The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced its preliminary Top 10 most frequently cited workplace safety standards for fiscal year 2020. Although multiple standards swapped positions, the Top 10 violations from FY 2019 to FY 2020 did not change. Ladders (1926.1053) climbed to a top-five spot, and Respiratory Protection (1910.134) rose to the third rank from fifth. Additionally, the data show that Fall Protection – General Requirements (1926.501) is OSHA’s most frequently cited standard for the 10th successive fiscal year.
The Top 10 for FY 2020 are:
- Fall Protection – General Requirements (1926.501): 5,424 violations
- Hazard Communication (1910.1200): 3,199
- Respiratory Protection (1910.134): 2,649
- Scaffolding (1926.451): 2,538
- Ladders (1926.1053): 2,129
- Lockout/Tagout (1910.147): 2,065
- Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178): 1,932
- Fall Protection – Training Requirements (1926.503): 1,621
- Personal Protective and Life Saving Equipment – Eye and Face Protection (1926.102): 1,369
- Machine Guarding (1910.212): 1,313
Jeffrey Sanders, TRIP is Client Advisor at Gulfshore Insurance. Jeff works with a wide range of business clients to deliver strategic risk analysis, guidance, and insurance. Comments and questions are welcome at jsanders@gulfshoreinsurance.com
Gulfshore Insurance is a Naples, Florida based insurance agency specializing in liability insurance, property insurance, workers compensation insurance, vehicle insurance, business income interruption insurance, cyber insurance, commercial umbrella insurance, home and homeowners insurance, car and auto insurance, boat and yacht insurance, property insurance, umbrella insurance, valuables insurance for fine art, jewelry, wine, and more. Navigating insurance requires an experienced and trusted insurance agent who understands your business risks and exposures. Gulfshore Insurance services Naples, North Naples, Marco Island, Bonita Springs, Fort Myers, Sarasota, Lido Beach, Longboat Key, Bradenton Beach, and Southwest Florida. We have office locations in Naples, Fort Myers, Fort Lauderdale, and Sarasota.
Fleet vehicle accidents are among the most costly injury claims for businesses. 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).
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.
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 drivers on an ongoing basis. This is essential in helping to ensure that drivers are following fleet safety rules and driving safely.
- 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.
Dave Wissel is a Client Advisor and Partner at Gulfshore Insurance who specializes in construction, landscaping, and the oil and petroleum industries. Comments and questions are welcome at dwissel@gulfshoreinsurance.com
Gulfshore Insurance is a Naples, Florida based insurance agency specializing in business insurance including liability insurance, property insurance, workers compensation insurance, vehicle insurance, business income interruption insurance, cyber insurance, commercial umbrella insurance, and more. Our insurance and risk management advisors are industry specialists for condominium associations, golf and country clubs, oil and petroleum marketers, construction, landscaping, churches and non-profits, and work comp. Navigating insurance requires an experienced and trusted insurance agent who understands your business risks and exposures. Gulfshore Insurance services Naples, North Naples, Marco Island, Bonita Springs, Fort Myers, Sarasota, Lido Beach, Longboat Key, Bradenton Beach, and Southwest Florida. We have office locations in Naples, Fort Myers, Fort Lauderdale, and Sarasota.
For most employers, the cost of an employee’s work-related injury is covered by workers’ compensation insurance, which pays for medical care and replaces some of the income that the injured employee lost while unable to work. There is no coverage, however, for the hidden costs to your organization of that injury, such as reduced efficiency, the cost of training replacements, and increased overtime expenditures.
On-the-job injuries or vehicle accidents aren’t limited to occupations that are obviously dangerous. In most years the top three causes of injuries in the workplace are overexertion (injuries caused from excessive lifting, pushing, pulling, holding, carrying, or throwing of an object), falls on level ground, and bodily reaction (injuries from bending, climbing, slipping or tripping without falling). Such injuries can affect workers in most environments. Whatever your industry, attention to such risks can pay dividends.
Employees should be trained to recognize hazards and to report them to the appropriate person so that the hazard can be corrected as soon as possible. Work requirements involving safety should take precedence over any other.
Any near miss, first aid incident, accident, or other workplace injury-related event should be investigated. Where possible, the investigation should be carried out immediately by a team that includes both management and hourly employees, all of whom have been trained in incident investigation. The goal of investigations is to identify the cause of the accident or injury rather than assign blame and to correct any hazards or other problems found, such as poor communication.
Supervisors and managers should also be trained to recognize and correct unsafe behaviors that can lead to injuries, including rushing, frustration, complacency, and fatigue.
Once a year a team should review all incidents from the prior year to see whether there are any patterns in the accidents and, if so, how to address the problems identified.
Each worksite should confer with its fire and police departments and hospital about plans for all potential emergencies, including fire, explosion, accident, severe weather, loss of power, and violence. Emergency drills should be used to ensure that employees know what to do and to assess the effectiveness of emergency plans.
For additional information, visit the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration website.
Tim Spear, is a Client Advisor and Partner at Gulfshore Insurance specializing in the construction, oil/petroleum, and landscape industries. Through his consultative and diagnostic approach, he helps clients develop customized programs to meet their risk management needs. Comments and questions are welcome at tspear@gulfshoreinsurance.com
Gulfshore Insurance is a Naples, Florida based insurance agency specializing in business insurance including liability insurance, property insurance, workers compensation insurance, vehicle insurance, business income interruption insurance, cyber insurance, commercial umbrella insurance, and more. Our insurance and risk management advisors are industry specialists for condominium associations, golf and country clubs, oil and petroleum marketers, construction, landscaping, churches and non-profits, and work comp. Navigating insurance requires an experienced and trusted insurance agent who understands your business risks and exposures. Gulfshore Insurance services Naples, North Naples, Marco Island, Bonita Springs, Fort Myers, Sarasota, Lido Beach, Longboat Key, Bradenton Beach, and Southwest Florida. We have office locations in Naples, Fort Myers, Fort Lauderdale, and Sarasota.
Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier recently issued an Order to the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) requesting an amended rate filing to further reduce workers’ compensation rates for 2021.
NCCI submitted an amended filing on November 4, 2020, reflecting an overall average voluntary rate level decrease of 6.6%. The OIR approved the amended filing on November 12, 2020.
This approval reflects an overall average voluntary rate level decrease of 6.6% for the industrial classifications and an overall average rate level decrease of 7.0% for the federal classifications.
These approved values are effective January 1, 2021, for new and renewal policies.
For more information about the filing, read the official release from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this information, please contact us. We are here to assist you and happy to answer any questions you have.
Ryan Schmidt is a Client Advisor and Partner with Gulfshore Insurance. Ryan specializes in working with commercial clients. Comments and questions are welcome at rschmidt@gulfshoreinsurance.com.
Gulfshore Insurance is a Naples, Florida based insurance agency specializing in business insurance including liability insurance, property insurance, workers compensation insurance, vehicle insurance, business income interruption insurance, cyber insurance, commercial umbrella insurance, and more. Our insurance and risk management advisors are industry specialists for condominium associations, golf and country clubs, oil and petroleum marketers, construction, landscaping, churches and non-profits, and work comp. Navigating insurance requires an experienced and trusted insurance agent who understands your business risks and exposures. Gulfshore Insurance services Naples, North Naples, Marco Island, Bonita Springs, Fort Myers, Sarasota, Lido Beach, Longboat Key, Bradenton Beach, and Southwest Florida. We have office locations in Naples, Fort Myers, Fort Lauderdale, and Sarasota.
A wave of increased litigation will likely emerge as workers who have been laid off see their savings run low and start to look for alternative sources of income. The key to addressing this phase will be how organizations conduct layoffs. Companies that initiate layoffs with little forethought and guidance may see a rise in workers compensation claims and experience numerous other unintended consequences. Companies that develop thoughtful reduction-in-force strategies are likely to see fewer workers compensation claims and lower overall expenses.
To avoid this, consider making settlements on open cases despite the lack of hearings or IMEs. Parties may need cash. Negotiations may resolve informally. Some carriers have seen claims moving to settlement early, sometimes at or below reserve estimates. Therefore, the current economic climate may be creating a prime opportunity to resolve stubborn cases.
Additional Disruptions:
The rise of COVID-19 and the ensuing economic recession are crashing at once and creating profound shifts in the workers’ compensation system. Together these waves will drive changes to the workers compensation system for years to come, reshuffle the insurance industry, and could potentially alter health care in the US.
A decrease in traditional workers’ compensation claims, due to fewer workers and fewer work hours will be at least somewhat offset by an increase in new types of claims, including:
- COVID-19 claims.
- Post-termination claims. As waves of workers get furloughed, we can expect a wave of new claims, especially from deeply affected industries such as hospitality and retail. This is driven, in part, by situations where an employee has an injury and may not have filed a claim in a healthy economy but decides to do so in a downturn after seeing his or her bank account run low.
- Work-at-home claims. These may be related to mental stress, sleep deprivation and other conditions related to extended social distancing. Claims for repetitive strain injuries may also increase.
The “onslaught of pent up demand” for medical treatment among injured workers whose care has been delayed will put stress on the system. Some organizations are expanding care networks and establishing new channels of care. A rise in fraud can be expected in the next few months among attorneys and providers known to engage in workers’ compensation fraud. We should see more claims that are challenging to define as legitimate or fraudulent because they occurred in a distributed work environment where there are no witnesses to corroborate the injury.
The following strategies can help organizations prepare for short- and long-term challenges:
- Prepare teams to handle an influx of COVID-19 claims. Also, checking and adjusting reserving estimates should be done more frequently.
- Onboard new tools to increase productivity. New platforms, for example, should be evaluated to help companies prepare for a resurgence when the economy recovers.
- Augment in-house analytics with artificial intelligence. Smart carriers and TPAs are looking for partners that can augment their in-house expertise with AI-as-a-service. This new approach enables them to unlock unstructured insights buried in scans, images, handwritten notes, combine them with structured data from a cross-industry data lake, and generate predictions based on a range of AI techniques. The result is more accurate forecasts overall, and the ability to generate predictions on unique emerging cases, such as COVID-19.
- Expand provider networks. Along with preparing for recovery, incorporating new specialists is also advised; such as pulmonologists and immunologists who can treat conditions such as COVID-19.
- Optimize legal panels.
- Consider settling potentially expensive claims.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out. We are here to help.
Dave Wissel is a Client Advisor and Partner at Gulfshore Insurance who specializes in construction, landscaping, and the oil and petroleum industries. Comments and questions are welcome at dwissel@gulfshoreinsurance.com
Please note: The content of this article was taken from workerscompensation.com
