By Julia Jackson, Employee Benefits Program Manager

The CCAP UC Trust and TALX Corporation have partnered once again to offer an additional, no-cost benefit for CCAP UC Trust members. The Work Number is a TALX Corporation service that allows organizations to outsource their employment and income verification process. Users are authorized by either the employer or the employee to access current employment data to verify employment and income for mortgage and personal credit approval, pre-employment screening, tenant screening, insurance claims, and social services eligibility. Information is accurate, up-to-date, and available instantly.

Direct transmittal of payroll data each pay period ensures that The Work Number communicates the exact information clients provide. Easy to set up and simple to maintain, The Work Number eliminates your manual internal process.  Incoming paper verifications and forms are eliminated completely. Liability associated with subjective comments is also eliminated as The Work Number only tells verifiers what your employment data says about the employee and no more.

Release of income information through The Work Number is managed by employees who need to have their information verified. TALX uses the best technology available to ensure employee data is truly secure and maintains the tightest of controls including independent certifications, firewalls, data center controls, back-up systems, shredding, encryption, security scans, comprehensive hiring practices, and physical security.

Best of all, The Work Number requires minimal involvement from your staff. You simply provide employment and payroll data, and TALX will take care of the rest.

CCAP UC Trust members will be contacted directly to discuss The Work Number program in more detail.

For more information on these new benefits or membership in the CCAP UC Trust email Julia Jackson, employee benefits program manager, or call 800-895-9039.

By Bob Lauzonis, CCAP Loss Control Specialist

CONTROL OF HAZARDOUS ENERGY SOURCES

The federal government (OSHA) estimates that over 120 fatalities and 60,000 non-fatal injuries occur each year because of failure to follow appropriate lockout-tagout procedures. According to OSHA, the 3 million workers who service and maintain mechanical equipment face the greatest risk of being injured by unexpected movement of machinery or equipment while they are working on it. Typical injuries include amputations, fractures, lacerations, contusions and puncture wounds. The average time loss associated with these injuries is 24 days per person.

ENERGY-FRIEND OR FOE

Two categories of energy are involved in this hazard, kinetic and potential. Kinetic energy is caused by the motion of an object such as a saw blade, conveyer belt, or flywheel. Potential energy is power that is stored in a mechanism and can be unexpectedly released. Examples of potential energy are raised loads, coiled springs or compressed gases. A lockout-tagout program should consider both energy systems in terms of their potential for employee injury. Energy is our partner in work, but uncontrolled it can be deadly.

ENERGY SYSTEMS

Electrical circuits are the primary energy source for many machines. Hydraulic systems operate by placing fluids under pressure. Pneumatic systems operate with air under pressure. Pressurized liquids and gases are energized in pipes, supply lines, storage tanks, and vessels. Gravity is potential energy from elevated objects. Springs contain potential energy that can provide power when they are compressed or under tension.

ENERGY HAZARDS

Failure to shut down equipment, disconnect power sources, release residual energy and clear work areas of personnel prior to repairing or adjusting machinery are all recognized, critical hazards. Situations like these, as well as accidental equipment start ups, are common causes of severe injuries.

Accidents happen when someone turns off a switch to work on machinery and another person turns it on, not knowing a co-worker is in danger. They also happen when someone shuts down equipment without realizing it may have stored energy that could be unexpectedly released.

LOCKOUT OR TAGOUT

Whether you decide to use locks or tags, the purpose is to prevent hazardous energy from injuring or killing personnel. Each device has its own specific uses and procedures.

Lockout involves using a lock, either key or combination type, to hold a switch, circuit breaker, valve handle, or any other energy isolating device in the off position. This prevents the unplanned energizing of a machine or equipment. Included are blank flanges and bolted slip blinds. Using a lock is considered safer than using a tag.

Tagout is the placement of a written warning tag on the energy isolating device while it is in the off or closed position. When tags are used, additional training is required to inform personnel about the limitations of tags and the importance of following their warnings. If tagout alone is used, an employer must be prepared to prove that a "tagout only" system provides the same level of protection that a lockout system provides. A county or department may require that both locks and tags be used. Regardless of whether a lock, tag, or combined system is used, it is imperative that employees understand and follow the correct procedures that are specific to your county or department. They must realize that more than one switch, valve or connection may control a piece of equipment and all of these must be deactivated during service or repair.

WHO MUST RECEIVE TRAINING

All affected employees must be trained in the policy and procedures your county has developed for control of hazardous energy. Only authorized and trained employees can perform lockout-tagout procedures. Authorized employees must inform affected employees of lockout-tagout activities. Definitions of these terms are as follows:

"Affected employee": An employee whose job requires him or her to operate or use a machine or equipment on which servicing or maintenance is being performed under lockout or tagout, or whose job requires him or her to work in an area in which such servicing or maintenance is being performed.

"Authorized employee": A person who locks out or tags out machines or equipment in order to perform servicing or maintenance on that machine or equipment. An affected employee becomes an authorized employee when that employee's duties include performing servicing or maintenance.

One senior manager or designated person should review with each authorized employee his or her responsibilities under the program. If deficiencies are noted in terms of the employee's understanding, or if observed procedures during a sample run-through are incorrect, retraining should take place.

Retraining should also occur if job assignments have changed; processes, equipment, or hazards have been added or changed; or if there have been revisions to the lockout-tagout program. Additional definitions related to this standard will be found in 29CFR 1910.147.

PREPARATION FOR LOCKOUT OR TAGOUT

First make a survey to locate and identify all valves, switches, or other energy isolating devices that apply to the equipment which is to be locked or tagged out. More than one energy source (electrical, mechanical or others) may be involved in an operating system.

Sequence of Lockout-Tagout System Procedures:

1.    Notify all affected employees that a lockout or tagout system is to be followed and the reason for this. The authorized employee must know the type and magnitude of energy that the machine or equipment uses and must understand the hazards involved.

2.    If the machine or equipment is operating, shut it down by the normal stopping procedure (depress stop button, open toggle switch, etc.). This will isolate the equipment.

3.    Stored energy (such as that in springs, elevated machine members, rotating flywheels, hydraulic systems, air, gas, steam or water pressure, etc.) must be dissipated or restrained by reliable methods such as repositioning, blocking, bleeding down, etc.

4.    Lockout/tagout the energy isolating devices with an assigned individual lock(s) or tag(s).

5.    After ensuring that no personnel are exposed, and as a check on having disconnected the energy sources, operate the push button or other normal operating controls to make certain the equipment will not operate. CAUTION: Return operating control(s) to neutral or off position after the test.

6.    The equipment is now locked out or tagged out.

RESTORING MACHINES OR EQUIPMENT TO NORMAL PRODUCTION OPERATIONS

1.    After the servicing and maintenance are complete and equipment is ready for normal production operations, check the area around the machine or equipment to ensure that no one is exposed to danger.

2.    After all tools have been removed from the machine or equipment, guards have been reinstalled and employees are in the clear, remove all lockout-tagout devices. Operate the switch, valve, etc., to restart the machine or equipment.

MORE THAN ONE AUTHORIZED PERSON

In the preceding steps, if more than one individual is required to lockout-tagout equipment, each should place his or her own personal lock or tag on the energy isolating device(s). Typically, a labeled lockout hasp is used as a multiple lock or tag device.

These hasps are just one of a variety of specific lockout-tagout devices for electrical, hydraulic and pneumatic systems that are available from safety equipment suppliers.

CONCLUSION

The control of hazardous energy sources for the prevention of workplace accidents is serious business. Employees need to be aware of the dangers associated with energy sources, and procedures must be in place to ensure their safety during the start up, repair, maintenance, and restoration of equipment or operational systems.

County development of an energy control program, training of personnel, and full implementation of a lockout or tagout procedure are important elements of an effective safety program. Each authorized employee plays a critical role in making this program successful.

For more information, contact the Loss Control Department of the CCAP Insurance Programs.

March will be the beginning of the spring workshop season. The Glimpse will be out in early February and online registration will be up and running as well.

In March we will hold our workshop on Controlling Workers' Compensation Costs. This workshop, formally the PComp Loss Control workshop, is free to members of PComp but open to everyone. The afternoon session called CSI Accident Investigation will have several accidents staged. It will lead you through the how, what, why, when and where of each situation. We encourage everyone to attend this workshop. Plus it sounds like a lot of fun!

Also in March is the Maintenance Workshop. This workshop will introduce subjects like what is "green", ways of "Going Green" and other topics to improve the county's utility management.

In early April, before the next edition of Insurance Matters, you will have the opportunity to attend workshops entitled Respect in the Workplace, Defensive Driving as well as the PCoRP Loss Control Workshop. There is a lot more to offer this season. Stay tuned!

For additional information on these and any workshops this spring, please go to Glimpse Online. We look forward to seeing you this spring! 

If you do not already receive a copy of the Glimpse and would like to, please contact us. As always if you have any questions, please feel free to contact a member of the Insurance Training Staff.

Source:  County News, Vol. 40, No. 24, December 22, 2008.

Recent headlines and the current economic climate highlight the importance of making sure personal and retirement investments are with a financially strong company. As part of the oversight of its Deferred Compensation Program, the National Association of Counties (NACo) hires an independent consultant to evaluate several different program aspects. These include the credit worthiness of Nationwide Financial, the parent company of Nationwide Retirement Solutions, the program's administrator, and assurance that the fixed annuity investment option offers a competitive return to program participants.

In their analysis of the credit worthiness of Nationwide, the consultants concluded that it is a strong, stable insurer that continues to strengthen its foundation. This analysis provides assurance that participants' funds are being managed by a financially sound organization.

The NACo deferred compensation program, also known as a 457 program, is a voluntary program that gives county employees the opportunity to save regularly for their retirement on a pre-tax basis. One of the investment options available to participants is a fixed annuity that offers county employees the opportunity to earn an investment return at a fixed rate that is established quarterly by Nationwide. In addition, on an annual basis, Nationwide sets an investment rate minimum (or floor) for the year.

NACo's Deferred Compensation Program continues in its number one slot on the return it provides to county employees who are invested in the program's fixed annuity option. According to the study, the 2007 return on this investment option placed highest among its competitors. The report was released at the Nov. 14, 2008 meeting of NACo's Deferred Compensation Advisory Committee, held in Riverside County, California. This study has been conducted every year since 1989, and the NACo program has always come out on top.

"Our 28-year partnership with NRS continues to deliver a quality program that helps county employees save for a more comfortable retirement - this is more important than ever in today's economy," said Larry E. Naake, NACo executive director.

The competitive interest rate test concluded that Nationwide met its contractual requirement to equal or exceed the top one-third of its competitors. This study reviewed the fixed annuity option offered by Nationwide and its nine largest competitors.

The consultants' analyses are only one feature of NACo's deferred compensation program that distinguishes it from others. As a result of NACo's Deferred Compensation Advisory Committee, the NACo program is the only one in the country that receives oversight and is advised by county participants. It also benefits from the oversight and endorsement of 41 state associations of counties, including the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.

For more information on NACo's Deferred Compensation program e-mail Julia Jackson, employee benefits program manager, or call 800-895-9039.  Additional information is also available online at www.nrsforu.com.