May 25, 2010

Return-to-work success
School district learns the importance of communicating light-duty work

A metro school district recently learned the value of communicating return-to-work expectations with its supervisors and employees.

A food service worker recently sustained a low-back strain from lifting food items. The employee's physician released her to return to work with minimal lifting restrictions for a week. But the employee's supervisor wasn't aware that light-duty work was available so she instructed the employee to take the week off work.

The SFM claims representative faxed the school district's claims coordinator copies of SFM's schools light-duty task lists, which are in SFM's online Transitional work warehouse.

The claims coordinator and the employee's supervisor were able to accommodate the employee's restrictions and bring her back to work the next day, according to the SFM claims representative. Doing so helped minimize the wage-loss benefits paid, which ultimately reduces the costs of the claim.

This situation highlights the importance of communicating your district's return-to-work expectations with supervisors and staff as well as injured employees.

Prevent back injuries this spring with proper preparation

Back injuries can lead to absenteeism and loss of productivity for your janitors, grounds people and food service staff due to the material handling aspects of their jobs. It can also increase your workers' compensation costs. Don't let the out-of-the-ordinary tasks of spring such as moving furniture, cleaning, construction projects and extensive grounds work compromise the level of safety you've come to expect. Here are some ways to keep back injuries and the costs associated with them under control.

1. Have a plan. Talk to the staff about projects that require heavy lifting ahead of time. Offer alternatives to manual lifting such as using carts, two-wheelers, forklifts, hoists and two-person lifts. Review last year's plans for improvement opportunities and ask staff for practical ideas for decreasing lifting injuries.
2. Educate employees on making safe choices. Explain how lifting improperly can affect your district's bottom line. Encourage them to "take safety with them." For example, educate staff on the four points to safe lifting and encourage stretching to reduce strains and prepare staff for physical activity.
3. Observe employees working. Have supervisors observe high demand activities to ensure proper lifting methods are used and employees aren't rushing and putting themselves or coworkers at risk.
4. Offer feedback. After a project is complete, pull staff together to review how it went. What worked well and what required adjustment to the plan? Share techniques that worked with staff at all locations. Give credit to those responsible for planning and fulfilling the project without incident.

Early planning and involvement of staff is essential to ensure material handling and lifting issues are controlled effectively. Always encourage use of assistive lifting devices to reduce staff exposures to back and strain injuries.

Need to brush up on work comp?

Visit SFM's newly improved Resource Catalog to download or order workers' compensation-related educational resources.

Materials are free for SFM policyholders.

Visit SFM's Resource Catalog.

Advice from SFM's

Cutting costs or causing injuries?

Times are tight. Overhead needs trimming. It is tempting to cut expenses relating to safety--but at what price?

When cutting leads to injuries

Yours may be among the many organizations in these difficult economic times that are cutting costs. But a close look may be in order so cost-cuttings now don't turn into greater expenses later. Safety is one place where that is likely to happen.

Read more...