November signals the lurch towards the end of the year. As we prepare for the end of 2014, there are several important things to keep in mind.

Right now PCoRP members should be getting their updated property listings to us, so work with your local producers to get this finished if it has not already been sent to us. The deadline was November 1.

Once the work on the General Election is done and votes are counted, we hope commissioners, council members, county executives, chief clerks, county administrators and solicitors will join us in Hershey in late November for the CCAP Fall Conference. If you are attending, and are a member of PCoRP, make sure to attend the PCoRP Annual Dinner meeting on Sunday evening, November 23. There will be good food and fellowship and some very good news (trust me!).

We also have some requests out to the PCoRP and PComp membership, seeking nominations for the elected positions on the program boards for 2015 (see article below). Please consider becoming part of the governing board for these two insurance programs.

In early December PCoRP members will be getting checks in the mail! (Come to the dinner mentioned above to find out the total being distributed and how much your county is getting!)

Also, in early December we begin work updating the Coverage Document for PCoRP, getting ready to make sure we provide the members with the best possible coverage for the June 1, 2015, renewal.

Finally, once we hear from L&I around Thanksgiving on our PComp rate requests, we can then prepare final quotes for the members for the January 1 workers' compensation renewal. That should be coming your way in early December.

Make sure you contact us when you need help with something,

                              John Sallade 

Crawford County joined CCAP's property and liability pool (PCoRP) and workers' compensation pool (PComp) on October 1. This brings PCoRP membership to 53 members (49 counties and 4 county related entities) and PComp membership to 47 members (35 counties and 12 county related entities).

Chairman Francis Weiderspahn noted "the Crawford County Commissioners, after reviewing three proposals for our liability and workers' compensation insurance with our CFO and staff, decided the move to PCoRP and PComp was in the best interest of the county. Even though we will be paying a little more per year for our workers' compensation insurance we have a firm figure for our budget. Previously, Crawford County was self-insured with no control and vulnerable if there were a significant number of claims, now we can confidently have a firm cost for our workers' comp in each year's budget. By switching our liability insurance not only is Crawford County saving over $46,000 in our yearly premium, 

we now have lower deductibles. With our previous policy there was a half million dollar deductible and a higher premium. After all the information was digested and reviewed it was an easy decision to go with PCoRP and PComp. My only regret is that we did not investigate and make this change sooner."

The county's local insurance producer is Michael Schmid of Tucker, Johnston & Smelzer, Inc., Pittsburgh. 

Slips, trips and falls constitute the majority of workplace accidents. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a total of 4,383 fatal work injuries for calendar year 2012. Of the fatal cases, 668 were associated with falls. In addition, of the 1,153,980 non-fatal occupational injuries and illnesses involving days away from work in 2012, 230,260 cases were associated with slips and falls.

Fall injuries create a considerable financial burden: workers' compensation and medical costs associated with occupational fall incidents have been estimated at approximately $70 billion annually in the United States. The most frequent complaints related to slips and falls are shoulder, back, elbow, wrist and knee injuries.

Causes of slips, trips and falls vary considerably and can include one or more of the following:

• Walkway surface substances and spills; including oil, water, and/or other liquid surface contamination
• Lack of training and/or knowledge about slips, trips and falls
• Mats or rugs which become unanchored or loose
• Weather-related conditions like rain, snow and/or ice
• Use of inappropriate footwear
• Walkway surfaces that are in disrepair
• Sheen/smooth walkway surfaces that do not allow for adequate footwear-traction 

Surprisingly, approximately 70 percent of slips, trips and falls occur on level walking surfaces. Training employees to use hazard-awareness and prevention practices is essential to reducing those numbers. Once trained, common sense also plays an important role in slips, trips and fall prevention.

The following are some very good floor safety recommendations for slips, trips and fall prevention, some of which include:

• Keep floor surfaces clean and dry
• Ensure wet-floor warning signs are posted in and around wet floor locations as well as providing and maintaining adequate drainage
• Maintain clear aisles and passageways and prevent obstructions
• Ensure walkway surfaces are in good repair
• Provide floor plugs for power equipment to ensure power cords are not run across walkway paths
• Report and clean up spills immediately
• Provide non-slip coatings or surfaces in slippery locations
• Minimize carpet and matting trip hazards
• Use prudent housekeeping procedures and provide adequate lighting in poorly lit areas such as halls and stairwells
• Maintain and eliminate uneven floor surfaces 

In addition to slip, trip and fall prevention, CCAP loss control specialists can test facility floors. Simply ask your assigned loss control specialist to come out and test your floors. CCAP uses the American Slip Meter 825. The ASM 825 is a digital slip meter that performs static coefficient of friction testing. A simple test of the coefficient of friction level of your floors and walkways will provide valuable data about safety levels and ongoing maintenance. The meter is designed to quickly test the static coefficient of friction, using a widely recognized test sensor material, neolite. Neolite is a registered trademark of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and is used to represent the tread on a rubber souled shoe. The slip meter can be used for testing on both dry and wet flooring. However, CCAP strongly recommends that any wet floor be cleaned dry immediately!

For more information, contact the CCAP Loss Control Department at 800-895-9039; or email us at:
Gary Nicholson, Loss Control Services Manager, at (800) 895-9039

Maureen McMahon, Loss Control Specialist, at (800) 895-9039

Andrew Smith, Loss Control Specialist, at (800) 895-9039

Dennis Cutler, Loss Control Specialist, at (412) 276-2722

By Linda Rosito, Insurance Training Director

The fall workshop season is coming to a close! Please don't miss out on the great educational opportunities we still have to offer in November!

Most of the workshops are FREE to attend if your county is a member of the sponsoring Insurance Programs. To check your county's membership in these programs, please refer to Glimpse Online and CCAP Insurance Programs Member Listing.

Here is a quick look at the remaining workshops this fall.