By Linda Rosito, Insurance Training Director

This spring our workshops offer a wide variety of topics including our ever popular HR Law Boot Camp, Prison Risk Management Workshop, Respect in the Workplace, Leading and Performing in Peak Performing Teams, Defensive Driving Course and Getting Through the Economic Sausage Grinder. There is something for everyone. And if your county is a member of the sponsoring insurance program, workshop attendance is FREE.

If you are not sure if your county is a member of the sponsoring workshop please refer to the CCAP Insurance Programs Member Listing on the Glimpse Online. Your attendance at workshops also helps your county by gaining the educational credit for each insurance program's Loss Control Incentive program.

We also have workshops that are co-sponsored by the Academy for Excellence in County Government and FREE to participants in that program.

Please take the opportunity to check the Glimpse Online for information on all the workshops this season.

If you would like additional copies of the Glimpse, please contact us. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact Linda Rosito or Jenn Carey.

By Greg Cunningham, ARM, GSP, Loss Control Specialist

A successful safety committee helps the county or entity in many ways. One way is that it brings employees from different departments together with the purpose of keeping all employees safe while on the job. The committee can do this through inspections, discussions of problem areas where claims may be occurring and keeping other committee members abreast of changes in the different departments.

WHY HAVE A SAFETY COMMITTEE?

For many of the CCAP insurance programs, having an effective safety committee will not only save you money on insurance in the form of loss control incentives but we also like to believe that by doing some of these things it will lead to a reduction of injuries on the job and associated workers' compensation costs. Plus, seeing that management cares about your health and safety goes a long way in employer -employee relations.

SAFETY COMMITTEE PURPOSE

Your Safety Committee is a group of volunteers designated to promote and maintain a safe and healthy workplace. The committee should be comprised of at least five (5) staff members and all major departments in the county should be represented. The chairperson of the committee may be designated by the commissioners or may be elected from within the committee itself and may be the designated Loss Control or Claims Coordinator however, this is not necessary.

SAFETY COMMITTEE RESPONSIBILITIES

The committee shall meet a minimum of six times per year if a member of PComp or four times per year if the entity is a member of PCoRP. Issues that arise in either program can be discussed during one meeting; there is no need to hold separate meetings for each program. We schedule our meetings here at CCAP early in the year so as to avoid any scheduling conflicts that might arise throughout the year. Each safety committee meeting should contain the following:

º      Formal minutes should be maintained for each meeting.

º      Minutes shall indicate members present or absent.

º      Incidents since last meeting should be reviewed. Review should not indicate names and should not assign blame.  Review is for the purpose of preventing a recurrence.

º      An accident analysis should be developed to note trends or repetition of incidents, hazards, or staff.

º      Review progress of old business.

º      Discuss new business.

º      Minutes should show name of responsible person for action.

º      Safety related education or training.

º      Minutes should indicate date, time and location of next meeting.

º      Minutes should summarize unsafe acts or conditions identified by the inspection reports.

The committee should also perform the following duties:

º      Review or develop emergency action plans for each county building or location.

º      Conduct and report on self-inspections completed in county owned buildings and facilities.

º      Provide regular reports or meeting minutes to the commissioners, CCAP insurance program which you belong to and other committee members.

While this might seem like a lot of work it is easily split up among the members of the committee. Each member should be responsible for reporting on and following up on the department which they represent. While the Safety Committee is responsible for promoting a safe and healthy workplace it is the individual members themselves who must make sure their department is following through.

MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT

The ultimate responsibility for safety in any organization starts at the top.  A safety policy statement for the county or entity should be developed and signed by the commissioners or executive director.  The formal written safety policy statement demonstrates to all staff the support and commitment of the commissioners or executives of the organization. The safety policy statement should be reviewed at hiring and publicized in order that all county or entity personnel are aware of the policy.

Please contact the CCAP Loss Control team should you have any questions on how to make your Safety Committee a successful one.