Tag: Workplace Conditions

OSHA’s Revised Injury and Illness Record keeping and Reporting Requirements

Each year there are more than 3 million serious (requiring more than first aid) workplace injuries and illnesses. Given the Occupational Safety and Health Act’s requirement that employers provide safe and healthy workplaces, this number is unacceptably high. To address this problem, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently revised various workplace safety regulations.

The most notable revision adds an electronic submission requirement to OSHA’s current record keeping regulations, which require employers with more than ten employees to keep a record of serious work-related injuries and illnesses. Employers with ten or fewer employees and employers in certain lower-hazard industries are partially exempt from this requirement. This revision becomes effective January 1, 2017, and will be phased in over two years.

The revised regulations do not change an employer’s current obligation to complete and retain injury and illness records. Covered employers are (and have been) required to record information about recordable injuries and illnesses on three separate OSHA forms.

  • Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses)
  • Form 300A (Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses)
  • Form 301 (Injury and Illness Incident Report)

Under the revised regulations, submission requirements depend on the number of employees working at a single physical location where business is conducted or where services and operations are performed (an Establishment).

Establishments with 250 or more employees must begin electronically submitting information from Form 300A to OSHA by July 1, 2017. Information from all three forms (300A, 300 and 301) must be submitted electronically by July 1, 2018. Beginning in 2019 and every year thereafter, the information must be submitted by March 2nd.

Establishments with 20 to 249 employees operating in certain high-risk industries must electronically submit information from Form 300A to OSHA by July 1st of 2017 and 2018. Beginning in 2019 and every year thereafter, the information must be submitted by March 2nd. Though some of the industries designated as high-risk are obvious (agriculture, utilities, construction, manufacturing), others are not (grocery and department stores, museums, boarding houses). If you’re not sure whether this new electronic submission requirement applies, contact OSHA.

Additional revisions were made to promote complete and accurate reporting of work-related injuries and illnesses. As of August 10, 2016, employers must establish a reasonable procedure for employees to promptly and accurately report work-related injuries and illnesses. A procedure is not reasonable if it would deter or discourage a reasonable employee from accurately reporting injuries or illnesses. Employees must be informed about the reporting procedure.

Employers must also inform each employee that:

  • they have the right to report work-related injuries and illnesses; and
  • employers are prohibited from discharging or in any manner discriminating against employees for reporting work-related injuries or illnesses.

OSHA will provide a secure website for electronic submissions, including web forms for direct data entry and instructions for other means of submission. OSHA also intends to provide an interface for entering data from mobile devices.

OSHA estimates that it will take a typical employer with less than 250 employees about 10 minutes to create an account and another 10 minutes to enter the required information from Form 300A. For larger employers, OSHA estimates an additional 12 minutes will be needed to enter the required information for each injury or illness recorded on their Forms 300 and 301.

The revised regulations should serve as a reminder for employers of their obligation to provide a safe and healthy workplace. In addition to protecting employees from work-related injuries, employers may benefit financially from lower workers’ compensation insurance premiums.

Please contact us if you would like more information about controlling workers’ compensation insurance costs .

Additional information is also available in our weekly Risk Management Newsletters.

 

Psst. Do You Know The Most Common Workplace Accidents and Injuries?

Did you know that maintaining a safe workplace can lower the cost of workers’ compensation insurance? It’s true. Employers with fewer workplace injury claims may enjoy valuable premium credits. Alternatively, employers with more injury claims may suffer higher insurance premiums. The resulting premium difference can be significant, particularly for employers, like those in Florida, who may be facing substantial premium increases.

Employers wanting to take advantage of the correlation between workplace injuries and insurance premiums need to implement safety programs that effectively reduce, if not eliminate, workplace injuries. The first step to developing an effective safety program is to identify the most common workplace accidents and the most common employee injuries.

Travelers recently analyzed more than 1.5 million workers’ compensation claims submitted from 2010 though 2014 to learn more about the most common and costliest workplace accidents and injuries. According to Travelers Injury Impact Report, the top five causes of workplace accidents were:

  • Material handling (32%)
  • Slips, trips and falls (16%)
  • Being struck by or colliding with an object (10%)
  • Tools (7%)
  • Cumulative trauma injury caused by overuse or strain over time (4%)

 

Material handling was actually the most common cause of accidents for all businesses and across all industries analyzed in the report. The most frequent material handling injuries were strains/sprains, cuts/punctures, contusions, inflammation and fractures. These injuries typically occur when employees are lifting, lowering, filling, emptying or carrying items.

The top five workers’ compensation injuries were:

  • Strains and sprains (30%)
  • Cuts or punctures (19%)
  • Contusions (12%)
  • Inflammation (5%)
  • Fractures (5%)

Except for small businesses, strains and sprains topped all lists for the most common type of injury. For small businesses, cuts or punctures were the most common injury—strains and sprains were second.

The average number of days away from work for the top 5 workplace injuries was:

  • Strains and sprains (57 days)
  • Cuts or punctures (24 days)
  • Contusions (27 days)
  • Inflammation (91 days)
  • Fractures (78 days)

It’s interesting, and perhaps fortunate, that the costliest injuries did not turn out to be the most common injuries. According to the report, the injuries with the highest average cost per claim were:

  • Amputation ($102,500)
  • Dislocation ($97,100)
  • Electric shock ($55,200)
  • Crushing ($54,600)
  • Multiple trauma ($42,400)

 

The average cost per claim involving the five most common injuries was:

  • Strains and sprains ($17,000)
  • Cuts or punctures ($8,200)
  • Contusions ($8,000)
  • Inflammation ($24,500)
  • Fractures ($42,400)

Employers have the ability to affect their workers’ compensation insurance premiums , for better or worse. Knowing how and why workplace injuries occur puts employers in a better position to develop and implement their own safety and training programs. When done effectively, employers may have fewer workplace injuries and may end up paying less for workers’ compensation insurance.

Please contact us if you would like more information about controlling workers’ compensation insurance costs.

Additional information is also available in our weekly Risk Management Newsletters.

What are the Costliest and Most Common Small Business Claims?

Running a successful small business requires more than the ability to generate revenue. It also requires the ability to avoid (or at least limit) losses. Though revenue can make a business blossom, losses can make it wilt. Oftentimes, what makes a small business successful is the ability to understand operational risks and implement appropriate protective measures for the day those risks become a reality.

To do this, small businesses must first understand the risks they face. This isn’t always easy because risk exposures may be affected by business operations. Nevertheless, there are some risks that generally apply to all small businesses. Consider the followings lists created by The Hartford after analyzing five years of claims data from more than 1 million business policies.

Most Common Property and Liability Claims

  • Burglary and Theft (20%)
  • Water and Freezing Damage (15%)
  • Wind and Hail Damage (15%)
  • Fire (10%)
  • Customer Slip and Fall (10%)
  • Customer Injury and Damage (less than 5%)
  • Product Liability (less than 5%)
  • Struck by Object (less than 5%)
  • Reputational Harm (less than 5%)
  • Vehicle Accident (less than 5%)

Costliest Property and Liability Claims

  • Reputational Harm ($50,000)
  • Vehicle Accident ($45,000)
  • Fire ($35,000)
  • Product Liability ($35,000)
  • Customer Injury and Damage ($30,000)
  • Wind and Hail Damage ($26,000)
  • Customer Slip and Fall ($20,000)
  • Water and Freezing Damage ($17,000)
  • Struck by Object ($10,000)
  • Burglary and Theft ($8,000)

Risks that are both common and costly, like fire, obviously require special attention. However, a proper risk assessment must go deeper. Note how burglary and theft rank as the least costly, but most common claim. Similarly, two of the costliest claims, reputational harm and vehicle accidents, are among the least common. This is significant because risk is a product of likelihood and severity.

Small businesses can use this information as a starting point. However, a comprehensive assessment requires analyzing exposures within the context of specific business operations. For example, a small convenience store is likely to have a higher risk of customer slips and falls than a large wholesale warehouse. Cyber risks are also likely to be greater for an online technology company than a traditional brick-and-mortar operation.

Though a standard Business Owners’ Policy may be sufficient, specific business operations may require additional coverage. Since it’s not always easy to see how operations may affect risk, small businesses should work with an experienced and reputable insurance agent.

If you would like to learn more about identifying and protecting against business risks, please contact us.

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Is Your Self Storage Facility a Hazardous Workplace?

The fact that self storage facilities aren’t typically considered dangerous workplaces doesn’t mean operators can be casual about workplace safety. According to the most recent statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, of over 3 million private industry nonfatal reportable injuries and illnesses in 2013:

  • 917,100 involved days away from work
  • 327,060 involved sprains, strains and tears
  • 170,450 involved injuries to the back
  • 229,190 involved falls, slips and trips.

Though employees are the primary victims of poor workplace safety standards, self storage facilities also pay the price. In addition to direct costs associated with workplace injuries, self storage facilities may also incur a variety of indirect costs, such as:

  • Wages paid to absent injured workers;
  • Wages lost during work stoppages;
  • Administrative time spent by supervisors following injuries;
  • Costs to train replacement employees;
  • Lost productivity and opportunity costs;
  • Replacement costs of damaged material, machinery and property; and
  • Higher workers’ compensation insurance premiums.

Self storage facilities can avoid or at least limit these costs by making workplace safety a priority. The Insurance Information Institute suggests taking the following steps:

Engage Management and Employees. Workplaces are safer when management and employees collaborate. Though specific employees should be in charge of safety programs, everyone should be responsible for workplace safety.

Evaluate Workplace and Operations. Perform a comprehensive evaluation of the entire operation, including equipment and all workplace activities, to identify all hazards. Talk to employees about their safety concerns.

Mitigate Hazards. Identified hazards must be eliminated or controlled. This may require implementing new safety measures, changing workplace operations or repairing/replacing equipment.

Training. Employees should receive training about workplace hazards and safety. Training should be part of the onboarding process. Refresher training should be provided on a regular basis and as needed.

Review, Respond and Improve. Maintaining a safe workplace is an ongoing process. Safety programs must be reviewed regularly. Safety incidents should be used as an opportunity for improvement. Employees should be reminded of their obligation to report hazards and incidents so they can be addressed.

Creating and maintaining a safe workplace requires commitment and vigilance. Despite the extra effort and expense, self storage facilities are sure to benefit from an effective workplace safety program. For example, maintaining a safe workplace is the best way to control workers’ compensation insurance premiums.

Setnor Byer Insurance & Risk’s Self-Storage Insurance Program and Risk Management Group work closely with self-storage facilities throughout Florida and nationwide to profile risks, compare coverage options, and match our clients with an insurance program that meets their needs.

If you have any questions or would like discuss how our programs can help your organization, please contact us