publicschools best practices

7/28/2019 PublicSchools Best Practices

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Best Practices orSchools

Best Practices or

Schools


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Contents

Page No.

Introduction ........................................................................3

Benefts o managing employee saety ...........................3

Management commitment ............................................... 4

Employee involvement. ....................................................5

Communication .................................................................5

Saety education and training .......................................... 6

Injury reporting and treatment .........................................6

Return to work/transitional work ......................................8

Saety audits and inspections...........................................8

Challenges .......................................................................... 9

BWCs saety services ........................................................

Internet sites or school employee saety and health.....


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IntroductionThis publication provides useul inormation regarding strategies and practices employed

by Ohio school districts in achieving successul employee saety and health, and work-ers compensation management. You should not consider this publication a complete and

exhaustive list o all possible employee saety- and health-management strategies. BWCs

Division o Saety & Hygiene obtained these best practice strategies through interviews

with administrators o school districts throughout Ohio.

We have grouped these strategies and practices into one o the ollowing categories:

Management commitment;

Employee involvement;

Communication;

Education and training;

Injury reporting and treatment;

Return to work (transitional work practices);

Saety audits and inspections; Saety programs.

Also included in this publication are sections that highlight the ollowing:

Challenges What challenges and obstacles do these and other schools ace when

attempting to manage employee saety;

Solutions What strategies may help overcome some o the challenges and obsta-

cles;

Resources Where to turn or inormation and assistance.

Benefts o managing employee saetyOn average, the schools that participated in our study achieved the ollowing results:

A 14.8 percent increase in payroll; A 34.6 percent reduction in premium;

A 78 percent reduction in claims;

One school district had zero claims in three out o the last fve years;

One school district went rom 45-percent penalty rated in to group rated (41-percent

credit rated) by devoting a signifcant eort to its saety process. This school saw a

54-percent reduction in premium. As a result, it paid approximately $151,000 less in

premium. This same school district also experienced a 70-percent reduction in claims;

All school districts experienced reductions in injury requency and severity;

Each school district credited the implementation o saety-related communication sys-

tems to improve overall communications throughout the districts. See the Communica-

tion section on page 5 or specifc details;

All school districts reported heightened employee awareness o saety issues, both on

and o the job; Several school administrators stated they believe the improvements in the employee saety

and health process have had a positive impact on employee attitudes and morale.


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Demographics All o the schools included in this study were group rated with an average 42-percent

credit rating. Group-rating status equates to signifcant reductions in workers compen-sation premium costs.

The schools have an average o 620 employees, ranging rom 140 to more than 1,000

employees.

On average, each school district operates 12 buildings.

Most schools are members o the Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA); although some

are members o other associations, such as the Ohio Schools Council.

The person with chie responsibility or saety varied widely, but tended to be someone

with the title o business manager, operations manager or acilities manager. These

persons tended to be responsible or non-teaching sta, acilities and grounds.

Management commitment The key to success lies in the organizations culture. What importance does top admin-

istration place on saety?

Commitment rom the superintendent, treasurer and school board is critical.

Some school board members may be experienced business people with a solid under-

standing o employee saety and workers compensation. When available, take advan-

tage o this experience.

All schools surveyed agree at least one key individual needs to be committed to saety

and workers compensation.

Accountability is vital. Assign someone the responsibility or saety, provide him or her

with the tools, training and authority to act, and then hold him or her accountable.

Once commitment to saety is in place with top administration, address saety respon-

sibilities and accountability within each acility and across all departments.

Include employee saety measures in the perormance-review process. Set saety goals,

communicate expectations, establish perormance measurements and hold people ac-

countable. For example:

1. Perormance measures at the operational level (supervisors, teachers, counselors,

custodians, ood service employees, etc.) should ocus on such activities as saety

audits, saety meetings, in-service training, accident reports and saety suggestions;

2. Perormance measures at the school administration level (principal, assistant prin-

cipal) tend to include tracking and measuring the saety activities at the operational

level, as well as school-specifc results, such as reduction in injuries, return to work

and claims-management issues;

3. Perormance measures at the district administration level (superintendent, treasurer,

business manager, school board) tend to include tracking and measuring school-spe-

cifc results, and district-wide results, such as reduction in workers compensation

costs and impact on total budget.

Consider developing and issuing a saety policy statement that clearly communicatestop administrations commitment to employee saety and health.

Historically, most schools have ocused on student saety rather than employee saety. A

comprehensive approach to saety can address both.

To have a good saety program, it must be integrated into the culture o the organiza-

tion,

Fred Stephens, director o business services, Lakewood City Schools


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Employee involvementAll school districts interviewed by the us stress the importance o employee involvement

in the employee saety process. In addition, all o the school districts use some orm o asaety committee or saety team. Organization o teams and how they operate vary rom

school to school.

One school district includes only classifed employees on its team, while another school

district includes teachers on its team. Perhaps the most eective team includes certifed

and classifed employees, union presidents rom both groups, principals, supervisors and a

member o the school board.

Eective teams have a well-defned purpose. They have good decision-making skills and

the authority to act on their decisions. They consider meetings high priority and make all

necessary accommodations to allow each member to attend. Eective teams emphasize

shared decision making. They use input and eedback rom the entire organization when

possible. Involvement in saety activities is so important, these schools are willing to payovertime, rearrange schedules or provide substitutes to allow employees to participate.

The activities and responsibilities o each saety committee/team vary and include any

number o the ollowing:

Conduct regularly scheduled meetings;

Post meeting minutes inorming the entire organization o the teams activities and ac-

complishments;

Conduct saety inspections and/or oversee the inspection process;

Monitor the status o saety issues and hold people accountable or corrective action;

Monitor the saety-suggestion program, implement suggestions and provide eedback;

Publish a saety newsletter or contribute to the saety section o a general newsletter;

Form saety project teams as needed;

Constantly communicate saety issues to top administrators to keep them inormed,

establish accountability and ensure timely completion o action items;

A school board member serves on the saety committee and acts as a liaison between

the committee and the board;

An executive steering committee consisting o a school board member, the superinten-

dent, the business manager, treasurer, principals and the saety team acilitator.

Saety starts at the top and must involve everyone in the organization,

Fred Stephens, director o business services, Lakewood City Schools

CommunicationExtensive communication is a common theme among all school districts the we inter-

viewed. However, there is no consistency in the way this communication takes place.Listed below are communication techniques used, some o which are outlined in the Em-

ployee involvement section on page 8.

Communication techniques include:

Communicate the saety policy statement;

Communicate saety responsibilities, perormance measures and accountability sys-

tems;

Post saety committee meeting minutes;

Hold saety meetings;

Operate a saety suggestion program and provide regular eedback and status reports;

Sponsor labor/management orums;

Publish saety newsletters or a saety section in a general newsletter;


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Hold monthly/quarterly employee orums with the superintendent;

Conduct one-on-one interaction on a daily basis. Attempt to address saety issues and

concerns using the quickest methods and at the lowest level possible rather than wait-

ing or the next committee meeting or orum. Communicate saety issues addressed at

the local level. Communicate to the committee or the orums so the entire organization

can beneft rom knowing what the saety issue was and how it was addressed;

One school district conducted a mini saety perception survey. A comprehensive per-

ception survey is available through the Division o Saety & Hygiene. Contact your local

customer service ofce or details.

Saety is a day-to-day thing. I try to take advantage o daily interactions with my employ-

ees, constantly stressing to them the importance o practicing sae work habits during

their daily operations, Al Yano, service manager, Independence City Schools

Saety education and training

All school districts interviewed by us stress the importance o saety education and train-ing. Saety education and training begins with the top administration. Oten, however, top

administration does not ully understand workplace saety issues or the workers compensation

system. As one school administrator put it, You frst have to educate the educators.

BWC employer services specialists are available to meet with you to discuss your workers

compensation history, analyze your practices and recommend improvements. And Division

o Saety & Hygiene saety consultants are available to meet with you to analyze saety

culture and practices, and recommend improvements. In addition, there is a multitude o

Division o Saety & Hygiene training courses available to help you better understand work-

ers compensation and saety-management strategies.

Saety education and training or employees principals, assistant principals, supervisors,

teachers, counselors, custodians, ood service employees, groundskeepers, etc. are

just as important. Here are things you can do to make your employee saety education and

training eective:

Implement an eective new employee orientation process;

Conduct employee in-service training;

Provide job-specifc training to all employees;

Take advantage o all training opportunities through your local education associations,

third-party administrators (TPAs) or other sources;

Use the training seminars and videotapes available through the Division o Saety & Hygiene.

Most schools conduct the bulk o their in-service training at the start o the school year.

However, one district surveyed by us conducts training or classifed employees in the

summer months. Another district views training as so important that it appointed a training

coordinator to oversee all training.

Employees may perceive in-service training provided by an outside source as more credible

and, thereore, have a greater impact.

Injury reporting and treatmentFirst, ormalize the injury reporting and treatment process. Document it in writing. Then

ensure it is well communicated and understood by all employees o the school district. And

make sure injured employees report all injuries, no matter how minor, to their supervisor.


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Consider speciying the time rame or reporting injuries in your policy (within 24 hours).

Provide the necessary contact names and phone numbers to allow or this communication.

Ensure the injured employee receives proper medical treatment. We recommend you take

the ollowing steps:

Establish a list (network) o preerred medical providers in your area;

Visit those providers and discuss treatment protocol and communication procedures;

Invite providers to tour your acilities to amiliarize them with your operations;

Develop written job descriptions that include physical demands analysis and provide

copies to the medical providers to assist them with return-to-work orders (see Return to

work on page 9);

Clearly identiy which party (school or medical provider) will complete BWCs First Re-

port of an Injury, Occupational Disease or Death (FROI) orm and submit it to the man-

aged care organization (MCO).

While your employee recovers rom his or her injury, maintain close contact with the injuredemployee. Help him or her through the workers compensation process. Provide the in-

jured worker with inormation and answer his or her questions. Remind the injured worker

o your interest to get him or her back to work as soon as possible. Hold the injured em-

ployee accountable to provide appropriate medical orms and inormation. And work closely

with the injured employee, medical provider and the MCO to return the injured employee

to work as soon as medically able.

One school district we interviewed has its saety coordinator, in addition to its TPA, attend

all Industrial Commission o Ohio hearings to clariy inormation and answer questions

related to each case.

Following an accident, immediately conduct an accident analysis (investigation). Identiy the

person responsible or conducting accident analyses. This person may dier rom district to dis-trict. Typically, the injured employees immediate supervisor, the saety coordinator, member(s)

o the saety committee or a combination o these people, conduct accident analyses. Provide

comprehensive training or all persons that will conduct accident analyses.

Ensure the accident report orm includes accident causation analysis and corrective action.

It is critical to learn how and why the accident occurred, and make the necessary changes

to prevent recurrence o a similar accident. Also, consider having an accident-review team

(can be saety committee) review all accidents or the ollowing elements:

Accident reports are flled out completely and in a timely ashion;

Causal actor analysis completed with accident causes identifed;

Corrective action specifed, assigned and completed;

Coordinate communication between accident analysis process and workers compen-

sation process. Oten these unctions are managed separately and yet to be eective,

they must be closely coordinated;

Provide at least one well-equipped accident-analysis kit or each acility.

Enter all recordable injuries on the appropriate recordkeeping log. Public schools should use

the Public Employment Risk Reduction Programs Form 300P. Private schools should use

the Occupational Saety and Health Administration 300 Log. Analyze your injury/illness log

to identiy and address possible injury trends.

Note: the Division o Saety & Hygiene oers Accident Analysis training (train-the-trainer).

Contact the training center or details.


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Return to work/transitional workAll schools interviewed confrm the importance o an eective return-to-work process. This

is perhaps the single most eective claims-management strategy available. Most schoolsinterviewed seem to handle return to work on an inormal, case-by-case basis and have no

ormal agreement with the union(s) or contract language on return to work. However, all

schools work closely with their union(s) on all return-to-work cases.

The study also ound most school districts only return an injured employee to a job within

the employees original job classifcation. However, a couple o school districts have nego-

tiated return-to-work procedures into the union(s) contract(s). Some o these contractual

agreements allow injured employees to return to any job that meets medical restrictions.

Benefts o transitional work include:

The employee earns ull wages, retains all benefts, earns service credits and continues

as an active member o the union;

The school gets a productive worker, can take advantage o the injured employees ex-perience, can use injured employees as trainers or substitutes or replacement workers,

and saves workers compensation costs.

Returning an injured worker to the job as soon as saely possible beore the worker is 100-

percent recovered lowers your workers compensation costs. Its a guaranteed return on

your human resources investment and your most valuable asset your employees.

A transitional work program uses real job duties or a specifed time period to gradually re-

turn the injured worker to the workers original job. The programs components include job

analyses o the employees job tasks, labor-management collaboration, and program-policy

development and program evaluation or eectiveness.

Fact: National statistics show indirect costs or a work-place injury that becomes a lost-time

claim is our times greater than any direct claim expense. These costs include decreased

productivity, hiring and training replacement expenses, overtime or loss o work, legal bills

and loss o morale, business and customer goodwill. The costs to your injured workers are

even greater.

For more inormation on transitional work, contact your local BWC employer services spe-

cialist. In addition, you can access transitional work inormation on BWCs Web site at

ohiobwc.com.

Saety audits (inspections)Most schools we contacted indicate they conduct a comprehensive saety audit o each

building at least annually as part o their saety process.

I your school district doesnt conduct regular saety audits, BWC saety consultants are

available to assist you with developing and implementing a saety audit process.

The primary purpose o a saety audit process is to identiy and correct potential saety

hazards beore an injury occurs. Audits should ocus on both unsae conditions and unsae

behaviors.


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Competing priorities Competing priorities and mandates pull schools in many directions.

Constantly changing priorities can create a trend where employee saety issues areaddressed only during crisis or when convenient. Schools tend to deal with the most

urgent priority today and then orget about it and move on to the next. This can seriously

erode employee trust and confdence in the saety process.

Political issues and priorities do not always match with the desires and intentions o the

school administration.

Schools will do what schools get measured and rewarded or doing. Top priority seems

to be profciency testing.

Historically, schools have concerned themselves primarily with student saety, not em-

ployee saety.

Overcoming challengesThe school districts that participated in this study have demonstrated an ability to overcome

most o the challenges mentioned on the previous page. The ollowing are recommendationsto help school districts overcome the barriers to eective saety management.

Integrate employee saety into every operation o the school. It must be priority each

and every day.

Use the many BWC services that are available to you at no additional charge. You pay or

these services through your premiums.

Educate school administrators about workers compensation and saety management.

BWC can provide personal education on-site.

Include school board members in workers compensation and saety discussions. School

board members are oten business people with a clear understanding o workers com-

pensation and saety issues.

Successul schools seem to have a very strong and dedicated person responsible or

saety. Identiy who this individual is within your district. Ensure he or she has sufcienttime to devote to the saety process.

Employee involvement (including teachers) is critical.

Gaining and maintaining trust is key. Employees must believe management is sincerely

committed to employee saety. Management must earn employees trust daily by dem-

onstrating its commitment to saety through actions.

Eectively managing employee saety results in signifcant reduction o operating costs.

Money saved is available or use elsewhere in the budget. Examples may include:

Providing proessional development opportunities or sta;

Conducting saety-related in-service training;

Making needed acility improvements;

Purchasing new equipment, curriculum or technology upgrades;

Prolonging the budget to postpone the need or a levy or reducing the amount o the

levy requested;

Funding extracurricular activities.

The fnal cost justifcation is the cost o doing nothing. Can you aord to not man-

age employee saety and health?

To not manage employee saety and health would be irresponsible. I this was your

money, what would you do?

Betsy Franklin, coordinator o student processing services, Ashtabula Area City

Schools


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Final wordImplementing an eective saety and health process will reduce injuries, keep experienced

employees on the job, cut costs, improve morale and ultimately enhance the schools mis-sion o educating students.

BWCs saety servicesTo learn about the saety services BWC oers, visit BWCs Web site, ohiobwc.com, or call

1-800-OHIOBWC to request a Safety Services Catalog.

Internet sites or school

employee saety and health

Health inormation network

www.neahin.org/

Indoor air quality

www.epa.gov/iaq/school

www.dehs.umn.edu/iaq/school

www.ehhi.org/school

School bus saety

www.nhtsa.dot.gov

School crime and violence issues

www.bi.gov/publications/school/school2.pd

www.schoolsaety.us

www.ed.gov/about/ofces/list/osds

www.nea.org/schoolsaety

The National Council or Educational Support Personnel

www.nea.org/esp/

Site contains saety inormation or bus drivers and custodial personnel.

The National Clearinghouse or Educational Facilities

www.edacilities.org

Hot topics on K-12 school planning, fnancing, design, construction, operations and main-

tenance.

Recordkeepingwww.ohiobwc.com/downloads/blankpd/PERRPrecordkeepingpackaage.xls

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