Category Archives: Risk Management

Construction Practice Group Content, Risk Management

Social Distancing on Construction Sites

Where is Construction with Social Distancing Currently?

Social distancing is already a hard task in our daily lives around the house. It is substantially harder when at work, especially when in the construction business. Construction involves manual labor and lots of effort while working individually and in groups to efficiently complete certain tasks. Some parts of construction are easy to practice social distancing; like an individual worker working inside of a crane cab. But what about when workers are constantly walking by each other? Or giving each other advice/instructions? Or working together within 6 feet while completing a job?

This is a question many in the business have while thinking of ways to get the construction sector back working. Not only do they need a good way to keep employees away from each other as much as possible during the workday while keeping work efficiency high, but they need a way to implement contact-tracing in a job that has so much exposure between workers together and their environment. Triax Technologies think they have the answer.

Business-changing Technology

Triax recently introduced the Proximity Trace, a wearable device that can be attached to headgear or a lanyard, that assists in bringing back essential workers to their job sites in construction. The technology consists of a sensor called TraceTag, that can sense and sound off when workers are too close in certain situations. It also records data such as location and workers involved in situations where workers break social distancing mandates.

This technology is big for contact tracing, something all of America is lacking as of right now. This device can keep workers safe from potential illness. It can also assist with its data storage to target specific workers who have been in close contact with any infected worker.

Triax is currently distributing the device to construction businesses returning to work. Hopefully, this device will do what it has promised: Keeping construction on its feet in such an unsure time.

Claims Management, OSHA, Risk Management, Workers Compensation Insurance

Safety Meetings: Advice and Tips

Safety meetings are common in the workplace, and will be almost necessary once normal work resumes post covid-19. The problem that arises from safety meetings is that sometimes they are inefficient. They are too long, planned at the wrong times, and/or not executed correctly. There are 4 simple steps to correctly have a safety meeting in a normal work setting.

Step 1: Prepare and Plan

This is the first part when setting up a safety meeting. Know who will be attending, who will be leading the safety meeting, location, etc. Making sure everyone that needs to be at the meeting is informed and reminded in proper time. Have a general outline of the main goal/statement you want your employees to hear. From there, you can create the safety meeting around that information.
The worst thing for a safety meeting is to show unpreparedness with nothing but as a topic for your safety meeting and ramble. No one is given helpful information. Employees feel you have wasted their time and morale lowers. Make sure you plan ahead.

Step 2: Timing your Safety Meetings

How long your meeting will last and what time and day the meeting occurs is crucial. Picking a time when employees are most attentive is best. That happens to be at the start of the work day/shift.
The day is also important. Mondays seems to be when employees are most tired and least focused. Friday seems to be when workers are out the most and their mind is not fully focused on work.
Routine is the last part that is important to plan. Planning for a safety meeting one Tuesday is perfectly fine. We do not suggest you plan your next meeting next Thursday. Have a routine time and day. Once a month, every other week, or something along those lines is perfect.
Wait until 4 and the only thing on your workers’ mind is what bar has a happy hour. Try the first Wednesday of every month at 9:30.

Step 3: Delivery in your Safety Meetings

Let’s face it, your employees are most likely doing something more important. They want to get back to work to meet deadlines. The safety meeting should be a routine quick “check-up” on guidelines. For us, quick may be 15-20 minutes, 30 at the max.

Don’t just read off a piece of paper. Have some slides or graphics ready! People are more attentive when they can visually see the information. That can include images, facts, or important statements.

Allow for employees to ask 5 minutes worth of questions. How do you know what you said made complete sense to them? If they have questions, make sure to give them the floor.

Step 4: Following Up After the Safety Meeting

Try and get some interaction with your audience either at the end of some of your meetings or through a reply email. Your employees are the ones who witnessed the safety meeting. They have the best opinions on whether or not it was executed well. Try asking a question on how to improve.

Also follow-up to make sure they understood the message. Possibly leaving an email with a “quiz question” attached to answer in a sentence. These are a few ways to engage with your audience.

 

Still have a question? Consult a risk advisor today at 914-357-8444 or visit us here at our website

Claims Management, Commercial Property, Risk Management

The Time to Find Flood Insurance at a Great Price is Now

Flood Danger

The need for flood insurance at a great price has become a critical necessity for most property owners. A new report from independent researchers shows nearly double the properties across America are in danger of major flood damage. According to First Street Foundation, a NYC based academic group, over 14.5 million properties are highly susceptible to large flooding. This is almost double the 8.7 million figure FEMA came out with. The main reason for the large gap in results is the difference in flooding mapped. FEMA primarily researched properties at risk of flooding primarily through river/ocean overflow, which accounted for the low number. First Street however, mapped properties at risk through not only river flooding, but flooding caused by rainfalls and smaller bodies of water.

These numbers are not necessarily that the next time it rains, your building is in severe risk of floating away. It means 14.6 million properties are susceptible to damages from a 100-year flood – a flood with the probability of happening 1% annually. The reason for concern? These 100-year floods may come sooner as intense rainfall will continue to grow due to global warming.

Who’s Affected?

The new data saw poor communities along coasts affected most, as their buildings may not sustain such harsh weather conditions. Large cities such as New York City and Chicago also see growth in the new study due to the outdated sewage/drainage systems currently in-place. With the new data that includes rainfall and smaller, locally-known creeks, more inland communities are now on the list as well.

What Should I Do?

While our generation may never witness such a catastrophe, every year average global temperature increases the chances become even likelier. With this information, it is wise to review your flood insurance. You may not be covered with the thought you were not susceptible to damages you now realize may be reality. However, you now can take a closer look and find out if flood insurance is something worth investing in.

Still have questions on finding flood insurance at a great price? Contact a risk advisor at 914-357-8444.

Claims Management, Workers Compensation Insurance

Requiring Sunscreen as PPE

The dog days of July and August have come. And with those months come extreme heat, humidity, and higher risks of staying in the sun. Injuries and illnesses related to heat are real and affected millions of workers a year. Sunstroke, severe dehydration, and fainting due to dizziness are common. However, one of the overlooked effects of the sun is the damage of UV rays on the skin. Requiring sunscreen as PPE can help minimize that risk.

Without skin protection, extreme heat in the summer may cause permanent sun damage and illnesses in the future. These may form skin cancers that appear decades afterward. Making sure workers are protected can save costs and claims. The solution happens to remain very simple.

Make all workers wear high-SPF sunscreen as PPE. If gloves protect the hands and goggles protect the eyes, sunscreen should protect the skiing. Even a subtle injury such as sunburn can affect a workers productivity for the next few days. We also recommend workers wear more clothing to hide their skin as well as using sunscreen. UV rays are more extreme and direct in the summer and workers protection is imperative.

This article is a great guide to PPE protection and goes over sunscreen use in the summer. If you still have questions, contact a risk advisor today at 914-357-8444.

Claims Management, Construction Practice Group Content, Risk Management, Workers Compensation Insurance

Hand Sanitizers Risks in the Workplace

Hand Sanitizer Problems

According to a recent event that occurred on a construction site, the Mechanical Contractors Association of America has announced to be extra cautious with brand-name liquid hand-sanitizers at the workplace. Many of these sanitizers contain isopropyl alcohol, a highly-flammable but important component of the sanitizer. If the skin does not absorb the entire sanitizer, the solution can ignite when set near other flammable objects.

According to the MCAA, an event occurred where a construction worker used the sanitizer then touched a metal beam. Because the sanitizer did not fully absorb, the worker received first-degree burns. This news rightly frightens many, as millions of Americans use hand sanitizers every day.

Hand sanitizers are becoming a commonality when entering a new building due to COVID-19. Liquid sanitizers containing isopropyl alcohol are supposedly effective at combating COVID-19. Yet it is now apparent they are also effective at causing serious flammable problems.

The other component of hand sanitizer labeled as dangerous by the FDA and CDC is methanol. The FDA recently placed recall orders for various hand sanitizers from Mexico because of their use of methanol. The sanitizers claim the use of ethanol, a regulatory hand sanitizer component. However, there has been traces of methanol instead. methanol is wood alcohol usually used in dry adhesives and paint thinners. More than 4% methanol in a hand sanitizer is considered “poisonous” by the FDA. This is due to the fact that methanol can cause serious, permanent damage or death when directly ingested or rubbed onto the skin.

How to Prevent the Hand Sanitizer Problems

To prevent accidents like these from happening, experts say to just let the sanitizer soak into the skin. Waiting an extra three minutes before starting to work can be the difference between disaster and containing a pandemic.

To prevent using methanol, make sure to read the full FDA banned sanitizer list and know what sanitizers to buy and not buy. Also, make sure the hand sanitizer is government approved and not some homemade liquid mixture. These are becoming prevalent due to the hand sanitizer shortage.

Causes

Some things that may assist in the ignition of isopropyl are open flames, electrical tools/machinery, sparks from static electricity, as well as smoking cigarettes.

With the need of isopropyl alcohol to actually defend the skin against COVID-19, the problem will not be going away anytime soon. However, small changes such as waiting an extra 2 or 3 minutes or wearing gloves can make a drastic impact. COVID-19 has already impacted our work lives plenty the last 4 months, a relatively small hand sanitizer issue should not stop us from re-entering the workplace.

Still confused by this article? Still concerned about your health and safety? Contact a risk advisor today at 914-357-8444/

Claims Management, Human Services Practice Group Content, OSHA, Workers Compensation Insurance

Healthcare Safe Patient Handling

Healthcare employees are a prime target for on-site injury. The main reason is their job consists of manual labor that usually deals with people. Activities such as lifting/handling human patients are common in the workplace for healthcare employees. One thing that needs to be addressed is safe-patient handling.

It is no surprise then that the main reasons for lost work and worker injuries in the healthcare industry is patient handling. Patient handling injuries makeup over 30% of workplace injuries and cost $1.66 billion in WC claims every year, according to Liberty Mutual data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That does not account for the billions every year spent on medical treatment by the workers themselves. So what are the ways that healthcare workers can maintain their current work duties yet avoid the risk of constant injuries? Well, here are 10 ways/tips to execute safe lifting and patient handling, according to OSHA.

Mechanical Lifting is Safe Patient Handling

Mechanical lifting is not only safer for the workers’ health, it is safer for any patients needing assistance.

Healthy Workers Should Still Not be Lifting Patients

Just because an employee has no previous injuries does not mean they are cleared to carry fully-grown people. Experts say less than 40 pounds is satisfactory for any employee’s heaviest lift.

Manually Lifting Patients can Actually be More Time-Consuming

If the job-site has mechanical lifting technology on-site and nearby, manually lifting may actually be more time-consuming. Do not worry if it takes an extra minute to retrieve/set up the technology. This is much safer than having a load of employees attempt to pick up and lift a patient.

Manual Lifting Costs More in the Long Run

While the mechanical lifting machines cost a pretty penny, medical injuries stemming from manual lifting could end up costing more. Back injury treatment for healthcare workers cost $20 billion every year. Factor in the billions in WC claims, and the lost days of worker productivity. Then, it makes the decision more clear that mechanical lifting is cheaper and more productive.

Learning Good Body Posture for Lifting Does Not Equal Less Injuries

Unfortunately, no matter how much you train to correctly lift a patient manually, it will never be as safe as mechanical lifting. There is no such technique that will teach how to safely lift a patient as our bodies were not built to lift another person.

Management Support

Having company-wide approval for a switch mechanical lifting is a positive step forward. This will help expedite the process of installing new mechanical lift devices without management backlash.

Assessing Potential Hazards

Finding the most hazardous areas of the workplace is crucial to implementation of mechanical lifting. Picking where to install these devices at the most efficient spots for the workers can make a huge difference.

Implementing a Committee to help With Safe Patient Handling

Creating a workers-based committee to help with the implementation of a safe patient handling program can help your company. After all, they are the most knowledgeable on the subject and can provide invaluable insight.

Education on Mechanical Lifting

Of course, mechanical lifting can only be as safe as the one that is operating the machine! Make sure your frontline healthcare workers are fully trained in using the technology.

Monitoring the Implementation of the New Safe Patient Handling

Once the mechanical lifting technology is in-place, that does not necessarily mean the end of the discussion. Management and workers alike must constantly evaluate the efficiency of the devices and judge whether or not another change must be made.

All of these steps and tips obviously lean towards the use of mechanical lifting devices over manual lifting. Following these steps can save your employees injuries and your company billions in claims. Remember, your employees’ health and safety must come first as well as your clients, so do the right thing and invest in the future of healthcare.

Cyber Liability Insurance, Loss Control, Risk Management

What is Cyber Insurance and How Does it Work?

What is Cyber Insurance and How Does it Work?

With the vast majority of companies’ sensitive data being online, the vulnerability for data breaches is obvious, especially now that cybercriminals are becoming more tactical and clever with their hacking approach. These factors have played into the upbringing of cyber insurance, where companies can manage their risk by buying policies to cover potential losses from data breaches. However, there are many speed bumps that come with buying cyber insurance. These are the 6 main questions that come with buying cyber insurance.

  • How Do Companies Decide What They Want Covered?

Before companies fill out applications to buy cyber insurance, they first need to find where they need to be covered. To do this, they need to find where their highest risks of data breaches are located and how much they need to be covered in each part. Some companies use the likes of private, experienced network security specialists to figure out where they need to buy insurance.

What Prices do Brokers Charge for Cyber Insurance Premiums?

Usually, there are 3 or 4 main questions insurance companies ask potential insureds before pricing a cyber insurance premium:

First Question: Industry

  • What industry is your company in? Usually, insurers want to know what type of work your company does. This gives a clue to how much data you may be storing and how valuable that information may be. For example, an IT firm may have more quality and valuable information stored in their networks than a trucking company.

Profit

  • How much is your company’s annual revenue? More income from a company attracts more cyber-criminals to their information stored online.
    What kind of data do you have online and where? Insurers want to know where you are storing this data, and on how many different networks. Based on their judgment, the easier it is for cyber-criminals to extract this valuable information and more of it at once, the more the insurance premiums will cost.

Current Systems

  • How much security does your company have installed to protect your sensitive data? What kind of security protocols do you have in place other than insurance to protect your security? How much training do your employees have from professionals to keep phishing scams and ransomware at bay? These types of questions are frequently on insurance applications as the insurers can gauge two things. How seriously a company takes cyber-security? How much are companies willing to put into top-notch cyber-security in terms of people, money, time, and resources?

  • What Type of Claims/Cyber Attacks do Insurers Usually Keep Out of Policies?

Typically, insurance companies will not cover thighs such as preventable security breaches, cyber-attacks due to negligence to maintain proper cybersecurity, an employee mistake with sensitive information, or any attack from an employee within the company. Other than that, there are other policies that may or may not be excluded, it is up to the individual broker for how much, if at all, they want to cover that policy.

  • So if the Company/Insured is Liable for any Breach, they Will Not be Covered?

In some cases, this is true, but not in every situation. An insurer may not cover an employee mishandling sensitive information, but the insurer may cover a simple mistake. This may include losing a device with information on it or losing information due a phishing scam. Every situation is different, and that is why insurers investigate every claim thoroughly. This is especially in cyber security as there may not be any physical evidence.

  • Speaking of Liability, What Constitutes First-party Liability vs. Third-Party Liability?

The difference between the two is who actually loses the data and who is actually responsible for the losses. In first party-liability policy, the insured is covered for any data breach they are liable for within their open company. To make it simple, if a company had their own sensitive information stolen and had a first-party liability policy, they would be covered. This is different from third-party liability, which is coverage for an insured that is liable for the data breach of information kept by another person or company. For example, if an IT company makes their money by creating private networks and software and encryption programs to protect their client’s private information, they may buy third-party liability. In this case, if their client has their data hacked, the IT company is liable. But third-party liability may cover them.

  • Not All Companies Know They’ve Been Hacked Instantly. When do Companies say that Their Coverage for a Specific Claim has Expired?

This is up to the insurers to determine when they feel it is within the proper scope of time after the insureds REALIZED the hack. This is important because it is not when the hack or attack actually occurs, since it may take a small-market company over 200 days to realize their systems are compromised. Insurers go by when the insurers have figured out they had lost sensitive data and information, and the timeline begins on that date. Insurers know that the first thing on companies minds is not to file a claim. Companies want to figure out the exact damages, enforce accountability, and re-secure/change the data security program first. Then, many companies will file a claim within a reasonable time frame. Most insurance brokers say about 6 months before carriers hand down warnings and coverage for that claim expires.

To Conclude

With cyber-attacks increasing significantly in the last 2 years through Ransomware and Business Email Compromises (BEC), having your data not only protected but insured is crucial in today’s modern corporate environment. Hopefully, these tips have helped with the frequently asked questions about the confusing intricacies of cyber insurance.

 

For more information about Cyber Liability Insurance contact a Risk Advisor or call 914-357-8444.

Cyber Liability Insurance, HR Challenges, Risk Management

Password Security for Cyber Protection

Implementing Proper Password Security For Better Cyber Protection

Picture this: it’s the end of the month, and you sit down at your computer to check your bank account balance, there’s only one thing, you forgot your password. What is it again? qwertyuiop1? No, qwertyuiop15? Eh, I’m not sure; I’ll just reset it.

Almost 40% of people deal with issues related to forgotten passwords on a monthly basis (Entrepreneur). This doesn’t only include bank accounts, but with social media and email passwords.

I’m not the only person who struggles to remember all his passwords, and I know I can’t be the only one changing my password every week because I can’t remember if I capitalized the first letter or not. Needless to say, my passwords are lacking in complexity in part because I never realized how risky using a common password can be. Cyber criminals have endless ways to use your private information. Opening fraudulent bank accounts, shopping online, applying for loans, and identity theft are only some of the most common uses of your data. The worst part is, I feel secure after changing my password from Football3! to Football4!. This change is almost completely insignificant to a hacker and most definitely isn’t going to prevent a hacker from getting into one of my accounts.

As a result of my new cyber security paranoia, here are some tips for better password management:

  • Make sure your password is at least 12 characters; it’s better to be safe than sorry. When it comes down to it, adding four characters to your password can be the difference between security and losing your account to cyber criminals.
    • An almost random combo of letters, numbers, and symbols is your best bet for creating a password that hackers will struggle to crack. The longer your password is, the better.
  • Stay away from obvious dictionary words and combinations of dictionary words. Any word on its own is bad. Any combination of a few words, especially if they’re obvious, is also bad. For example, “house” is a terrible password. “Red House” is also very bad.
    • In other words, stay away from any passwords you think someone else may be using. Think of something original, and don’t use the passwords “123456” or “password.”
  • Another easy way to keep your passwords secure is to keep them private, as in not sharing them with your coworkers, friends, or relatives.
    • Almost 50% of Americans have shared their passwords with another person. A significant part of these shared passwords occurs on streaming sites like Netflix and Hulu. Why is that important you ask? According to the Ponemon Institute, the average person uses the same password for approximately five accounts. Make sure to remember when you’re giving your boy or girlfriend your Netflix password, you may also be giving him or her access to much more.
  • Change your passwords every month if you want to be safe from cyber-attacks. This effort may sound hard to the average person who changes passwords once a year or not at all. But putting the extra time aside to change your passwords is a great way to ensure your cyber security.
  • Multi-factor authentication is a safety method that grants access to an account after presenting two pieces of evidence to an authentication mechanism. By using two-factor authentication, you can protect yourself against almost all cyber attacks; two-factor authentication is one of the most effective ways to combat cyber criminals.
  • Keep your passwords safe and organized by using a password management application; there are plenty of apps that offer free password help. If you’re old fashioned, write passwords in a notebook and keep them in a secure location. Write dates next to your passwords to help you keep track of when to change them.

Final Thoughts

People as a whole have too many passwords: and what comes of all of them? Serious fatigue, to the point where resetting our passwords, is easier than remembering them. But you have to be careful in resetting your password, though it may make you feel safer to change your password every month or two, this still allows hackers a long period of time to get into your account if they’ve already targeted your account. The most important step to having proper password security is making the password long, with almost random strings of letters, numbers, and symbols.

As a result, people like me do dumb things, creating a few password variations to help an untenable situation. Or we do even dumber things, like use passwords such as “password” or “123456.” Or we create a “base” password and add a variation for each site. We know it’s stupid, but we’re driven to these solutions because we are lazy/our memories can’t remember all those passwords. So do yourself a favor and follow those tips to increase your password security.

 

If you have any further questions, contact a Risk Advisor or call 914-357-8444 today!

Risk Management

Wearing Face Masks Have New DOL Guidelines

The DOL published a new guideline, detailing that different workers need different types of face masks. They have split up the groups of workers in terms of

risk of receiving/transmitting disease while on the job. There are 5 different groups: Negligible, Low, medium, High, and Extremely High. Each group

has a picture and description of the type of face masks required to wear at work. There are also examples of what type of jobs would fit under each category.

Negligible Risk:

Simple cloth coverings are all that is needed for people under negligible risk. Some people who fall under this category are people who work alone or within concealed spaces. This includes delivery people in their own car or crane workers enclosed alone in the cab.

Low Risk:

A cloth covering with a second layer of fabric is required for people in low risk. These people are workers in small groups that for the most part 6 feet away. They may be after-hours janitors, vehicle mechanics, or local barbers.

Medium Risk:

Disposable masks are required for medium risk jobs. They may be surgical masks or KN90s and KN95s. These are jobs like low risk, when workers for the most part stay 6 feet apart. However, if there are times when workers must be within 6 feet and no physical barriers are present, the job elevates to medium risk. These may be grocery-store workers, kitchen cooks/staffers, or transit operators.

High Risk:

Respirators are required for high-risk jobs. High-risk jobs include those when workers are within 3 feet of each other for nearly 10 minutes an hour. These may include cubicle workers with no barriers or home maintenance for clients with other workers.

Extremely-High Risk:

The DOL requires FDA-approved N95 masks for these jobs, as well as surgical eyeglasses and surgical masks for all clients. These jobs may include EMTs, surgeons, or any healthcare workers that are in contact with possibly-infected people.

Hopefully, this new guideline, called Which Mask for Which Task will help employers and employees protect themselves better. Moreover, sorting employees into risk groups is considered a big step in the right direction for the government agency.

 

For additional information Contact a Risk Advisor or call 914-357-8444, today