In 2019-20 FY, IMWCA extended its first slip and fall prevention grant to six members of the SHEILD safety group. Over the next year, the program was monitored to see if it reduced the number of slip and fall injuries related to snow and ice. The result was a resounding success. As a result, the SHEILD group has continued the program and even expanded it to other members over the last six years with a dramatic reduction in the number and costs of slip and fall claims.
Since the initial study, eight additional members have pursued slip and fall prevention grants. Over the past six years, IMWCA has awarded grants to 14 members, helping to provide 621 pairs of traction aids—an investment of approximately $26,000. These aids have supported full-time and part-time staff, as well as volunteer first responders.
The results demonstrate a significant decline in slip and fall incidents and injury costs after the members have initiated the program. Over the last four completed years, the results are:
*One important point that must be made is that in 23-24 and 24-25, the majority of the losses were due to employees who were provided footwear but did not wear it when required.
This study program has demonstrated that slip and fall claims are highly preventable when safety leaders and management provide appropriate footwear, provide seasonal training and implement and enforce usage policies like other personal protective equipment. IMWCA is willing to help with the footwear costs through our grant. The question now is, are you willing to invest some time and effort in training and holding employees accountable for using the slip-resistant footwear to keep themselves safe?
Incident Review Workshops
Over the last year, IMWCA Safety and Risk Improvement staff have attended almost 100 safety committee meetings throughout the state with our city, county, and 28E members. During those meetings, one trend has begun to stand out and that is the need for more training on how to conduct effective incident reviews.
Conducting an in-depth incident review is a foundational element for any successful safety culture. It’s necessary to not only know what happened, but to also know why something happened to understand how to keep the same issue from reoccurring. To help our members further develop their incident review skills, IMWCA Safety and Risk Improvement will be holding several regional trainings around the state in October. The workshop will cover the different elements of incident review such as who is involved, the use of forms, having a policy on reporting incidents and what to do with the information once you have it.
Please check future Informers and the IMWCA calendar for more information on dates, times and locations.
Happy 4th of July!
IMWCA offices will be closed on July 4 in observance of Independence Day.
Check out a great reminder on proper fireworks disposal.
Audits Coming Soon!
The 2024-2025 fiscal year is almost over and that means payroll audits are coming soon. For 2024-2025, your entity estimated the payroll based on the workers’ compensation premium. The purpose of the audit is to verify actual payroll figures to ensure that the appropriate amount of premium was contributed. IMWCA’s contracted firm, Information Providers, Inc. (IPI), will perform audits from July to September.
Each member received an email from IMWCA detailing the information needed to complete the audit. Having this information readily available will help the auditor efficiently complete the audit with fewer callbacks to obtain missing information.
IPI will be mailing an appointment letter in the coming weeks with information on how to submit your payroll records for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
If you have questions about the audit process, please contact Andrew Justice, Underwriting Manager at andrewjustice@iowaleague.org or (800) 257-2708.
