Risk Management Bulletin

Checklists keep airliners flying. They can keep your safety program up and running, too.

All too often, workers take the blame for safety lapses when management could have anticipated job hazards and eliminated them before workers had a chance to err. Job hazard analysis (JHA) provides a systematic approach for examining work processes to identify a variety of potential threats that might otherwise “fall through the cracks.”

OSHA and other workplace safety groups are strongly committed to JHA. The agency offers these guidelines on how to do it right:

• Set priorities. Do JHA first on those jobs with the highest injury or illness rates, those with the greatest potential for causing disabling injuries (even if there haven’t been any accidents), and those that are new or substantially changed in process.
• Involve your employees. They know best how the job works, where hazards are apparent, and where there have been near misses. They’re also the ones with the most to gain from increasing safety. However, make it clear that you’re evaluating the job, not their performance of it, or you might get less-than-complete answers.
• Break the job down into its component tasks and actions in the smallest steps that make sense, even individual hand movements. Consider videotaping the work sequence from several angles.
• For each step, ask: What can go wrong? What’s the likelihood of it happening? What are the consequences if it does? How can the potential problem be prevented? Look at all possible contributing factors: The work environment, the tools, the process, and the employee’s actions. Many accidents are caused by a combination of factors that create a “perfect storm.”
• Document and remediate. Take all steps possible to eliminate the potential hazard, and record what you’ve done. Others at your facility should be able to know about and to learn from your experiences.
• Make policy match reality. Be sure that managers keep fixes in place and watch for hazards to reoccur. Put it in writing, including penalties for failure to comply.
• Use checklists. This will help ensure that workers and managers think through all the issues involved with any procedure and certify in writing that all issues were addressed.

As of July 1, California has joined a growing number of states and localities that have banned or limited cell-phone use while driving.

Although it’s far from the only distraction that can take drivers’ attention off the road (eating, fooling with the radio — even shaving or putting on makeup — are all-too-common sights), cell-phone use behind the wheel is the one that lawmakers have chosen to target. It’s also the one that many plaintiff attorneys have used to file lawsuits when a driver using a cell-phone causes an accident. Surprisingly (or perhaps not when “depth of pocket” is considered), these suits often target the offending driver’s employer, even if the employee wasn’t driving during work time or using a company car or cell phone.

For these reasons — and most importantly, the safety of all concerned — it makes sense for employers to have a cell-phone-use policy on the books. Says Attorney Heather Skidmore, “[Such a policy] will help ensure that employees are aware of their obligations under federal, state, and local rules and regulations regarding the use of cellular phones while driving …so [that] employers can begin to build a defense to possible tort claims that might offer some protection if an employee becomes involved in an accident.”

A cell phone use policy should include (but not be limited to):

• An absolute prohibition of cell-phone use while driving (or a requirement that drivers pull over to take or make calls).
• If phone use behind the wheel is necessary, require use of a headset, which is now the law in California.
• Don’t allow drivers to make speed dialing calls. Employees should strive to plan their calls before they get behind the wheel.
• Requiring drivers to let the called party know that they are driving and to suspend the call if traffic conditions become hazardous.
• Ban text messaging or reading text and taking notes during a call.
• Make sure that employees acknowledge that the policy has been read and will be followed, with violation subject to discipline, up to and including termination.

For more information on guidelines for cell-phone use behind the wheel, feel free to get in touch with us.

As summer temperatures rise, so does the health and safety threat from heat in the workplace.

Some 4,000 Americans die each year from heatstroke, and thousands of others suffer from heat-related illnesses. Many of these incidents occur as employees work on jobs that flourish in warm weather, such as construction, roofing, landscaping, or other maintenance chores. Safety professionals and those who might be affected by heat issues need to understand the danger and react to it.

Heat illnesses come in three varieties:

1. Heat cramps. Doing hard work in a hot environment throws the body’s natural balance off kilter, as excessive sweating dehydrates the body, and precious electrolytes evaporate with it, causing muscles to seize up, like a car engine starved of oil.
2. Heat exhaustion (heat prostration or heat collapse) has similar causes to heat cramps, but different symptoms — dizziness, weakness, nausea, and clammy skin, with body temperature remaining normal.
3. Heatstroke. Overwhelming heat overload disrupts the body’s temperature controls, with a fever of 105o or higher often causing fatalities. “This is the one that kills kids locked in cars on sunny days … and old people in poorly ventilated apartments during heat waves,” says author James M. MacDonald. “But it also kills healthy 30-year-old guys working in a humid warehouse.”

To curb the threat of temperature-related illnesses, we’d recommend having your workers take these precautions:

• Pre-hydrate. Before activity starts, have workers drink up to 16 ounces of fluid. Then drink eight ounces every 20 minutes during the activity.
• Drink flavored water. Because plain water quenches thirst too quickly, workers tend to not drink enough of it.
• Acclimate to the heat slowly, over five to seven days of exposure. For new workers, institute a 20% increase of time in the heat each day. Workers already used to these conditions can increase exposure slightly faster, but four days out of the heat means that they’ll need re-acclimation.
• Don’t wear a hat. It restricts heat loss through the head. Workers operating in direct sunlight can wear a visor.
• Wear loose, thin synthetic fabrics. They help the skin stay cool through evaporation. Avoid cotton because it soaks up sweat, forestalling evaporation.
• Wear your PPE no matter what the temperature. It can’t protect you if it’s not on you. If it’s uncomfortable, take frequent breaks.

Our risk management professionals would be happy to work with you in creating a workplace. Just call or e-mail us.

Proper records management is one of the most crucial elements in disaster planning. The ability of your company to retrieve critical documents and data after a disaster will greatly affect the financial cost of recovery. In extreme cases, the inability to recover critical records might put your business out of business.

From a disaster-planning perspective, the first step in developing your records management plan is to identify which records are vital and which are important. Vital records are records absolutely essential to the continued life of your business or whose destruction would result in a direct material financial loss. They’re often irreplaceable. Important records are generally replaceable, although their replacement will result in a significant cost of time and money.

Vital and important records include:

• Corporate: Articles of incorporation, by-laws, copyrights and patents, corporate seals, deeds and leases, lists of directors and stockholders, minute book, stocks and bonds, etc.
• Financial: Accounts receivable, bank account information, checks and money, financial reports, general ledgers, insurance policies, payroll records, purchase records, etc.
• Human Resources: Pension and other benefit records, executive compensation plans, personnel files, policy manuals, etc.
• Manufacturing: Engineering drawings, inventory, research and development data, etc.
• Tax: Contracts and agreements, tax returns, etc.
• Miscellaneous: plan, client lists, floor plans, marketing lists, site maps and drawings, and business continuation (disaster recovery) plan. This plan should record such important emergency information as employee and emergency telephone numbers, equipment repair and operational instructions, fire and evacuation plans, and so forth.

Have vital records duplicated or triplicated and then stored with an off-site records-management company. Your off-site storage location should be a reasonable distance from your facility, but far enough away to minimize the possibility of similar damage or destruction. Secure at least one copy of each vital record at a fortified site (vaults, fireproof cabinets, etc.). At a minimum, have important records duplicated and stored off-site.

If you don’t have a formal records-management plan or if your plan has not been reviewed by a professional, contact a reputable records-management company to help you develop your plan and provide the appropriate level of disaster protection your records need. Call us today.

Although multi-year insurance contracts aren’t new, they’ve been garnering much interest lately as a way to lock in current beneficial terms, conditions, and pricing, together with more efficient use of policy limits. Entering into a multi-year policy can help build long-term relationships with your insurer and us, your agent, because long-term commitments tend to be mutually beneficial, providing better services than offered by a single-year policy or a three-year cancelable policy.

Many insureds are considering multi-year programs, believing that the soft insurance market is about to end. But can you be guaranteed that coverage or price will not change? Does committing to a multi-year deal really make sense? Here’s what you should know before you decide.

Protecting your company against catastrophic loss comes first. Whether this comes from a traditional or multi-year policy is irrelevant as long as it makes financial sense. Here are some pointers to follow when conducting your own analysis:

• Read any multi-year policy carefully to understand whether the policy is non-cancelable or whether one or both parties can sever the commitment if the relationship sours. Truly non-cancelable policies are rare and can be a double-edged sword.
• If the premium isn’t written on a flat-rate basis, make sure you understand how and when premium adjustments are to be made. Keep in mind that even guaranteed-cost policies are usually adjustable, depending on loss ratio or other criteria.
• Make sure you have some experience with the insurer with whom you’re considering the long-term relationship. Nothing is worse than getting locked into a commitment you later wish you had avoided.
• Factor in cash-flow considerations against your company’s internal rate of return. Lost opportunity costs associated with a large up-front or deposit premium might offset apparent savings.
• Consider the nature of your risks. Have they been steady over time or subject to change? If your company experiences numerous and rapid changes, you might find yourself hamstrung if new coverages or features are needed and your insurer is unable or unwilling to provide them. Even companies with a stable risk profile can be affected by sudden changes in the law that require enhanced coverage.

Deciding if multi-year policies make sense for your business requires careful consideration of all these points. True guaranteed-rate, multi-year polices that are non-cancelable might provide a number of benefits over traditional annual policies — but keep in mind that in some instances, so-called multi-year coverage might be little more than a marketing gimmick. Give our office a call. One of our professionals would be happy to help you.

$100,000,000, 000 a year.

That’s how much the federal government estimates that drug and alcohol abuse costs American businesses. If you think your organization is immune, bear in mind that nearly three in four of adult abusers are employed — some of them perhaps by you. You might know these people by their absentee records: they’re likely to be gone at 2.5 times the rate of the average employee. Or perhaps by their Workers Comp claims: Three to five times those of non-abusers.

If nothing else, you’ll know them by how much they cost your health plan: 300% higher than no-abusers (not to mention the far greater human costs to co-workers, families — and the abusers themselves).

Despite its highly publicized war on drugs, there’s no overall federal drug-free workplace law for the private sector. Although a few states require drug-free workplaces, others take the voluntary approach. For example, some 13 states reduce Workers Comp premiums for businesses with a drug-free workplace program.

If you do create such a program, observe these guidelines:

• Create a policy. Be sure to expressly ban illegal drugs and abuse of alcohol; to specifically state which drugs and related acts are banned; to explain the steps you will take to back these edicts; and to detail the consequences for their violation.
• Develop a testing program. Decide whom to test, when to test (e.g. pre-employment, random, regular, reasonable suspicion, incident-related), who will do the test (a certified independent lab is preferred, with at least two tests showing positive), and what will happen after a positive finding.
• Decide what to with abusers. While some organizations simply discipline or terminate, others see abusers as valued employees with a problem, who are well worth saving. For this reason, many set up Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) to deal with drug and alcohol issues off site. Establishing an EAP shows respect for your employees and offers an alternative to dismissal.
• Define the role of your supervisors. As the management level closest to employees, supervisors will probably be the first to notice the signs of abuse. They need to be tutored on what to look for, and how to document and deal with it. Most important is what supervisors should NOT do — attempt to diagnose what are essentially medical issues, or to counsel abusers. Their role is to report behavior and support what abuse experts decide are appropriate responses to individual situations.
• Communicate to employees the details of your program, the effects of abuse, and the importance of understanding the problem and reacting in a supportive way.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is carrying out Swept Up in Safety Weeks, a series of unannounced workplace inspections that focus on what it calls the four leading causes of accidents: falls, struck by/crushing events, electrocutions, and caught-in-between events. An OSHA “intervention” can be frightening for any business. The agency can fine you or shut you down — and its findings could lead to private lawsuits or referrals to other agencies. Even if you get a clean bill of health, the inspection will distract management and create legal and consulting expenses.

What can you expect if OSHA drops by? Here’s the five-step procedure, together with some ideas to blunt unwarranted charges and minimize the penalties of any violations:

1. Presentation of Credentials. When an inspector arrives, they’ll first present identification and seek to gain entrance. Check the ID and ask for a business card. You have the right to demand that the inspector obtain a warrant to enter, but many experts recommend against this; it’s equivalent to smacking a hornet’s nest.
2. Opening Conference. The inspector will tell you the reason for the visit. If it was an employee complaint, you’re entitled to get a copy, but not the name of the complainant.
3. Examination of Documents. The inspector will ask for your OSHA 300 Log and other accident and injury records. The inspector might also ask to see your written hazard communication program, MSDSs, and your lockout/tagout or other written safety procedures. If you have any doubt that they have a right to see something, ask (courteously) what regulation requires it.
4. The Walkaround. This is the heart of the inspection. The inspector will identify potential safety and health hazards, evaluate the selection, maintenance, and use of Personal Protective Equipment, document apparent violations, and question employees privately. Do everything you can to co-operate.
5. Closing Conference. At this meeting, the inspector will go their findings, and if there’s a violation, seek methods and a timetable for correction. You’ll also be told what rights you have and penalties you face if you don’t comply. You can negotiate for more time or lesser penalties. And if things come to loggerheads, you can contest the findings, but you must start this process within 15 days.

The key to coming through this ordeal as unscathed as possible? Keep your wits, act coolly, seek to obey the law and protect your workers, while safeguarding the interests of your business.

Because electricity is so familiar a force, your employees may think they know all its mysteries. Not so! What they don’t know can hurt – or kill — them. Not long ago, much of the state of Florida went dark. Lights went out. Traffic signals quit, causing huge backups. People were trapped in elevators. It turned out that a worker doing equipment checks at a substation had disabled two protective devices on the system. Much was said about the vulnerability of the system.

However, the worker was just as vulnerable: perhaps more so. Electricity, when freed from its bounds by equipment defect — or more often, lapses in safety procedure — is the nation’s fifth-largest workplace killer, causing more than 400 fatalities a year in a recent 12-year span . Many more workers suffered burns and damage to internal organs, often in a fraction of a second. All too many of these accidents resulted from employee ignorance:

Among the leading misconceptions by workers:

• Normal household/workplace current can cause only a mild shock. Not so! Even 110-120 volts can be deadly. It depends largely on what resistance the person’s body has to the current, the body part in contact, the duration of the exposure, and other conditions, such as the presence of moisture. Resistance is measured in ohms. A person’s body might have a natural resistance of 100,000 ohms. But on a damp day, this resistance can drop to just 1,000 ohms, says Total Training Resource: Electrical Safety.
• All individuals are similarly affected by contact with electrical current. Again, not so! Different people may react differently to the same exposure. Especially at risk are those with heart problems. Even a mild shock can cause a heart attack, often fatal.
• “If I don’t touch it, I can’t be hurt by it.” Another dangerous misconception! Electricity can jump across an air space, in what’s called an arc flash, with a temperature three times that at the surface of the sun. Scientists and safety experts are studying the arc flash phenomenon and what makes it happen in some cases and not others. Much is unknown.
• “A disconnected circuit is safe to work on.” This isn’t the case if the circuit includes batteries or capacitors that store electricity and can release it suddenly even if the “plug” is no longer in the wall. This is the reason that TV sets and similar devices carry “Do not open” warnings on their cases. Even junked sets can be dangerous.

Our risk management professionals would be happy to work with you in developing and implementing a comprehensive workplace electrical safety program. Just give us a call.

Reforms in state Workers Compensation laws, together with improvements in workplace safety, are driving down Workers Comp rates — a trend that, ironically, could lead to more workplace accidents — and, thus, higher premiums. Warns Institute of Workers Comp Professionals co-founder Frank Pennachio, “Declining rates act as blinders for many employers. With lower prices, it’s easy to shift focus away from injury management and cost-containment to other, more pressing business.”

Pennachio points out that every business has its own Comp experience modification rating (“mod”): a discount from, or a premium added to, the average rate paid by other businesses in its class. Because your mod is based on the cost record of your business, the more effective your workplace safety program, the greater your discount, and the lower your rates. To keep your mod (and, thus, your rates) under control, we’d recommend these guidelines for keeping tabs on claims:

• Go beyond comp rates to use a “big picture” approach that focuses on the total cost of workplace accidents by including such factors as lessened productivity, overtime, and decreased customer service and satisfaction.
• Make sure that every job in your businesses is categorized accurately by hiring an independent auditor, rather than relying on the insurance company’s audit. If you’re a contractor, for example, the clerical person who manages your truck repair schedule is obviously at a much lower risk for an on-the-job accident than a roofer would be: giving them the same rating just because they both work for you will drive up your premium.
• Because a history of small, recurring claims can have a greater impact than one large one, pay special attention to repeat accidents, which insurance companies see as a warning sign of a recurring problem.
• Look into state-run safety programs, such as a drug-free workplace program, that might offer Comp rate discounts.
• Consider state-authorized industry groups that pool their risks to enjoy lower ratings.

Last, but not least, don’t view Workers Comp as a price-driven commodity. Our risk management professionals work with leading insurers to ensure that you benefit from the product best suited to your needs. We’d be happy to offer recommendations on improving your mod — the most effective way of driving down your costs in the long run. Just give us a call.

Having your body caught between the moving parts of a machine is both terrifying and dangerous. Here are ideas OSHA and others have provided to prevent these “pinchpoint accidents.”

In 2006, nearly 7,900 workers lost a limb in pinchpoint incidents and more 59,000 pinchpoint injuries were reported About 44% of these accidents occurred in manufacturing, with workers’ bodies mangled by spinning, whirring, bending, or shearing machinery The rest were spread over agriculture, construction, wholesale, retail, and service businesses.

To help you protect your employees from such accidents, bear in mind that these mishaps don’t always involve machinery. “Many workers tend to think of pinchpoint hazard in terms of unguarded equipment,” says safety expert Dave Duncan, “but that’s only part of the picture.” In one case, after a driver stepped from her vehicle to open a gate the driverless vehicle slid on an icy surface, crushing her. In another example reported by Professional Roofing, a roofer fell into the gap between scaffolding and the wall of a building. These, too, were pinchpoint tragedies.

To avoid machinery pinchpoints mishaps OSHA recommend that supervisors pay special attention to these three areas:

1. Point of operation: those parts of a machine at which work is performed. A slot into which a worker inserts or removes product would be such a point of operation, as would the table on which a saw or grinder descends to do its work.
2. Power transmission apparatus. Though removed from the point at which work is done, pulleys, gears, belts, chains, or other devices that move power into the machine can also snag or tangle the employees who run them, and even those just passing by.
3. Other moving parts. Even if they don’t actually do work or move power, such devices as cooling fans or even revolving doors can also cause pinchpoint/caught-between injuries.

There’s no specific OSHA standard relating to pinchpoint hazards. Instead, the agency relies on protections for workers afforded by its standards for Machinery/Machine Guarding, Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout), Hand and Power Tools, Conveyors, and Concrete and Masonry Construction, as well as its all-purpose General Duty Clause.

For more information on curbing pinchpoint accidents in your workplace, feel free to give us a call.