Statewide Safety and Wellness Leadership Initiative

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Statewide Safety and Wellness Leadership
Initiative

• Risk Seminar
• Oregon Department of Administrative Services-Risk
  Management
• Salem Oregon
• October 23, 2006

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Historical Perspective Leonard
Sweet, Historian, Futurist

• If we do not learn from history, we shall be
  compelled to relive it.
• True.
• But if we do not change the future, we shall be
  compelled to endure it.
• And that could be worse.

3
Safety as a State Business FunctionPre-1980

• State Safety Manager - Executive Department
• Accident Prevention Model
• Post-1972 OSHA compliance focused
• Position eliminated in 1978-82 recession
• SAIF states insurer by statute
• Loss control services to each agency
• Claim handling by local office
• Set payroll rate that was deducted monthly from
  agency budgets

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Safety as a State Business Function 1980 to 1987

• Safety is managed by the Agency Head
• Agency option to designate safety position
• Some agency safety staff addressed claims
• WC budget set for biennium
• SAIF
• Appointed a State Agency Account Rep
• Claims and Loss Control handled locally
• SAIF designated payroll rates annually

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Safety as a State Business Function 1980 to 1987

• Safety perceived as responsibility of safety
  staff or committees, SAIF or OR-OSHA
• Safety positions and program funding often cut in
  budget reduction exercises
• OSHA compliance model did not align with causes
  of claims
• Once injured, employees were SAIFs
  responsibility
• SAIF business model did not align with agency
  needs
• SAIF costs regularly exceeded budget

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Costs Exceeded Budget
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and Costs Attract Attention

• Hard insurance market for work comp drove costs
  nationally
• Oregon had 6th most expensive system in nation
• On the radar screen of the newly elected Governor
  and others
• Legislature directed agencies to study the cause
  of wc costs exceeding budget, so

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Statewide Safety Initiative

• Issue Work comp costs were rising rapidly.
• Charge Learn the cause and develop a plan to
  bring costs in control.
• Areas of Focus
• Perception and Opinion of Key Stakeholders
• Management Systems to address safety and work
  comp
• Data analysis

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Risk Management Surveyed Agencies Perceptions

• Oregon laws prevented management of claims and
  allowed abuse
• SAIF overcharged state agencies to balance losses
  from small policy holders
• Work comp claimants malinger because many
  injuries had no accident cause
• Managers could be sued if they called injured
  workers at home

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Risk Management Surveyed Agencies Perceptions

• Injured workers had to be 100 before they
  could return to work
• Agency safety efforts made no impact on the
  rates SAIF charged
• Safety was not on the front burner for agency
  head performance expectations
• Agency executives did not know what good
  performance looked like

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Risk Management Looked at Safety/WC Management
Systems

• Accident Prevention/OSHA Compliance model
• Safety staff averaged SR 19 many layers to
  executive staff
• Injured Worker management and claim oversight in
  HR, few experts, always an additional duty, RTW
  late and spotty, attention to claim reserves
• Policies related to injured worker rights or
  legal compliance not management duties or
  expectations
• Premium Charges were automated", not understood
  and not responsive to agency action

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Risk Management Examined Claims Data

• 80 of claims and costs came from twelve agencies
  
• Nature and cause of most injuries had not
  changed, except
• Agencies, like the rest of Oregon, had rapid rise
  in stress claim filing
• Time loss occurrences were 25 of agencies
  claims and caused 95 of costs

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1980s State Experience Serious Claims per 100
FTE
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1987 Statewide Safety InitiativeKey Elements

• Executive Order to reduce injuries and, thus,
  reduce WC budget impact
• Agency Heads continue to be responsible for
  safety and managing WC costs
• Partner with SAIF and DIF (now DCBS) to address
  program, training, system and process needs
• Focus resources on the Top 12 agencies to improve
  performance

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1987 Statewide Safety InitiativeKey Elements

• DAS-Risk intervened with WC finance model
• Risk established work comp component of
  Self-insurance fund
• Risk negotiated insurance terms and conditions
  with SAIF on behalf of all agencies
• SAIF bills Risk Management for all costs
• Risk bills agencies through annual Risk Charges
  and biennial budget process

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Workers Compensation Costs
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1987 Statewide Safety InitiativeKey Elements

• Time Loss Occurrences became the Performance
  Measure
• Goal to reduce serious injuries by 50 over a
  four year period
• Agency heads given data and reports that tracked
  progress

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Environmental Changes in Oregon

• SAIF reorganized its business model - 1989
• Major legislative changes to work comp statutes
• 1987 changes Occupational Disease (stress
  claim) compensability
• 1990 Mahonia Hall - Labor / Management Advisory
  Group
• 1990 Special Session

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Safety Initiative 1987 to 1992
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Statewide Safety Initiative 1987 to 1992
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Statewide Safety Initiative1992-2005

• Safety Advisors lead internal agency programs
• Injured Worker Management systems
• Timely claim filing
• Early RTW at Temporary Transitional Duty
• Return to Work
• Claim resolution
• Coordination with Employment Claims
• SAIFs Oregon Claims Team, Return to Work
  Consultants and Loss Consultants

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Statewide Safety Initiative1992-2005
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What we are seeing in 2006

• Claim frequency is flat
• Medical costs are increasing about 10
• Temporary disability payments are based on wages
  that are increasing
• Legislative changes increases the states risk
  related to compensability, disability awards and
  vocational services
• State is now paying on 10 full open plan years
• Actuaries claim cost projections for past years
  are increasing rapidly

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Costs are rising

• Work Comp Risk Charges Increasing
• 55
• for 2007-09 biennium

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We remember

• If we do not learn from history, we shall be
  compelled to relive it.
• True.
• But if we do not change the future, we shall be
  compelled to endure it.
• And that could be worse.

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What are we doing to change the future?

• DAS, Independent Actuaries and SAIF have reviewed
  statewide cost and claim data
• DAS-Risk Safety Consultant has interviewed key
  agency Safety Advisors
• Safety Operations Council convened to provide
  ongoing input and collaborate on activities and
  best practices
• Executive Steering Committee led by DAS
  Directors Office and including technical expert
  and stakeholder representatives is sponsoring and
  guiding

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2006 Safety and Wellness Leadership Initiative
- Focus Areas

• Organizational Culture
• Employee Feedback
• Management Systems
• Self-Assessment Tool
• Data analysis
• Target high risk / high opportunity

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Safety and Wellness Leadership Initiative - Key
Strategies

• Management leadership and accountability
• Individual Involvement Accountability
• Safety and Wellness Programs
• Learning Processes Training Communication

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Impact on the Employee Experience
ORGANIZATIONAL VALUES
Individual Employee Experience
MANAGEMENT PROCESSES
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
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Future opportunities.

• Questions?