By Jim Clemmensen

Workplace injuries can represent a real hazard to your self-storage operations, its employees and your customers. They can occur more often than facility owners and managers would like. Awareness and prevention can be the twin keys to preventing workplace injuries. Taking a positive, well-thought-out approach to preventing worker's compensation claims is not only in your financial best interest but also in the best interest of your employees and customers. Putting forth positive effort in addressing worker's compensation issues can go a long way toward protecting your facility's bottom line.

First, avoiding injuries, especially those serious enough to cause your employee to be taken off his or her regular work status, is critical to the well-being of your facility and its customers for the following reasons:

An employee suffering from a lost-time injury usually incurs a waiting period before he or she is eligible to receive dollar benefits from your worker's compensation carrier. This period is determined by the individual laws of your state. This waiting period can pose a financial hardship for your employee.

Upon completion of the waiting period, your employee may be paid only a percentage of his or her normal work pay, resulting in possible additional hardship. Again this percentage is determined by the laws of your state.

When an employee is determined to be unable to fulfill his or her assigned job responsibilities due to a compensable job-related injury, it often leaves the employer with a void in the workforce that may affect customer service and satisfaction. Additionally, it may impact other employees who may have to take up the slack for a position for which they have no experience or training.

If a compensable job-related injury is determined to be severe enough, it could cause a ruling that the employee is permanently disabled and, thus, cannot return to his or her job or a like job. This could result in long-term or possibly lifetime disability payments to your employee leaving you to have to hire and train a new employee.

Payments made under your worker's compensation policy often result in higher premiums for you.

Now let's take a positive approach to these and other possible issues. How might you address these challenges in a positive way?

Provide Specific Training for Each of Your Facility's Job Positions. If there are physical requirements for the position, then providing needed safety equipment such as hardhats, lifting belts, and steel-toed footwear is critical. Additionally, it may be a good idea to set physical limitations for the employees, such as how much they are to lift or move, with a clear understanding that they are not to be exceeded.

Implement Specific Training for Any Equipment To Be Used By Specific Employees. This includes follow-up refresher training as needed. Be sure that only employees who have been trained and demonstrated proficiency are allowed to use this equipment. Equipment requiring ongoing training includes mowers and vehicles including golf carts. Additionally, providing specific training for any position in your facility may be in your best interest in that it helps to prevent injuries and improves efficiency.

Conduct and Document Regular Safety Meetings. Safety meetings help maintain safety awareness, especially as related to high hazards such as equipment repairs, roof repairs, etc. These meetings are a great time to implement risk management procedures and awareness. Your insurance agent and worker's compensation insurance carrier are good resources for suggestions on the types of information to present at your safety meetings.

Consider Implementing a Facility Premises Patrol. Regular patrols of the facility provide opportunities to identify hazards that could easily be overlooked during day-to-day operations. Hazards such as uneven walking surfaces, holes in walkways or roadways, sharp edges on buildings, handrails, and fences could not only cause a worker-related injury but also could cause injury to one of your customers resulting in a claim for negligence against your facility.

Consider Subcontracting Out High Hazard Aspects of Your Operation. Tasks such as roof work and other high hazards represent a falling risk to your employees.

Schedule a Specific Meeting With Your Insurance Agent to Discuss the Above-Listed Issues. During the meeting with your agent, be sure to verify that all of your employees are classified correctly by your worker's compensation carrier. Improper classification could cause you to receive an additional premium bill as a result of a mid-term audit by your worker's compensation insurance carrier.

Being aware of the hazards that may cause worker's compensation claims and meeting with your insurance agent to discuss positive steps you can take to prevent injuries is beneficial to your self-storage business. At the same time, taking these positive steps enables your employees to provide consistently excellent service to your customers.

Jim Clemmensen is Senior Vice President of Insurance Operations for Phoenix-based MiniCo, Inc. MiniCo provides industry-leading specialty programs for self-storage businesses including property and casualty insurance and tenant insurance programs. For more information please visit www.minico.com.