Pub. 2 2019-2020 Issue 2

32 N obodywants employees to get hurt. Too often, injuries can result in health problems for the employ- ees who were injured that could poten- tially last a lifetime. Preventing those inju- ries from occurring is more than just the right thing to do; it is also the smart move for both the employee and the employer because injuries are expensive. Some of the costs are obvious, and some are not, but both kinds of expenses add up fast. How dangerous is the asphalt industry? To get some idea about the risks faced by employees, go to the website for the U.S. Department of Labor and use the keyword “Asphalt.”In February 2020, the resulting list showed three accidents, all fatal: • On July 19, 2019, an employee fell and struck his head. • On May 27, 2019, an employee was knockeddown and struck his head against asphalt. • On April 17, 2019, a dump truck that was backing up crushed an employee. Compared to 2018, 2019 was a good year. Out of 17 entries on the first page alone, five accidents were fatal ones. But the truth is, even one fatality is too many. For businesses without any safety program at all, one approach is to get one from the University of South Florida. The university designed a program called SafetyWriter to help small business employers in Florida to create and develop effective programs thatmeet OSHA requirements.You pick any plans that apply to your business, assem- ble them, and then edit them into an illness and injury protection plan. Another option is to go to the NAPA website at www.asphaltpavement.org , then choose EVENTS>NAPAWebinars. One of the webinars, Safety in the Workplace, was presented by Tom Krause on Feb. 9, 2017. Tom Krause is a partner with the Krause Bell Group, and the webinar is cur- rently free for government employees, educators and NAPA members. Insurance companies have an interest in keeping injury costs low for the compa- nies they ensure because that affects the workers’ compensation rates you end up paying. Most insurance companies that serve industries such as the asphalt indus- try offer services that might be worth your time as you create a safety culture within your company. You can sometimes schedule on-site con- sultation services from the safety depart- ments of insurance companies. Their goal is to create a program that promotes health and safety. Toward that end, they can evaluate what you currently have and help you improve it through the use of safety surveys and training sessions. They can also help you design and imple- ment a new program to meet your com- pany’s needs, and they can teach skills to qualified policyholders that range from simple to complex. Industrial processes, including those used when working with asphalt, can expose employees to chemicals, heat, noise and other hazards; a safety team can help you minimize that exposure. Sincephysical labor oftenhas ergonomic hazards that can cause injuries because of repetitive stresses, these can also be evaluated. Training is another important service that insurance companies can sometimes provide. Every year, companies holds train- ing seminars at different locations. The seminars are generally developed, pre- sented, or directed by professionals who are board-certified in safety and industrial hygiene issues. Those attending are often given information about: • Best safety practices • How to control workers’ compensation costs • Injury prevention innovations • OSHA compliance Some on-demand safety seminars are avail- able online, and it is also possible to par- ticipate in video conferences. Tool kits are also available for you to use. The ones created byWCF Insurance include the following topics: • ANSI Z-10 Audit: This kit helps you prepare for audits by comparing your program to the standard prepared by the American National Standards Institute, the Z-10 Standard for Occupational Health&Health Management systems. • Balanced Scorecard: Methods for measur- ing progress toward safety goals. Create a baseline so you can determine whether you are making any progress, and use a balanced scorecard so you know when it is appropriate to give employees safety incentives. • Combustible Dust: Catastrophic dust explosions in the U.S. led to a 2008 OSHA program called the Special Emphasis Program for Combustible Dust. WCF Insurance Safety & Health can determine CREATING A