benefit to the employer and keep earning a paycheck.
Not all of these types of last-minute claims are fraudulent. In fact, some long-term employees may have an occupational claim that is compensable. All claims need to be reported to your workers comp carrier so the adjuster can investigate the claims and get them taken care of, whether they are denied or compensable. Any delay can cause an increase in claim cost, especially if said employee is laid off, or terminated when the shop closes down. The sooner the adjusters get the claims, the better your company will be protected.(WCxKit)
In conclusion, several issues can contribute to a spike in an employer's claims count. But with proper communication, thorough training, and a good safety team you should be able to weather the storm and keep your claims count in check.
Author Rebecca Shafer, JD, President of Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. is a national expert in the field of workers compensation. She is a writer, speaker, and website publisher. Her expertise is working with employers to reduce workers compensation costs, and her clients include airlines, healthcare, printing, publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality, and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact: RShafer@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
Our WC Book: http://www.wcmanual.com
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
In the “cone zone” there is not much to protect a worker at the side of the road from being seriously injured or killed by a passing vehicle.
As WorkSafeBC points out in a recent release, there are thousands of workers in British Columbia that work in the cone zone and have had to dodge drivers that do not slow down sufficiently and pay attention when traveling through their work zone.(WCxKit)
In the last 10 years, WorkSafeBC reports that 386 workers — typically working in cone zones — were struck by motor vehicles. Of that number, 46 percent were classified as serious injuries and 12 resulted in the death of the worker.
“Roadside workers are extremely vulnerable. That is why it’s so important that you take extra care in construction zones,” said Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Blair Lekstrom. “Whenever you approach someone working on or near our roads and highways, please slow down. We want all our workers to stay safe, so they can go home to their families at the end of the day.”
A large segment of drivers say they adjust driving behavior when traveling through or past a cone zone, yet there have already been several incidents this season where traffic control workers have been seriously injured.
But it is not just traffic control workers or road construction crews that are at risk. Other workers, including municipal workers, landscapers, tow-truck drivers, road-maintenance workers, telecommunications and utility workers, and emergency and enforcement personnel, work in potentially high-risk environments in close proximity to traffic.
To make drivers more aware of the dangers, the Work Zone Safety Alliance recently launched the “Cone Zone” campaign, a road safety initiative that encourages drivers to slow down, pay attention and be respectful when driving near roadside workers.
The campaign objective is to reduce the number of deaths and injuries of workers at the side of the road by increasing awareness of their vulnerability in the cone zone.(WCxKit)
Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers Compensation costs, including airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact: Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
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