Risk-sharing news TRACIE EVERSON | SAFETY BENEFITS, INC.

Celebrate your success! 2023 Safety & Loss Control Recognition Awards

For more than 25 years, Safety Benefits, Inc. (SBI), on behalf of the SDML Workers’ Compensation Fund (SDML WCF), and the South Dakota Public Assurance Alliance (SDPAA), has been inviting Member counties, cities, and special districts to apply for an annual safety and loss control recognition award.

These awards honor those who work hard to ensure a safe workplace and manage entity liability. Your citizens may be interested to learn that meeting the criteria in these awards also means employees are working diligently to protect the assets of your entity. Making the workplace safer for employees means fewer workers compensation claims and reduced liability exposures means fewer liability claims. Controlling such losses saves taxpayers’ dollars.

SBI is pleased to invite your entity to submit an application! An overview of the criteria for the 2023 Safety and Loss Control Recognition Awards is below. There are three levels of achievement for which Member entities may apply:

Bronze

To achieve a bronze level award an entity must comply with all items listed on the application and submit appropriate documentation as requested. Examples of items in this level include:

• Adopted a Safety Manual

• Adopted a Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual

• Attended Safety Training*

• Completed improvement recommendations from the most recent loss control survey with SBI

• Placed first aid kits in occupied buildings and primary vehicles

• Placed fire extinguishers in buildings and primary vehicles; trained employees in use

Silver

To achieve a silver level award, an entity must comply with all bronze and silver level items and submit appropriate documentation as requested. Examples of items in this level include:

• Developed a Safety Committee and/or Appointed a Safety Coordinator

• Obtained Certificates of Insurance (liability and workers compensation)

• Adopted an Accident/Incident Investigation and Evaluation Program

• Documented Citizen Complaints

• SDPAA Members with Law Enforcement: Adopted Policies and Procedures on the 12 Critical Tasks (LLRMI); Trained on the Same

• Attended Back Injury Prevention/ Safe Lifting Training*

• Attended Slip, Trip and Fall Prevention Training*

• Attended the 2022 Safety and Loss Control Training Conference in Pierre

• Adopted a PPE Program

Gold

To achieve a gold level award, an entity must comply with all bronze, silver, and each gold level items and submit appropriate documentation as requested. Examples of items in this level include:

• Attended Defensive Driving Training*

• Dedicated a Safety Meeting to a Safe Driving Topic

• Provided Safety Meetings for Employees

• Conducted Documented SelfInspections of Buildings and Properties

• Completed Loss Control Checklists (available online or by contacting SBI)

Platinum

Members don’t apply for the platinum level award. Rather, the platinum award is presented to counties, cities and special districts achieving the gold level with a combined loss ratio (three years; all lines of coverage) of less than 60% for each risk sharing pool (SDML WCF and/or SDPAA) to which the Member belongs.

Your entity can apply to receive any level award for which you feel the criteria has been met, but bronze is a good place to start. Remember, this is not a competition against other risk pool Members. Every Member meeting the qualifications for a level will receive an award. Many Members have earned the same award in consecutive years.

There’s plenty of time to pull together your application materials. City and special district award applications must be received by Sept. 8, 2023. County award applications must be received by Aug. 18. You don’t need to wait until the deadline to submit. Feel free to send your completed application materials to SBI as soon as they are ready.

City and special district awards will be presented at the SDML Conference in October and county awards will be presented at the County Convention in September. Awards not distributed at those events will be presented at the 2023 Safety and Loss Control Conference in November. Can’t attend any of these events? No worries, SBI will deliver your award  in person or have it shipped to your entity.

*There is no requirement that training be conducted in person or by SBI. Online training, training held at events such as conferences or MSHA; and training by other organizations such as the South Dakota/ National Safety Council, MMUA, SD LTAP, etc., will meet award criteria. Just be sure to provide rosters, certificates of completion, or another form of documentation to prove such training was completed.

There are options making it easy for your entity to submit an  award application. Go to the Safety Benefi ts, Inc. website at  www.safety-benefi ts.com. Application forms can be printed,  completed, and sent in the mail to SBI. Application forms  can also be downloaded, completed, and emailed back to  SBI. And NEW THIS YEAR – applications can be completed  and submitted (along with supporting documentation) online.  Depending on your preference:

• Send completed applications to: Safety Benefi ts Inc.,  602 E. State St., Plankinton SD 57368; OR

• Email completed applications to: smueller@safetybenefi ts.com;

• NEW THIS YEAR! Complete and submit your  application online: www.safety-benefi ts.com

If none of these options appeal to you, just contact us at SBI  and we’ll get the application forms to you!

Again, the purpose of these awards is to promote loss control  and safety awareness and recognize the many Members who  work very hard in these areas. Please consider participating  in the 2023 Safety and Loss Control Recognition Awards  Program!

Contact Safety Benefi ts, Inc. at 605-334-9567 or 1-888-3130839 with questions. Be sure to visit our website at www.