Safety is more than a set of activities focused on accident prevention. It is a way of thinking about how you work, and it should be at the heart of any successful company. Weaving safety into your company’s mission, policies and procedures is a great way to demonstrate its importance and ensure its effectiveness across your company.
It should be about a shared vision that is expressed by core values and behaviors, where everyone walks the talk. By addressing unsafe acts and conditions before they become accidents, you build your safety culture.
Four Steps to a Safety Culture
The following four steps can serve as a starting point in driving safety across your business.
1. Evaluate risks. To understand how to create a safer workplace, you must first understand the risks you face every day. Each task and associated risk should be properly evaluated, and safety-based changes should be considered.
– Analyze past incidents and near misses.Understand that past incidents can help you identify root causes and identify risks and exposures that threaten the safety of your employees and the success of your business.
– Identify the risks before they result in loss. Review your work policies and procedures, buildings and equipment, employee work practices and behaviors and geographic location to determine if there are opportunities to prevent or mitigate loss. And hold people accountable to the practices.
2. Design a plan to keep safe. A good plan is the best place to start, but it is only the beginning. Once you have a plan, you must act to eliminate or minimize risk.
– Get commitment. Your management team should be committed to a safety culture from the beginning.
– Stay focused. Keep focused on the risks and exposures identified during your evaluation.
–Prioritize your efforts. Focus on the risks that pose the greatest threat. You should consider frequency and severity of the loss potential, and/or the opportunity to prevent or mitigate risks.
– Identify solutions and resources.Your solutions can vary from implementing engineering controls to creating administrative policies and procedures. These can help create positive changes in safety attitude, commitment and culture.
3. Implement your plan. Implementation entails communication of the plan and its details, training, regularly scheduled practice and drills, and ongoing review. A thorough plan will cover a number of potential risk areas, including buildings and equipment, the environment, employees, customers and vendors.
– Communicate and train – the real test of a safety program and culture is not what is written down on paper, but rather how well it actually works. How well your plan works is often dependent on what your employees know and what they do at the time of an incident.
4. Monitor, evaluate and improve your plan. As your business environment changes, so should your safety program. Regularly test your plan to determine if it fits the changing business environment and reflects changing accountabilities.
– Monitor the plan and collect feedbackto determine the effectiveness of the plan.
– Regularly compare your safety performance against the plan’s expectations.
– Make adjustments when necessary.
– Recognize success. Be sure to communicate and celebrate your safety successes.
At Travelers, our team of risk specialists visit more than one hundred properties every day, and are able to share lessons learned and insights for helping create a safety culture. Start building your safety culture today. Learn more about developing yoursafety management program.
If you think about water damaging your home, you might conjure up an image of a hurricane, torrential rain or other natural catastrophe. The unfortunate reality is that damage that is caused when ordinary household appliances fail can be just as destructive as an extreme weather event.¹
According to the Insurance Industry Institute, water damage accounts for billions of dollars in losses to homeowners and renters each year. It is also responsible for about 25 percent of all property insurance claims. In fact, Travelers Claim data suggests that water is ten times more likely to damage your home than fire.
Fortunately, there are steps that you can take to help prevent water damage from appliances, and protect your home. It is helpful to understand some of the common causes of water damage, which include leaky baseboard heating, air conditioning condensation drains, and failed water heaters, washing machine hoses and plumbing.
These household appliances do not always offer warning signs until the damage has already occurred. That is why it is important to check them regularly. The simple steps below can help you protect your home from the most common causes of water damage:
First, know where the main water supply is located in case of emergency.
If you will be away from home for an extended period, shut off the water supply and drain the pipes. During the heating season, if your home is heated by an older steam heating system, consult with your heating professional to determine if it is safe to turn off the water supply for your particular heating system. Also, if your home is protected by a fire sprinkler system, do not turn off the water to this system, and maintain sufficient heat to prevent a freeze-up.
Consider having your air conditioning system inspected regularly by a professional. Check the drain lines annually and clean them if they are clogged.
Inspect water heaters, showers, tubs, toilets, sinks and dishwashers annually, and have them repaired if there are any signs of leaks or corrosion. When possible, install water heaters in areas with floor drains to minimize damage if leaks should occur.
Check caulking around showers, bathtubs, sinks and toilet bases, and make repairs as needed.
If your refrigerator has an ice machine or water dispenser, the hose between the wall and the refrigerator should be made of braided copper, which has greater cracking and corrosion resistance.
Check pipes for cracks and leaks. Have pipe damage fixed immediately to prevent more costly repairs in the future.
Check appliance hoses and plumbing fittings for breakage, crimping or bending.
Every year, without fail, flu season hits. While the influenza virus poses high health risks for individuals, an outbreak at the office can also affect business operations. All it takes is one employee and one sneeze to put others at risk and spread the virus.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, flu viruses can spread to people from up to 6 feet away through droplets made by sneezing, coughing or talking.* Even before showing symptoms, an infected employee who sneezes during a meeting or coughs at someone’s desk without covering his or her mouth can expose others to the flu.
Small businesses can be even more vulnerable if multiple employees call in sick due to flu-related illnesses. Fewer hands on deck could potentially impact productivity and operations.
Following are Five Tips for Business Owners to Help Reduce the Potential Spread of the Flu:
Make the Flu Vaccine Available for Employees
The best way to prevent the flu is to get a flu vaccine every year. However, finding time to get the vaccine may be difficult for some. If possible, employers should consider hosting a vaccine clinic onsite. By having it available at work, employees should be able to take care of this simple task quickly and easily.
Keep Work Spaces Clean
Generally, human flu viruses can survive on surfaces for two to eight hours, so encourage employees to clean their desks regularly. When buying cleaning supplies, read the label to make sure it states that the product is effective against flu viruses, such as Influenza A.
Offer the Option to Go Virtual
Most people do not realize they can spread the flu virus to others one day before they show any symptoms and up to seven days after becoming ill. Small business owners should make employees aware of this fact and provide opportunities to reduce in-person interactions, as this can help minimize the spread of the flu in the office. There are still ways to get work done so consider giving employees an option to work from home. They can stay connected through emails or phone calls, and conduct meetings online.
Be Open to Deferring Travel
Small business owners should also be open to rescheduling business trips. If workers are not feeling well before a trip, encourage them to reschedule to a later date so that they are not sick while away from home. If travel plans involve airplanes, fellow passengers will be grateful for that decision as well.
Hand Out the Tip Sheet….Now!
Even before flu season hits, hand out a short, informative document to employees on ways to help reduce the spread of the flu, such as washing hands properly and regularly and avoiding touching your eye, nose or mouth (entry points into the body for germs). For more information, consult the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for additional suggestions on preventing the flu and maintaining good health habits.
While fire may be a more common concern among homeowners, your home could in fact be as much as ten times more likely to be damaged by water than by fire.* Significant sources of water damage to one’s property can come from weather-related moisture or flooding, including flooding from heavy rains, flash floods, dam and levee failures, tidal storm surges and mudflows. In addition, new construction of buildings, roads or bridges can alter the flow of water, increasing the potential for flooding.
Living in a high-risk flood zone can increase the likelihood of experiencing a flood, but being outside a high-risk zone does not mean homeowners are safe; flooding is always a possibility due to causes such as heavy rains, snowmelt and spring thaws.
Protecting Your Property Before, During, and After a Flood
There are a number of things you can do to help minimize or prevent water damage to your property. Follow these tips to help prepare and recover from potentially costly flood damage.
If you own a generator, have a licensed electrician provide a transfer switch to your sump pump so you can operate it in the event of flooding.
To help prevent sewage backup, have a licensed plumber install an interior or exterior backflow prevention valve.
Keep sandbags on hand to help divert unusually high water away from your foundation.
In snowy climates, flag drains to avoid plowing snow on top of them.
Learn the flood alert signals of your community.
Collect emergency building materials if you live in a frequently flooded area. These may include plywood, plastic sheeting, lumber, nails, shovels and sandbags.
Plan and practice an evacuation route. Designate a place for family members to meet in the event they become separated.
Review with all family members how to shut off utilities in an emergency.
Plan a survival kit with important documents, including insurance documents, medications and critical items in the event you need to leave your home.
During the Flood:
Listen to a battery-operated radio or television for the latest storm information. If advised to evacuate, shut off all utilities and evacuate immediately.
Move to high ground, avoid rising waters and do not walk or drive through any floodwaters.
Stay away from downed power lines and electrical wires.
After the Flood:
Listen to the radio and do not return home until authorities indicate it is safe to do so.
Once allowed back into your home, inspect it for damage. If your property has been damaged, promptly report the loss.
Be watchful of snakes that may have found their way into your home.
Throw away all food that has come in contact with floodwaters.
Remove standing water as quickly as possible, including from your basement. If your basement is flooded, pump out about 1/3 of the water per day to avoid structural damage.
Properly dry or remove soaked carpets, padding and upholstery within 24-48 hours after a flood to prevent mold growth. Discard anything that cannot be properly dried.
Wash and disinfect all areas that have been flooded. This includes walls, floors, closets and shelves, as well as heating and air-conditioning systems. Do not energize electrical or electronic equipment that may have suffered water damage without first having a qualified electrician inspect and/or test it.
Fleet vehicle accidents are among the most costly of injury claims for business. The average cost of a loss related to vehicle accidents is approximately $70,000. This is almost twice the cost of the average workplace injury ($36,592).¹
Without a formal fleet safety program you may be putting the welfare of your employees and company at risk. A generic safety program is better than none. But it is far more effective to specifically design a program for your company and your fleet.
A fleet safety program establishes the policies and procedures that are needed to help ensure a safe work environment for employees. It can also help protect against liability from vehicle accidents.
There are no guarantees that an accident will not happen. Because the road is one of the most dangerous places for your employees², establishing a formal and ongoing program of screening, testing, inspection and training is essential.
The Payoff, Where the Rubber Meets the Road
For any company with a fleet of vehicles of any size, a formal fleet safety plan can provide a number of advantages, including improved safety, employee satisfaction and the potential to improve fleet efficiency.
8 Essential Elements of a Fleet Safety Program
An effective fleet safety program must be comprehensive, up-to-date and instituted as a part of your company’s safety culture. It should be thorough, reaching each employee who gets behind the wheel. And the commitment has to start at the top.
Identifying all of your drivers. Businesses may not be aware of the full extent of their non-owned vehicle exposure. You should identify everyone who drives on behalf of the business, even those employees that use personal and/or rented vehicles.
Management commitment. Leadership support of the program can help assure that the program is used.
Screening and selecting drivers carefully.
This can help create a reliable, safe team. Without safe drivers, no organization is likely to have a good long-term safety record. Establish clear hiring standards and a thorough screening process for anyone who drives on company business.
Training drivers.
This can help to ensure that all drivers understand vehicle safety policies and procedures. All drivers should have access to information on safe driving strategies and techniques, including instruction in defensive driving.
Managing accidents, when they occur. This can help mitigate accident costs. It also helps you to understand your exposures and can reduce the potential for future losses.
Establishing written policies and procedures.
This sets clear consistent expectations.
Formalizing a plan for vehicle inspection, repair and maintenance.
This can help reduce costly, unexpected breakdowns, and can assist in avoiding accidents due to faulty equipment.
At Travelers, we take advantage of our deep risk expertise and extensive experience to help our customers design their fleet safety programs and help protect what is important to their business.
Wildfires can pose particular dangers to both lives and property because they often begin unnoticed and can spread quickly. According to the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS)¹, windborne embers present a significant threat from wildfires and are the primary cause of most building ignitions. Other wildfire threats include radiant heat and direct flame contact.
If you live in an area prone to wildfires, you can help keep yourself, your family and your property safe by taking steps to reduce your risks.
Prepare Your Home for a Wildfire
Home Maintenance: Keep your home well-maintained by regularly cleaning your gutters of materials that could ignite due to windborne embers andtrimming tree limbs that may be too close to your home. Be sure your smoke alarms are working and your fire extinguishers are operational. If you need to evacuate quickly from an upper floor, make sure your home escape ladder is accessible and easily deployed by the person who will be using it.
Landscaping: Landscape your home with wildfire safety in mind, using fire-resistant shrubs and trees. Rock, stone, crushed concrete, flower beds and gardens can provide ground cover for bare spaces and may act as firebreaks. While there are no “fire-proof” plants, fire-retardant plant species include rockrose, ice plant and aloe. Hedging roses, bush honeysuckles, currant, cotoneaster, sumac and shrub apples are examples of fire-resistant shrubs.²
Create Zones: Maintain defensible space zones between structures and natural growth that is free of brush, trees and grasses to help keep a wildfire away from your property. Move wood piles away from the home. If you live on a hill, extend the zone on the downhill side, since fire can race uphill quickly.
Be Prepared: Prepare a survival kit, map out an evacuation plan and create a home inventory of all your belongings. Visit our preparedness timeline to learn more about disaster planning.
Fire-Resistant Materials: If you are remodeling your home, think about including fire-resistant materials such as non-combustible roofing, soffits, decking and siding and fire-rated glass or fire shutters for windows. Consider evaluating the design of your roof to see which factors may make your home more susceptible to a wildfire.
As a Wildfire Approaches
Monitor Conditions: Stay tuned to local news about wildfires in the area, and follow evacuation instructions given by local officials. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service also publishes large incident maps of fires.
Practice Your Plan: Review emergency plans with your family. Be sure to designate a meeting place and a check-in telephone number if you are separated during evacuation. Also, make certain that everyone has emergency numbers stored in their mobile phones.
Prepare, if Possible: If you have time, close windows, doors and blinds and shut off utilities. Open the fireplace damper and close fireplace screens.
Ready Your Vehicle: Have your car ready to leave at a moment’s notice, with the fuel tank filled and the keys handy. Roll up the windows to keep smoke out.
What to Do During a Wildfire
Heed Evacuation Instructions: If advised to evacuate, do so immediately. Wear protective clothing, such as a long-sleeved cotton or wool shirt and pants, and take a wet cotton towel or handkerchief to protect your face.
Follow Your Plan: Take your survival kit and choose a route away from fire and smoke. Follow your evacuation plan and be sure everyone knows where to go and what to do.
How to Respond After a Wildfire
Await the “All Clear”: Check with fire officials before attempting to re-enter your home. Use caution when entering since fires can re-ignite quickly, even after dying down.
Check Grounds: Hot spots may include smoldering stumps and vegetation. Check the roof, exterior areas, attic and throughout the house for sparks and embers.³ Continue to check the house for several days following the fire.
Dispose of Damaged Food or Medication: Discard any food or medication that came in contact with smoke or fire.
