Slips, trips, and falls (STFs) in the workplace are all too common – and a single accident can cost you thousands in medical payments and lost productivity.
To help businesses reduce STFs, Brian Roberts, Director of Workers Compensation and Ergonomics for CNA Insurance, has developed this six-point strategy, based on Japanese workplace practices:
- Sort. Organize and straighten the workplace to make sure that aisles and walkways are free of trip and fall hazards.
- Set in order. Analyze the efficiency of motion and workflow on the job (for example, review employee walking patterns and chart the results).
- Shine. Eliminate all forms of contamination – such as dirt, fluids, or liquids – that could cause bone-breaking slips. This includes assessing floor surfaces for wear and pitting, and “transition points” (from concrete to tile, tile to carpet, carpet to marble, etc.) and eliminate or alter them. Make sure that you have the right floor cleaning products and that your maintenance staff understands how to use them properly, if they have limited English skills.
- Standardize. Organize the workplace by prominent postings of such “visual management” tools as signs and warnings of potential STF hazards.
- Keep lights clean. Dusty and dirty lights obscure lighting conditions, which increases the risk of STFs.
- Sustain. Maintain the progress that you’ve achieved through the other strategies in order to make these improvements systemic and long-lasting.
Scurich Insurance Services safety management experts would be happy to recommend expert who can help you create – and maintain – an “STF-free workplace.” Feel free to get in touch with us at any time
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You can’t eliminate the stress that your employees bring to work – but you can offer them these guidelines to help manage workplace stressors on their own:
- Prioritize, streamline, delegate, and discard. When facing a task, ask if it’s really necessary to do immediately.
- Break things up. Take two – to three – minute breaks every hour and commit to doing at least one fun thing every day.
- Make time. Build time into your schedule for creative expression, healthy eating, moderate daily exercise, hanging out with friends, and enjoying nature.
- Be on time. Build in cushion time between appointments to allow for traffic and the unexpected.
- Send negativity flying. If a co-worker is on the warpath, visualize an airplane with an ad banner over the person’s head, with each negative word floating up into the banner and out of view.
- Relax and watch what happens. Do mini-meditations or mindful breathing while you’re between tasks or in line at the cafeteria.
- Get essential nutrients. Go beyond vitamins and begin to think about daylight and laughter as integral parts of your daily life.
- Consider what you’re consuming. Sugar, caffeine, and alcohol can increase stress levels.
- Watch your words. Don’t let negative internal chatter and self-recrimination distract and demoralize you.
- Be kind. Do something nice for a different co-worker every day until it becomes second nature to reduce stress for others.
- Sleep on it. Sleep deprivation a major culprit in stress is Try to get restful, restorative slumber every night, and watch your stress level decline.
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This article was taken from: PropertyCasualty360.com
“Everything is not “coming up roses” for a Fontana, Calif. man who is facing workers’ compensation fraud and perjury charges.
Fifty-four-year-old Jose Cortez formerly earned a living as a gardener until Oct. 2010, when a large tree branch fell and landed on him during his shift for L. Barrios & Associates Landscaping. Cortez was then transported to a local hospital and sent home with “minor work restrictions.”
Although Cortez claimed the injuries sustained that day prevented him from completing his customary work duties, at least one person was not convinced. The following year, a tip aroused enough suspicion to initiate video surveillance of Cortez. During the course of the probe, insurance investigators observed Cortez carrying on as if it were business as usual. In fact, investigators documented at least six separate occasions when they saw him performing his normal duties as a gardener without any obvious signs of discomfort.
In Sept. 2012, investigators from the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office Workers’ Compensation Insurance Fraud Unit conducted a thorough criminal investigation, collecting surveillance footage allegedly incriminating Cortez, who was still collecting insurance benefits at the time.
“Mr. Cortez had previously stated that he was unable to perform the full range of his duties,” said Deputy District Attorney Scott Byrd, who is assigned to the case. “However, our investigation revealed that he had misrepresented the extent of his injuries and received more compensation than [to which] he was entitled.”
On Jan. 21, the prosecution filed criminal charges against Cortez, resulting in a felony arrest warrant being issued. Cortez was taken into custody outside his residence without incident by District Attorney Investigators. He was then transported and booked at the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s West Valley Detention Center. On Jan. 22, Cortez entered a plea of “not guilty” in San Bernardino Superior Court.
If convicted as charged, Cortez could enter a system far different from workers’ compensation—namely prison, where he could serve as many as eight years.
“This type of fraud is harmful because it causes premiums that businesses have to pay to go higher,” Byrd says. “It drains business profits, which in turn costs honest workers money in raises or other benefits that they may have been eligible to receive.”
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For more information about Workers Compensation or to obtain a new policy, simply contact Scurich Insurance Services located in Watsonville, California today at 800-320-3666 and we will be happy to help you.
Scurich Insurance Services did not originally write this content
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Overtime is highly popular among employees who want to squeeze those few extra dollars out of the week for a job well done. It’s far less popular among employers worried about longer work weeks stretching a skimpy budget even thinner. In many industries, overtime has become a way of life. However, eager employees and employers aren’t the only ones interested in the type of work being performed “after hours.” Workers Comp insurance companies and the IRS have developed their own standards for overtime pay — and these rules could mean trouble for companies that violate them.
Here’s an example of a company that decided to ignore the regulations set by Comp insurers and the IRS. The owner of a New Hampshire trucking business decided that instead of confusing himself and everyone else about overtime pay for some of his workers, he would “reward” them by paying the difference in cash under the table. To make a long story short, the owner got slapped with a slew of federal conspiracy charges from the IRS and the Transportation Department — not to mention an angry Workers Comp insurance company.
The bottom line: Creative schemes to cut Comp costs are never an acceptable alternative. Businesses buy this coverage to protect both themselves and their worker in the event of a workplace illness or injury, regardless of whether it occurred during the regular work week or while working overtime.
Make a call to any of our insurance professionals at Scurich Insurance and learn what your first step is in designing and maintaining an affordable Workers Compensation program that can offer the protection you need without incurring legal penalties. To learn more about this and similar topics, follow us on Twitter.
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