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        January, 2000

CSRMA Risk Control Strategic Plan for 2000

"Start to Finish Employee Preventive Maintenance Programs"

 

The American workforce is getting older.  The workforce within the wastewater industry is aging even more rapidly.  The average age of a CSRMA member employee is 46 years old.  The national average is 38. 

 

Why Are Wastewater Worker's Older?

In the 1970's, with the passage of the Clean Water Act, an enormous sum of money was poured into upgrading the nations' public water utilities.  This meant more treatment plants and treatment plants that required a more skilled and professional workforce.  The outcome was a need for highly trained wastewater treatment professionals to staff and operate these plants.  Professional organizations for the industry blossomed and it quickly became an industry that was certification driven and well-compensated.  The result of this is low turnover. Another contributing factor is that this is a certification driven industry and OIT or other entry-level positions are few.  As a result, older and more experienced workers are usually hired before younger and less experienced workers. 

 

What Does This Mean?

This means that people stay in this field once they are fortunate enough to break into it.  As a result, we have a constantly aging workforce and the effect this has on the industry is far-reaching.  For example, Agencies that have not recently hired an employee may have to re-learn the recruiting and hiring process, and, along the way, navigate the minefield of employment practices laws that have been enacted in recent years.  It also means that our employees are showing the effects of aging.  By far the most common injury within CSRMA in the last two years has been soft tissue injuries – strains, sprains and joint injuries.  In fact, the three most common body parts injured within the CSRMA membership are, in order of frequency:

    Ø Backs

    Ø Knees

    Ø Shoulders

From June 1990 through June 1999, CSRMA members experienced a total of 1,615 injuries. Of those, strains and sprains accounted for 44% of the total injuries.  And the three most common causes for these types of injuries were:

    Ø Lifting

    Ø Bending/Kneeling

    Ø Twisting

These types of injuries increase in frequency as we age because of joint deterioration, years of cumulative minor injuries we never even notice along the way, and lifestyle behaviors that damage our bodies over time. 

 

But Wait…There's More!

When an employee is injured, a number of things are set in motion.  Typically, a claim is filed, the injured employee receives the necessary medical care and is eventually released by their physician to return to work.  Historically, the employer has not played a role in the rehabilitation process.  This has contributed to a workers' compensation system that encourages workers' comp abuse instead of recovery and productivity.  The results of a survey of 97 physicians at the 1998 Annual Conference of the American College of Occupational & Environmental Medicine found that less than 10% of work related injuries require more than three days off for medical reasons.  Furthermore, less than 5% of industrial injuries require any lost time!  However, statistics indicate that 24% of workers' comp injuries nationwide result in lost-time of at least 3 days of missed work.  These employees become eligible for temporary total disability benefits until they return to work.

In the last few years, Return To Work programs for injured employees have begun to work their way from "Some New Fangled Idea" to the realm of "Conventional Wisdom". Taking employees off workers' comp and bringing them back to the work environment has served as a leading ingredient to employers' strategies in lowering workers' comp costs. The longer an employee is on disability, the less likely an employee will ever return to work.  Some workers' comp observers refer to this as the soap opera syndrome.  In other words, injured employees consider themselves disabled, get used to a sedentary lifestyle and lose their motivation to work.  Statistics demonstrate that workers not back within 90 days of injury have less than 50% likelihood of ever returning.  Those out 120 days or more have less than a 10% chance of ever returning to work at any job even though less than 5% of all workplace injuries are catastrophic and result in permanent total disability.  Statistics have repeatedly demonstrated that the more quickly the employee comes back to full-time duties, the more quickly they recover from their injuries and the workers' comp case can be closed.

As a result, both direct and indirect workers' comp claim costs can be reduced.  Direct costs include medical costs and lost-time expenses such as overtime and temporary employees.  Indirect costs include things such as lowered morale and employee stress.

 

What is CSRMA Risk Control Going To Do For You?

In the coming year, CSRMA Risk Control is going tackle these issues by providing members with the knowledge and resources necessary to effectively manage the impacts of an aging workforce.  This includes:

    v Safe and intelligent hiring

    v Starting new employees off on the right foot

    v Maintaining a minimum level of physical fitness for your workforce

    v Assisting injured employees in the rehabilitation process

    v FRAUD detection and prevention

    v Making a mistake-free and iron-clad termination decision

    v Fisher and Phillips, as well as other consultants expert in areas of wellness and physical fitness, will assist in the Fall 2000 Area Training on each of the topics listed above