PinnacolBlog

	Posted by Dianne Tobias  - April 19, 2012

Preventing Accidents Before They Happen with Job Hazard Analysis

One of the most common contributing causes to injuries is the “new” element – a new employee, a new piece of equipment, a new process.  Using a Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) may eliminate this cause. A JHA is your blueprint for completing a job safely. It identifies the hazards associated with a job task, and the safety controls needed to prevent an injury and/or property damage. The power of this tool is in its ability to address the hazards before starting the job.  Think of it as your architect’s plan for the job at hand.  As an example, let’s say you need to move a large object. You would want to plan for:

• The weight: Do you need equipment to move it?
• The condition: Are there sharp edges that could cause cuts?
• The size: Will it prohibit you from seeing your path?
• The path of travel: Are there any trip hazards, stairs, corners, etc.?
• The final destination: Is there room to put it down?

Once the hazards have been identified, you can develop and implement preventative measures for the hazard. Ask your employees to help fill out a JHA for their jobs, which will encourage them to be an active part in creating a culture of safety awareness.

A completed JHA is a useful tool for ongoing and new-hire training. This one document addresses all four key elements of a successful safety program: management commitment, employee involvement, hazard analyses and safety training.

To ensure that a JHA remains relevant, make sure to update it any time the job changes, because even small changes in a task can introduce unexpected hazards and costly consequences. For more information on preventing accidents before they happen, call our Safety On Call line at 888.501.4752 or get started now by downloading Pinnacol’s JHA form.

	Posted by Joan Brown  - March 22, 2012

Beauty (and Formaldehyde) is in the Eye of the Beholder

The Brazilian blowout is an exotically-named hair treatment that tames frizzy or wavy hair, leaving it shiny and perfectly straight for months. To achieve the look, salon workers apply a keratin solution onto the hair, and seal it in with heat from blow dryers and flatirons. While the style may look great, getting it can be hazardous to the stylist’s health.

In 2011, the Department of Labor issued a hazard alert to hair salons and beauty schools about exposing employees to popular hair straightening products that contain formaldehyde. According to OSHA, formaldehyde is a cancer-causing substance, and can have other nasty effects:

• Eye irritation and damage, including blindness
• Nose irritation, including bloody noses
• Skin sensitivity, rashes and itching
• Breathing difficulties, like coughing and wheezing

Products with formaldehyde become especially dangerous when heat – in this case, from blow dryers and flatirons – turn the chemical into a gas, which is then inhaled by workers. Contact with skin can also cause problems.

The best way for hair care businesses and schools to protect their workers is to avoid products that contain formaldehyde altogether. But if they do use those products, they should view the requirements outlined in OSHA’s formaldehyde standard, including:

• Testing salon air during treatments to determine formaldehyde levels
• Providing ventilation and personal protective equipment (e.g. gloves, goggles, aprons)
• Educating workers on the hazards of formaldehyde

The Brazilian blowout is not a hairstyle “to die for”. For more information about the how to protect your workers from the dangers of formaldehyde, visit OSHA’s website or contact Pinnacol on our Safety On Call line at 303.361.4700 and ask to speak with an industrial hygienist.

	Posted by Christa Kamb  - February 1, 2012

Selecting Designated Providers: It’s More Than Location

It’s commonly stated that the most important criteria in purchasing a home or starting a business is “location, location, location”. That’s not as true when selecting a medical provider to care for your employees when they are injured. There are many other factors you should consider to create a beneficial provider/employer relationship and get the best care for your workers. You might ask yourself these questions:

• Do I require multiple medical provider locations, based on my operations?
• Do I want my medical provider to do pre-employment exams, physical screenings and drug testing?
• Do I have special needs as an employer due to the type of work (e.g., physical examinations)?
• Do I need a medical provider with caregivers who speak Spanish?
• Am I likely to need after-hours care?
• What are my expectations for the medical provider and staff?

You can contact providers directly, or use Pinnacol’s SelectNet provider directory to help identify and evaluate providers based on the criteria above.

You can get more valuable information with our Clinic Performance Initiative (CPI), which provides performance star ratings online for primary care clinics, with ratings based on operational and administrative performance, including:

• Patient comfort within a clinic’s setting
• The clinic’s ability to clearly and thoroughly address work restrictions and maximum medical improvement
• Efficiency with which the clinic handles workers’ compensation claims

By doing your homework early on, you have a much better chance of finding medical providers who understand your business and are committed to your employees receiving the best possible care.

View the CPI results now on the online SelectNet directory to help guide your selection of a designated medical provider.

	Posted by Troy Bridges  - December 7, 2011

What’s Hot in Food Service Safety?

While working in a restaurant may not seem like a dangerous job, employees in the food service industry are at a high risk for workplace injuries for several unique reasons:

• The work environment is fast-paced and intense, making it difficult to find time to implement a safety program and train employees
• 30% of restaurant employees are under 20 years old, and it’s the first job for many teenagers
• Employees often are using heavy equipment that can be extremely hot or have dangerous parts
• Exposure to sharp objects like knives, equipment and broken glass is common

The most frequent injuries to employees include minor cuts and sprains, but the food service industry isn’t immune to severe injuries. We have seen debilitating knee injuries, permanent back injuries and major burns to the face and hands in restaurants, nursing homes and schools.

There are many online resources for food service worker safety, including OSHA’s Restaurant Safety for Teen Workers and a recent Top Ten Safety Tips article. Pinnacol’s Food Service Guidelines provide easy-to-use training tips and resources in a “do’s and dont’s” format, as well as printable forms and templates. This resource can be ordered from Pinnacol.com in the Safety Talk Booklets section.

If you would like more information on how to keep your food service employees safe, please contact your safety consultant or call the Safety On Call line at 303.361.4700 or 888.501.4752.

	Posted by Ileanexis Guadalupe  - October 5, 2011

Lost in Translation: Keeping Spanish Speakers Safe

According to the 2010 Census, more than half of the total U.S. population increase between 2000 and 2010 was due to the growing Hispanic population. With an estimated half million Spanish speakers in Colorado, the need to train a diverse workforce is undeniable. Because communication is composed of both culture and language, it is important to consider how this workforce learns in order to effectively train them in safety and accident prevention.

Language is a very complicated concept, mainly because speaking a language does not imply that people learn in that same language. For example, a native Spanish speaker who is proficient in English often times will still learn best in Spanish. Culture plays an essential role in understanding one another, but language is the key of learning. Safety training needs to be taught in the language of origin to ensure that all workers learn at the same level.

Workers whose first language is not English are especially at risk for workplace injuries. For this reason Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis has established goals to reduce injuries and illnesses among Spanish-speaking and other vulnerable workers. Teaching safety in the most effective way means saving lives.

Pinnacol Assurance is committed to keeping workers safe by providing the majority of our services in Spanish. Our Spanish Services group offers most of our trainings in Spanish, including the annual Bilingual Conference on Workplace Safety and our workers’ compensation training on Oct. 14.

The need for effective cross-cultural training will only increase as our workforce grows bigger, stronger, and more diverse.

	Posted by Danielle Nieto  - September 9, 2011

Health Risk Management Gets Results

Pinnacol Assurance’s Health Risk Management (HRM) program has celebrated its first birthday. As with any new venture, there have been challenges and opportunities for improvement, but we have also made a great deal of progress. Since some of you may be implementing wellness in the workplace, we wanted to provide you with some highlights from our first year:

• Pinnacol has added two dedicated employees to support the program, along with several people who have HRM as part of their job responsibilities. Numerous agents and policyholders also provided support.
• A total of 42 agencies and almost 200 agents were trained to sell and install HRM.
• Over 200 policyholders and more than 20,000 employees are enrolled and eligible to participate in HRM.

We’re looking forward to new developments in the coming year. A group of independent researchers from the University of Colorado, Colorado State University and Emory University have begun working together to examine the HRM data and evaluate the study. This Research Advisory Committee may also use the HRM data to support other research into the impact of wellness and health risk management on employees.

The data collected so far in the study points to a marked gain in productivity for the first HRM policyholder to have accumulated two years of data and a sufficient number of participants. The same group also showed strong improvement in several areas of identified health risk. While it is important to note that this data is not statistically significant, we believe it is a trend that other employers will experience.

If you’d like to enroll or get more information, please contact your agent or Karen Curran at 303.361.4784.

	Posted by Troy Bridges  - August 26, 2011

Who’s Responsible for Personal Protective Equipment?

In 2008 the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a final rule regarding Personal Protection Equipment (PPE). This new rule set forth specific criteria for employers to pay for PPE equipment such as; eye and face protection, heat protection, hand and foot protection, and chemical protection equipment. With this new rulemaking, there are some exceptions to what an employer is required to pay for:

• Prescription eyewear
• Non-specialty safety footwear (including, but not limited to, steel-toe boots or shoes, anti-slip shoes or boots, steel shank boots or shoes, shoes or boots with metatarsal protection), provided that the employer allows the employee to wear these items outside of the work environment
• Logging boots
• Everyday clothing or uniforms that can be worn outside of the work environment and are not specific to the protection of chemicals or other workplace hazards

Remember it is up to the employer to perform a hazard identification of the work area to assess what forms of PPE are necessary and required to protect employees from harm. Once this has been accomplished, it is then up to the employer to purchase and educate employees on the types of PPE and proper use and care. It is the responsibility of the employee to use the equipment provided and to maintain the equipment in a manner according to manufacturer recommendations.

For more information visit the OSHA website or contact your Pinnacol Safety Consultant via the Pinnacol.com or Safety on Call at 303.361.4700 or 888.501.4752.

	Posted by David Hansen  - August 10, 2011

Subrogation: Recovering Costs When a Third Party Injures Your Employee

A driver is texting while operating a vehicle, veers out of their lane and strikes a pedestrian on the sidewalk. The pedestrian is working on the exterior of a building for a Pinnacol policyholder, and is in the course and scope of their work duties. Who is liable for the workers’ compensation benefits paid to or on behalf of the injured worker?

Regardless of who is at fault, Pinnacol is obligated to pay for the pedestrian’s injuries associated with the accident. In order to recover the claim expenses associated with the claim, Pinnacol is authorized through the Workers’ Compensation Act to seek reimbursement from the vehicle driver and/or their insurance carrier on behalf of our policyholders.

One of the best methods for policyholders to maintain low premiums is through the successful pursuit of subrogation, when the injuries are the result of third party negligence.

As a policyholder, you can help with the successful recovery of the claim costs by remembering to obtain:

• All information about the person/entity that caused the accident.
• Contact information of witnesses or person(s) with knowledge of how the accident happened.
• Insurance information for the at-fault party.
• Details of where and how the accident occurred.
• Any video surveillance of the street or location where the accident occurred.
• Information regarding any tools or equipment involved and preserving the evidence until all inspections are completed.
• Contact information of investigators with OSHA or other agencies. .
• Photos of the accident scene, injuries, and/or property damage.
• If the injury occurred in a motor vehicle accident, provide:

               - Photos of vehicles showing collision damage;
               - Repair estimates; and
               - Police report (traffic accident report).

Keep the following items on hand, in case of an accident:

• Disposable cameras to document the accident scene.
• First aid kit to treat minor injuries.
• Your provider’s claims reporting phone number

Your early investigation of the accident can preserve available evidence, facilitate subrogation, and help reduce workers’ compensation premiums.

	Posted by Troy Bridges  - August 4, 2011

Keeping Your Workplace Drug-Free

According to the Denver Post Colorado’s use and consumption of drugs and alcohol is among the highest in the nation. The Denver Post article stated that “The number of young adults who said they had used marijuana in the past year was 38.5 percent in the Colorado survey, compared with a national average of 29.1 percent.” These statistics are not only surprising, but could pose problems for Colorado’s businesses and workplace safety. In 2000 Colorado passed legislation that legalized medical marijuana with Amendment 20. Although this legislation allows for the use of medical marijuana in Colorado, it is still a federally regulated substance and there are limitations on use and consumption within the state.

When employees are impaired, either by alcohol or drugs, their ability to perform cognitive functions and basic motor skills are limited. This can pose a serious threat not only to the safety and health of that employee, but to coworkers and others that may come into contact with the employee. An impaired employee performing skilled labor or driving a motor vehicle is a serious threat and liability for any employer.

Drug and alcohol programs, pre-employment/post-offer screenings, post-accident drug testing, and other relevant checks help employers ensure a drug and alcohol-free workplace. Although it is not a requirement (and since some industries are not governed by OSHA; i.e. state or municipal entities), OSHA recommends the following to providing a safe drug-free workplace: “A comprehensive drug-free workforce approach includes five components—a policy, supervisor training, employee education, employee assistance, and drug testing. Such programs, especially when drug testing is included, must be reasonable and take into consideration employee rights to privacy.”

Additional resources:

Pinnacol Assurance offers a sample Alcohol and Drug Policy

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

Coalition for Drug Abuse Prevention

Partnership for a Drug Free America

State of Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

Department of Labor eLaws tool and their Working Partners

Please note: The information contained in this blog posting is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice of any type. Pinnacol Assurance recommends that employers consult with their employment counsel before implementing a drug and alcohol policy. 

	Posted by Dianne Tobias  - July 19, 2011

Preventing Workplace Fatalities: Chemical Ingestion

Pinnacol prepares fatality alerts following claims in which an employee of one of our policyholders is killed on the job. These reports can be difficult to read, but they are valuable as educational tools, helping us understand what actions and resources are available to prevent serious injury and death in the workplace.

One of our most recent fatality alerts involves a tragic mix-up. Two employees were instructed to apply a chemical to ornamental iron to improve its appearance. The employees poured a blue chemical from the original manufacturer’s container into a Gatorade bottle. One of the employees, a man with over 20 years of experience, mistakenly swallowed the chemical in the Gatorade bottle, resulting in his death.

Several measures could have prevented this terrible accident:

Following OSHA standards that require if a chemical is transferred from the original container it must be labeled with the chemical’s identity.

Prohibit use of food containers as chemical containers regardless of how long or how many employees are going to use the product.

Train employees on how to immediately access Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) information when they are on a job site.

Provide CPR and first aid training to personnel.

Equip vehicles used to transport personnel with a list of medical facilities near the job site, including the locations and phone numbers.

Although every workplace accident is different, there are valuable lessons to be learned from all. Implementing best safety practices and utilizing available resources will help protect your most valuable asset – your employees. See a more detailed report.