1. MAINE MUNICIPAL ASSOCIATION
Risk Management Services
MRWA
How We Get Hurt and
Yes, Most of the Time,
It’s Your Fault!
Presented By: Ed MacDonald Loss Control Manager Risk Management Services Maine Municipal Association

5. Why have a Safety Program?
Moral Obligation – As an employer you have duty to protect your employees from injury and illness on the job.
Legal Obligation – Protection of employees is required by law.
Cost Control – Insurance costs are based on potential exposures and past performance. There are “real costs” and “hidden costs” to workplace injuries.

6. Significant Injury Exposures in the Water/Wastewater Industry:
Confined Space Entry
Trenching
Hazardous Chemicals
Electrical
Stored Energy (Lockout/Tagout)
Mechanical Processes (machine guarding)
Roadside Work/Traffic

7. Where do most of the workers compensation claims (employee injuries) come from?
Slips/Trips/Falls
Materials Handling/Lifting (back injuries and muscle strains)
Use of tools (cuts, bruises, eye injuries)
OSHA statistics confirm that the greatest causes of workplace injuries across all occupations nationally are Slips/Trips/Falls and Materials Handling.

11. Safety Program Key Components
Management Commitment
Safety Committee
Develop Key Programs, Policies and Procedures
Provide Training
Maintain Records
Track Losses & Identify Trending
Implement a Post Injury/Accident Plan
Accident Investigation
Inspections
Administration *

12. Who Might Do a Safety Inspection?
OSHA (Private Sector)
- Compliance
MDOL
- Courtesy (Voluntary)
Insurer
- MMA, Risk Management Services
- Commercial Carrier, Loss Control
Inspection
Self
- Staff
- Safety Committee
- Consultant

13. Why Inspect? ! Bottom line – Assure employee and public safety.
Identify and correct existing physical hazards.
Make sure that established policies and practices are current.
Make sure that safety policies and procedures are being followed.
Review safety equipment (example: PPE) is available, correct for the hazard, properly maintained and used.
! Bottom line – Assure employee and public safety.

14. “Engineering Out” a hazard exposure is preferred over other controls such a policies or personal protective equipment (PPE). PPE should be used ONLY when no other reasonable control can be implemented. Use of PPE is determined by doing a job hazard analysis(JHA) and PPE assessment.

16. What To Inspect? How Often? Are You Kidding Me? EVERYTHING! ALWAYS!
NO!

17. - What To Inspect - Facility Inspection. Equipment Inspection.
Inspection of Written Programs.
Review of Required Training.
Availability/Adequacy of Records.

18. How Often?
Frequencies vary depending on compliance requirements, manufacturers recommendations, frequency of use, pre-use, magnitude of risk, situational analysis.
Examples:
Facility inspection by safety committee or designated individual might be annual/2-yr/monthly.
Review of written programs; annual or when mandated by change.

19. Examples Continued: Equipment; by code, requirement, pre-use.
* Fire Extinguisher – annual, monthly. Training annual. Records kept.
* Trenching – by competent person. Daily – on-going.

20. Inspection Should Promote Training!
With proper training, repeat issues should not recur.
Post-inspection “To-Do” list is shorter. Employees are safer.
Don’t wait for a scheduled inspection to address observed hazards!
Inspect ALWAYS !

21. “You can observe a lot just by watching” -Yogi Berra

23. - Sources for Help -
SafetyWorks! Maine Department of Labor 45 State House Station Augusta, ME Website: Maine Municipal Association Risk Management Services Loss Control Department 60 Community Drive PO Box 9109 Augusta, ME Website: Best Practices – Safety Shorts – Online Training – Grants/Scholarships NNE Health & Safety Council 405 Western Ave #317 South Portland, ME or Fax: Website:
Office of State Fire Marshal
52 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333
Website: