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8 years ago · by · 0 comments

Construction Safety: The ‘Correction Conversation’

Safety inspectors know what to look for – but they might need a refresher on holding the “correction conversation”: explaining job hazards in such a way that your workers can see the potential danger, understand how it can hurt them, and suggest how to eliminate it.

To have an effective Correction Conversation, we’d recommend that safety inspectors follow these guidelines:

  • Try to make it personal. “Kneeling on the floor for the day is going to turn your knees into jelly in a few years.”
  • Tie the hazardous activity or condition to pain. “This night watchman dropped his flashlight, and when he bent down to pick it up, the rebar went right through his eye.”
  • Make comparisons. These cable clamps might work, but the fist-grips kind are the ones that should be used. See – they look like two fists gripping.”
  • Shift the blame. “I’m not sure who set this up, but because those cable clamps are upside down they won’t hold much. Just flip them over and torque them again.”
  • Connect the correction to something the workers can share. Pass along additional information. Keep it simple, and use graphics whenever possible, If the concern is not having an eyewash station near a concrete pour, send a photo of a what a worker’s eye looks like after a concrete burn.
  • Share a story. “I can beat that!” This phrase continues conversation in bars across the world. Tell a workplace hazard anecdote that you’ve heard or witnessed – and then stop talking! Chances are another worker will share a similar story. One-upmanship is a skill we all enjoy, and helps keeps a good Correction Conversation alive.

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8 years ago · by · 0 comments

Beware Of Negligent Supervision!

Several courts have found yet another way for someone to sue contractors.

This term refers to lawsuits against you for alleged failure to exercise proper control over your employers. For example, one of your employees might be accused of injuring others recklessly while driving a truck on company business. A “negligent supervision” suit would claim that you were negligent in hiring this worker because you either failed to discover or ignored the fact that she had a record of reckless driving.

You also have an obligation to supervise your staff. Although you can’t foresee every incident, a court will look at whether you took reasonable steps to identify and guard against potential wrongdoing by your employees: everything from unsafe behavior on the job site to sexual harassment. It’s not only about whether a worker actually committed an offence – it’s about what you did to prevent it.

To head off liability for negligent supervision, we’d recommend that you:

  • Set and enforce clear guidelines for interviewing and hiring employees.
  • Provide training in conflict resolution and communication. Supervisors need to know when to report certain behaviors and which behaviors to look for, such as verbal abuse, failing to cooperate with supervisors or co-workers .and making inappropriate comments.
  • Conduct regular performance evaluations to address specific behavior or job performance changes.
  • Provide multiple avenues to receive allegations of misbehavior, and have unbiased managers investigate complaints so that no conflicts of interest exist. Investigate every incidents promptly and take decisive action.

We stand ready to review your company’s exposure to negligent supervision claims – and how your Liability insurance coverage can help protect you. Just give us a call.

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8 years ago · by · 0 comments

Underground Construction Risks: The 811 Solution

Across the nation, utility lines, tunnels, and structures run under our feet, Each year, excavators strike approximately 700,000 of these underground lines, often triggering potentially fatal accident (from steam, gas, propane, or electricity). A single strike might easily cost a contractor hundreds of thousands, or millions, if the accident leads to an interruption of service that shuts down a factory, hospital, telecommunication lines– even a missile silo.

In most cases, insurance will not cover these losses. To deal with this threat, the Common Ground Alliance coordinates 811 –Call before You Dig, a nationwide phone and online system that contractors can use to notify local utilities so they can “mark out” their facilities before excavation of anything from to a sewer to a subway. These markouts are required under state law.

When you use the call 811.com system, bear in mind that:

  1. It doesn’t matter where you are – downtown, in the middle of a suburban street, or building a private home.
  2. Call even if you’re confident that you know where something is buried (for example, if you installed the line); many contractors dig up lines that have just put in.
  3. Instead of marking the area with wooden stakes – which are all too easy to drive through gas lines – use white paint or “feathers;” even the most shallow excavation can be hazardous.

Remember, failing to contact 811.com before every excavation violates the law – and leaves you wide open to huge liability losses. Don’t take a chance your odds of losing in the Underground Damage Casino!

To learn more, just get in touch with the Construction Insurance Specialists at our agency.

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8 years ago · by · 0 comments

Construction Safety: Myth And Reality

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Unfortunately, a number of erroneous beliefs about worksite safety are widespread in the construction industry.

Here are seven common safety myths – and why they don’t pass the reality check:

  1. Safety programs ensure worker safety. In practice, this means that binders on a variety of topics (usually regurgitated OSHA standards) end up gathering dust on a back shelf.
  2. Safety is common sense. Taking risk is a very personal matter. Some people skydive, others bungee jump; some race automobiles, others rock climb.
  3. Incentive programs improve safety. Because these programs usually reward not having a recordable incident, they benefit workers been lucky enough to avoid accidents – not to mention a natural tendency not to report injuries.
  4. Progressive punishment ensures safety compliance. The best punishment can do is achieve temporary compliance. Effective policing must be continuous and consistent, with clear consequences.
  5. Firing noncomplying workers solves safety problems. This is like trying to cure a disease by treating its symptom. Instead, find the error that led to unacceptable behavior and change it.
  6. Safety training is a leading safety indicator. The sign-in sheet shows only who attended the meeting. For training to work, managers need to test what individual workers learned – or didn’t learn.
  7. Inspections and audits will uncover most workplace hazards. Inspections provide snapshots of workplace conditions at a given time, rather than an accurate picture of ongoing operations or activities.

Every construction firm needs to evaluate its safety systems, practices, and procedures critically, challenge the status quo where needed – and take decisive action.

Our agency’s professionals would be happy to offer their advice at any time, free of charge.

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8 years ago · by · 0 comments

How Well Do You Know Your Insurance?

With so many demands on their time, many business owners find it difficult to learn enough about their insurance programs.

You’ve probably found yourself asking questions such as:

  1. Do I have the right coverages to protect my business from financial loss?
  2. Do I have any exposures to loss that aren’t covered and should be?
  3. Exactly what am I buying?
  4. Am I getting the best value for my premium dollar?

As insurance professionals, we help you answer these questions because we:

  • Offer policies providing protection against a wide variety of risks that can threaten your business – everything from Accounts Receivable and Business Interruption through Employment Practices Liability and Glass Insurance to Theft coverage and Workers Compensation.
  • Recommend an insurance company (from among the quality carriers that we represent) that will provide quality protection.
  • Make it a point to learn how your business works so that we can pinpoint potential sources of loss.
  • Design a program that minimizes the impact of these losses (incidentally, we don’t always recommend insurance).
  • Provide comprehensive protect that’s tailored to your needs – and your pocketbook.
  • Work with you to make sure that your coverage stays updated as your business grows.

In short, we take over one phase of your business for you, and work with you to accomplish your first goal – protecting your profits.

To help us help you make sure that your business insurance makes business sense, please feel free to get in touch with our agency’s professional at any time.

We’re here to serve.

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8 years ago · by · 0 comments

Workers Comp Prescription Narcotics Abuse: Fight Back!

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The use of narcotics in treating injured workers faces heavy scrutiny today – and for good reason. The latest National Council on Compensation Insurance, Inc. (NCCI) Annual Issues Symposium found that:

  • The average cost of narcotics per Workers Comp claim rose from $39 in 2003 to $59 in 2011. This is a rate of 0.79 narcotic prescriptions per claim, up from 0.56 in 2003 – a 14% increase in eight years.
  • More than 5% percent of Comp claims that resulted in at least one prescription for if anymedication included five or more narcotics prescriptions.

To curb the prescribing of narcotics for your injured employees, start by choosing the right Workers Comp physician.

In most states, businesses have the legal right to designate the physician that injured employees must use. To find a physician in your area who is board certified in Occupational Medicine, go to http://www.acoem.org/. If none is available, look for a doctor who takes patients on Workers Compensation. In many cases, urgent care clinics make great partners. Once you find a physician, talk to him or her about your business, discuss your return-to-work program and the types of transitional jobs you offer – and ask about their attitude toward prescribing narcotics.

Even if state law prohibits you from requiring injured workers to see a specific physician, you can still suggest that they do so. For example, you might say, “Doctor Joan at Acme Urgent Care has treated many of your co-workers and they’ve gotten better quickly.”

Selecting a doctor who doesn’t dispense drugs and only prescribes narcotics when they’re are absolutely necessary can go far to help injured employees get back to work and be healthy and productive as swiftly as possible – while keeping your Workers Comp costs under control.

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Scurich Insurance Services
Phone: (831) 661-5697
Fax: (831) 661-5741

Physical:
783 Rio Del Mar Blvd., Suite7,
Aptos, Ca 95003-4700

Mailing:
PO Box 1170
Watsonville, CA 95077-1170

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(831) 661-5697

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