By: Linda Rosito, Risk Management Training Director

CCAP's Insurance Programs is offering a number of great educational opportunities this spring. Please refer to the Glimpse Online or to the listing below for more information about these opportunities. Please register online.

By: Maureen McMahon, Risk Control Specialist

Good housekeeping can eliminate some workplace hazards and help get a job done safely and properly. Poor housekeeping can frequently contribute to accidents by hiding hazards that cause injuries. If the sight of paper, debris, clutter and spills is accepted as normal, then other more serious health and safety hazards may be taken for granted.

Housekeeping is not just cleanliness. It includes keeping work areas neat and orderly; maintaining halls and floors free of slip and trip hazards; and removing of waste materials (e.g., paper, cardboard) and other fire hazards from work areas. It also requires paying attention to important details such as the layout of the whole workplace, aisle marking, the adequacy of storage facilities and maintenance. Good housekeeping is an inherent part of slip and fall prevention. Here are some tips to get you started:

Create Good Housekeeping Practices

Proper housekeeping is a routine. It is an ongoing procedure that is simply done as a part of each worker's daily performance. To create an effective housekeeping program, there are three simple steps to get you started:

• Plan ahead- Know what needs to be done, who's going to do it and what the particular work area should look like when you are done.
• Assign responsibilities- It may be necessary to assign a specific person or group of workers to clean up, although personal responsibility for cleaning up after himself/herself is preferred.
• Implement a program- Establish housekeeping procedures as a part of the daily routine.

Reduce Wet or Slippery Surfaces

Some of the most common areas where slip and fall injuries occur include:

Traction on outdoor surfaces can change considerably when weather conditions change. Those conditions can then affect indoor surfaces as moisture is tracked in by pedestrian traffic. Traction control procedures should be constantly monitored for their effectiveness.

Indoor control measures can help reduce the incidence of slips and falls.

Avoid Creating Obstacles in Aisles and Walkways
Injuries can also result in from trips caused by obstacles, clutter, materials and equipment in aisles, corridors, entranceways and stairwells. Proper housekeeping in work and traffic areas is still the most effective control measure in avoiding these types of hazards.

Create and Maintain Proper Lighting
Poor lighting in the workplace is associated with an increase in slip and fall incidents.

For more information on how to prevent slips, trips and falls you may contact one of our risk control representatives:

By: Nationwide Economics

A brisk job report for February should dismiss concerns about the economy falling into recession and further support a pick up in the pace of growth in the first quarter. After a gain of 242,000 jobs in February and upward revisions to prior months, payrolls have expanded by 1.26 million in the past five months. If this pace were annualized, it would equate to over three million jobs - on par with the strong increase from 2014. There appears to be no sign of a slowdown in hiring despite the recent turmoil in financial markets.

The unemployment rate remained at 4.9 percent in February as rapid gains in the labor force have kept pace with solid job growth. The civilian labor force has grown by 1.3 percent over the past year - the fastest 12-month rate since 2008. As a consequence, the labor force participation rate, which bottomed out in September 2015, has moved up to a year-high of 62.9 percent. The reentry of discouraged workers into the workforce is likely driving a portion of this rise and is a great sign for general labor market health.

The expanding labor force, however, may be behind the frustrating slow pace of wage growth as the unemployment rate has dropped to around most estimates of full employment.  The low unemployment rate may simply not be reflective of the supply of available workers in the market. In February, average hourly earnings dipped by 0.1 percent, lowering the 12-month trend rate back to 2.2 percent. Furthermore, the jobs expansion is broadening out to include lower and middle-income jobs, placing some downward pressures on average wages.

In other economic news, an increase in the ISM manufacturing
index in February suggests that sector activity is recovering. While the index remains in contraction territory, the orders and production components suggest future expansion. Light vehicle sales were roughly flat in February, but at an annualized pace above last year's record.

Equity markets reacted positively to the upbeat economic news, rising each day from Tuesday through Friday for the first 4-day gain of the year. The S&P 500 index rose by nearly 3.0 percent for the week and has regained much of the decline from January through mid-February. Treasury yields rose as well, with the 10-year rate ending the week near 1.9 percent.

By: U.S. Communities

New contract to help government agencies facilitate clear and concise communication

We are excited to announce that Language Select has been awarded a multi-year award to provide interpretation and translation services and related services and solutions. This contract was awarded through a competitive solicitation process conducted by lead public agency, City of Chicago, Illinois. The contract term is for three years with a start date of March 15, 2016, with the option to extend the contract for two (2) additional periods of one year each. To learn more about this new contract, register for a complimentary one-hour webinar.

Through this contract, you'll have access to a unique business solution provided by an elite group of language professionals that help agencies:

• Facilitate clear communication eliminating any language or cultural barriers
• Access high-quality interpretation and translation services at competitive rates
• Assist with communication in a life threatening emergency
• Help agencies to complete a business transaction without translation difficulties

Don't miss one of our informational webinars. If you are unable to attend one of the webinar dates, contact U.S. Communites for additional information.

PCoRP board meeting

CCAP Office, Harrisburg

Annual PELICAN Subscribers meeting

PACAH conference at Seven Springs

UC Trustees meeting

CCAP Office, Harrisburg

When is a county's contract not a contract? 

We get a lot of questions from counties about contracts, and one of the issues we regularly see is a contract that is not really a contract. There are two major reasons for this. The first is a product of the County Code, which provides that only the commissioners can contractually bind the county. This means a contract signed only by, for example, the sheriff, or treasurer (or any other elected official) is not an official contract and does not bind the county to the provisions within the contract.

The second reason a contract is not a contract has to do with the way it is drafted. A memorandum of understanding, bylaws or an intergovernmental agreement may not be a contract. We sometimes see these documents written with each entity's name on them, but no signatures showing the document has been accepted by the county commissioners. This is often true of older documents which were drafted at the beginning of an arrangement, but where a valid contractual relationship was never established.

Why does this matter? From a risk management standpoint, the key is a valid contract approved and signed by the commissioners means that liability insurance will be triggered should a claim arise related to the contract.

CCAP insurance staff would be happy to review the insurance and indemnification language of any contract you are considering.

For more information, contact Karen Cohen at CCAP.