Workforce Safety
VTC Insurance Group’s Safety Proposition is an exclusive document that gives business owners and risk managers the confidence they need to ensure a safe operation for their employees. It translates into time and dollars saved that can be reinvested into your business to help it grow. Click on the links to your left for critical insights on the key topics covered.
For more information and to request your copy of the complete VTC Safety Proposition, contact your VTC insurance agent.
We would like to recognize our insurance carrier partners: Amerisure, CNA, and Travelers who made this resource possible. It is available to all business customers of VTC Insurance Group.
Reducing Employee Injuries
Our Triple Bottom Line approach communicates a strong commitment to employees, their families, your customers, and the community.
Our Triple Bottom Line approach communicates a strong commitment to employees, their families, your customers, and the community.
This strategy equates to:
- Clear and consistent business communication
- Fair and efficient labor practices
- Lower health care and Workers’ Compensation costs
- A more productive longer-term workforce
- Improved employee wellness
- Improved plant operations and customer satisfaction
- Assistance with defense planning against product liability claims
- A commitment to meeting your corporate social responsibilities
Please reach out to your VTC insurance agent to learn more and to request your copy of the VTC Safety Proposition.
Employee Hiring Practices
Hiring the right employee is an important decision. There are some strategies that your organization may utilize during the hiring process to ensure the right candidate is selected for the position.
The “Employee Hiring Practices” guide is a pro-active approach to assist you through the employment process. It is important to ensure that the Human Resources Department and/or your Employment Attorney is involved in all phases of this process.
There are many federal and state regulations governing the acquisition and hiring of employees. It is important to comply with all requirements.
Components of this program include:
- Employment Application
- Onsite Interview
- Written Job Descriptions
- Employment Offer
- Post Offer Screening
Please reach out to your VTC insurance agent to learn more and to request your copy of the VTC Safety Proposition.
Return to Work
The Return To Work Opportunity
The principle objective of a remain-at-work/return-to-work (RTW) process is straightforward – zero days away from work for an occupational injury or illness when medically appropriate. You may be skeptical of achieving such a lofty goal, but many employers have already done so and many more operate close to reaching this goal.
Striving for this objective can help manage costs and positively impact the productivity of your organization. For example, if your company sells products with a 10% profit margin, and, on average, you pay $100,000 per year in Workers’ Compensation premiums your company would have to sell an additional $1,000,000 worth of product to offset that expense.
You may wonder why an organization would not include an effective RTW process. The simple answer is internal barriers. However, there is no reason any company could not overcome them. The following are examples of potential barriers:
- Lack of senior management support
- Internal procedures and policies
- Supervisor resistance
- Employee expectation
- Regulatory requirements
With a little time and effort you can outline a plan to manage these barriers and, ultimately, help improve your organization’s bottom line. This guide contains additional resources including an effective Return To Work Statement, a sample RTW program, and other tools that can help you implement a robust RTW program that meets your needs and improves your bottom line.
Please reach out to your VTC insurance agent to learn more and to request your copy of the VTC Safety Proposition.
Ergonomics
Ergonomics can help you design job tasks and work environments that are compatible with human capabilities and limitations. By implementing ergonomics into your business, you can decrease the risk of costly injuries to employees. If a systematic process is incorporated correctly, ergonomics provides a strong strategy for designing operations and making good business decisions.
VTC insurance professionals help policyholders make ergonomic improvements that produce benefits in productivity, efficiency and quality of work. Our prudent ergonomic planning tools help companies decrease health care costs and the risk of health problems for their workers while increasing productivity and profitability.
VTC can empower your business by giving you the ability to increase productivity, improve quality of work and prevent injuries in the workplace through ergonomics. We can show you how a comprehensive, cost-effective approach to ergonomics builds a self-sustaining improvement process. Employing our methods can help your business identify and act on long- and short-term opportunities to improve the quality and quantity of output and prevent injuries.
VTC’s six-step ergonomic process provides the knowledge, work method techniques, engineering guidelines and information required to integrate the human factor with the overall production process. As a result, ergonomics can positively impact your business’ profitability and productivity, while reducing injury risk factors and the frequency and severity of injuries.
Please reach out to your VTC insurance agent to learn more and to request your copy of the VTC Safety Proposition.
Workplace Wellness Program
VTC Insurance Group is committed to helping our policyholders prevent injuries on the job. We believe that there is a direct correlation between wellness and employee injury. Improved nutrition, personal fitness and smoking cessation among employees can be a vital element in an employer’s Workplace Wellness Program and positively impact the prevention and severity of work related injuries.
Definition of a Wellness Program
A Wellness Program is best described as a comprehensive approach to achieving and maintaining a high level of well-being through diet, exercise, illness prevention and stress management.
Definition of a Workplace Wellness Program
Workplace wellness constitutes an organization health promotion or written policy designed to support healthy behavior in the workplace. There are many variations of a Workplace Wellness Program. They may be as minimal as a healthy-living newsletter or as comprehensive as onsite exercise facilities, financial incentives and guest speakers.
A Workplace Wellness Program has three main components:
- A clear vision of long-term objectives: this may include a mission statement defining what the company wants to accomplish through their action steps and achieved goals.
- Measurable goals: these can include reducing employee absences, reducing the use of sick leave, or reducing the number of work related injuries (sprains/strains).
- Action steps: the specific actions necessary to complete the WorkPlace Wellness Program. This could include establishing a smoking cessation program or implementing a regular exercise program.
Please reach out to your VTC insurance agent to learn more and to request your copy of the VTC Safety Proposition.
Motion is Money
Wasted motion decreases your workers’ production and increases their risk of injury. This booklet will give you strategies, methods and ideas to enhance your workers’ productivity and reduce risk factors. For every one percent reduction in risk, you can gain one percent improvement in productivity.
- Spend 30 to 60 minutes observing your workers walking, bending, reaching, and carrying.
- Remember, unnecessary movement affects productivity and efficiency.
- Don’t criticize during this time, but learn and then coach.
Key Questions to Ask Yourself
- How much walking do you see?
- How many bends are occurring?
- How much reaching is occurring?
- How many employees are walking to get parts and tools?
- What are the distances employees are walking?
- What percentage of parts/tools can be staged off the floor or ground?
- How do we get parts/tools off the floor or ground?
- Are the right type and orientation of hand tools used? (e.g. pistol grip vs. in-line)
- What is the distance from point of installation to the tool crib or inventory?
- Was the best type of material handling equipment used?
Additional resources include worksheets to help you analyze your workplace through observations and translate that data so that you can effectively reduce wasted movement and improve outcomes.
Please reach out to your VTC insurance agent to learn more and to request your copy of the VTC Safety Proposition.
Product Liability
With tort reform failing to stop the steady increase in product liability claim awards, manufacturers and enterprises like yours must take defensive action to protect their financial health. VTC professionals will work with you to develop methods and preventive measures that help lower your product liability risk exposures and design and manufacture safer products. Instituting the strategies we recommend can help reduce hazards that may result in costly legal fees and lengthy litigation.
Learn how through defense planning and implementing a step-by-step process for products liability prevention can reduce your company’s risk helping you focus on expanding your business.
Please reach out to your VTC insurance agent to learn more and to request your copy of the VTC Safety Proposition.
VTC Safety Policy
