The primary mission of the Risk Reduction Program is to provide resources to our district members to help them reduce loss exposures. This is achieved through participation in programs aimed at minimizing risk and managing those risks to decrease the occurrence of accidents, incidents, injuries, and fatalities. Each year, we conduct a program review to assess the participation of all district members in the Trust’s risk reduction program. We provide written reports that include our findings, recommendations, and corrective actions that districts can take to ensure compliance and mitigate losses.
Here is a list of the risk reduction programs we currently support to reduce exposure to risk:
1. Safety Committees: An effective employee safety committee can prevent workplace injuries and illnesses by increasing awareness of health and safety issues among workers, supervisors, and managers. It also helps develop strategies to create a safe work environment. Your district must have a safety committee that meets WAC standards. The program review focuses on compliance and the overall effectiveness of your district’s safety committee functions.
2. Hearing Conservation Program (Onsite Audiograms): As a value-added benefit of membership, the Trust offers our district members the opportunity to include employees at high risk of noise exposure in an annual on-site audiogram program. The program review emphasizes the importance of having all employees exposed to high noise levels participate in this annual program.
3. Physical Ability Evaluation Program (PAE): The PAE program is a formal assessment of the functional tasks required for specific job positions, which includes a health and occupational history and medical examination. This service, provided as a value-added benefit, is offered in collaboration with a local vendor at convenient locations in the Puget Sound area. The program review focuses on the need for districts to include all high-injury classifications in the program and ensure compliance with EEOC and ADA regulations.
4. Return-to-Work (RTW) Incentive Program: This program aims to facilitate the return of injured employees to meaningful work. Trust members are eligible for a financial incentive when they return injured employees to work by providing modified or alternate duty tasks and establishing an approved program. The program review covers various aspects of an effective and successful RTW program.
5. Science Lab Safety Program: This program focuses on the safe purchase, storage, and use of hazardous chemicals in classroom environments. The Science Lab Safety program reviews the key elements of the district’s science safety program and recommends corrective actions.
6. Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Program: We assist our member districts in building a proactive and preventive IAQ program by offering in-person consultation services to address IAQ issues. The program review covers the main elements of a proactive IAQ program, based on information from ASHRAE, the EPA, and the Washington State Department of Health.
Each of these programs plays a critical role in supporting our districts to reduce risk and ensure a safe working environment.
Contact us with questions: RiskServices@psesd.org
