August 19, 2010

Start the school year off right by focusing on preventing injuries

Educate faculty about the hazards.
Use SFM's resources to educate your staff. Tell teachers about the risks they may face:

• Reaching up high
  Encourage them to request ladders. Standing on a desk or chair is dangerous and may result in a fall. Consider having mini safety talks or distributing handouts.
• Carrying heavy loads
  Encourage them to carry smaller loads or to take two trips. Offer a cart to minimize lifting.
• Using the stairs
  Encourage handrail use. Not using handrails and carrying loads on stairs can result in falls.
• Walking inside and outside the building
  Tell them to pay attention to environmental conditions, such as a rolled up floor mat, cracked concrete, clutter or loose cords.
  
  Slips, trips and falls can happen anywhere a slippery or uneven surface exists. Tell staff to notify a custodian about unsafe conditions.

Hold employees accountable for safety policies. Challenge staff to work safely. Set goals for the district. Communicate expectations at the beginning of the year.

Conduct a risk assessment. Analyze physical conditions like wet floors, broken equipment and employee behaviors. Make change based on your findings.

Point out the obvious. It's often times the obvious risks that are overlooked that can cause serious injuries.

Register today for SFM's school seminar, Nov. 2 or Nov. 10

The seminar is called "5 strategies for becoming work comp savvy, cutting costs, and saving time and effort."

If you're a school superintendent, risk manager, business manager, school principal and someone responsible for handling workers' compensation issues this seminar is for you.

Topics include:

• Driving down your workers' compensation e-mod: options and opportunities
• Leading causes of the most expensive claims: tips for success and case law update
• Developing relationships with medical providers: what it’s worth and how to do it
• Decreasing loss costs and preventing injuries: addressing major loss source areas
• The value of strong leadership in schools: supporting safety and return-to-work

The seminar is free for SFM policyholders.

For more information and to register, visit SFM's website.

Hazard Alert

Teacher injured while 'playing' sport

In a recent incident, a phy-ed teacher and coach was instructing her students on volleyball technique by participating in their practice game. While teacher-student interaction is good, participating competitively resulted in a serious knee injury.

Remind teachers of the risk of injury when engaging in physical activities. Suggest they limit their participation to instructing the students, not competing themselves.

Manage your claims processes:

For assistance, contact your SFM claims representative at (800) 937-1181.