Adopted by private and public entities alike, a strong safety culture can prevent injuries, reduce operating exposures, and save money.

A strong safety culture is an organization’s shared perceptions, beliefs, values and attitudes that create a commitment to safety and an effort to minimize harm. This is often the foundation of a shared safety goal. In many industries, workplace safety is considered every employee’s responsibility.

In February 2019, a state law went into effect that applies federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards for workplace safety standards to municipal workers. The state law is overseen by the Department of Labor Standards.

OSHA requires employers to keep their workplace free of serious recognized hazards. The regulations are vast and spread across a variety of industry and workplace categories. The regulations run the gamut from fire prevention and evacuation strategies to toxic materials handling, safe driving, and proper blasting techniques.

Given the depth and breadth of knowledge required to meet OSHA standards, including reporting and training, some MIIA members opt to hire individuals to help them attain compliance and create safe workplaces.

 

Chelmsford’s broad view

Following a lengthy career as a safety consultant, Steven Cerven is now the municipal safety specialist in Chelmsford, where he has spent the last three years working with town employees to “make sure they go home in the same condition they came in.”

“Every employee has a moment of truth,” he said, describing the choice between taking an action that is safe or another that might be quicker but could get them into an unsafe situation. “As the safety specialist, I spend time getting to know the employees and earning their trust. They know I’m not here to be the safety police, I’m working with them to help keep them safe.”

His daily activities can range from checking on a trench project, to working with the Board of Health on blood-borne pathogen safety training, to examining a playground set or inspecting a roof.

“We have a plan to deal with OSHA requirements,” he said. “Then we learn and add to it. Employee training is also a big part of the job.”

 

Plymouth focuses on public works

In February 2021, Plymouth hired Michelle Newell as the town’s first safety compliance officer for the Department of Public Works. A 2016 graduate of Keene State College with a bachelor’s degree in occupational safety and health, Newell brought safety compliance experience from her previous jobs at MassPort and Feeney Brothers, a natural gas utility contractor.

“At first people thought I was the police,” she said, “and they were hesitant to work with me.”

But after talking with them and working on training efforts, she said, “Now it’s a total 180. They understand I have their back and am working to make sure they’re safe.”

Newell said her days are filled with ensuring job sites are OSHA-compliant. In the event of a workplace accident, she conducts a root cause investigation, alongside the COBRA Safety Committee, and follows-up with training. She said training employees on proper equipment handling, trenching, “competent person” (expertise and authority related to excavation and trenching safety), and other topics is a main aspect of her job.

 

Safety specialist benefits

Both Newell and Cerven list numerous benefits to having a person on staff whose sole focus is safety.

Cerven notes that a dedicated safety officer relieves another individual from serving a dual role. The continuous oversight and focus on safety means issues are identified and resolved — and nothing bad happens.

“People are people,” Cerven said. “Accidents are always waiting to happen, but with a safety specialist on board, there’s someone specifically focused on managing risk.”

OSHA standards are always being updated, Newell added, and without someone staying on top of the changes, a city or town runs the risk of noncompliance. She said she sees trends in workplace safety issues and makes recommendations for training sessions to prevent problems from recurring.

Both mentioned that a community that is proactive, rather than reactive, about safety saves money and protects the health of its workers. Employees also become more safety-conscious, and reach out before taking action to ensure that they’re working as safely as possible — creating that valuable workplace safety culture.

Hiring a safety officer is not a requirement in Massachusetts, but municipalities must be compliant with OSHA rules regardless.

To help its members, MIIA offers a Public Sector Safety and Health Fundamentals Certificate Program in Construction and General Industry through the OSHA Training Institute Education Center. MIIA members who participate in the 112.5-hour training become invaluable risk management resources to their communities. To date, 48 municipal employees across Massachusetts have been certified through the MIIA program.

To learn more about the MIIA training, visit www.emiia.org/risk-management-resources/osha-municipal-cert-programs. For more about the state’s updated law for public sector safety, visit www.mass.gov/service-details/learn-about-updated-law-for-public-sector-safety.

 

MIIA Receives Health Value Award for Employee Engagement

 

At its fifth annual awards ceremony in May, held during the Healthcare Innovation Congress, the Validation Institute presented the Health Value Award for Employee Engagement, Large Category, to MIIA.

The Health Value Awards recognize employers and solution providers who have implemented health, benefits, and/or wellness programs for their population with demonstrated significant cost-savings and/or improvements in health outcomes.

Validation Institute CEO Benny DiCecca said, “The employers and health care solution providers participating in the Health Value Awards demonstrate they are not only committed to providing high-quality, value-based health care, but are ready to lead the industry in a new, exciting, and necessary direction.”

MIIA Executive Vice President Stan Corcoran said, “It is an honor to have the hard work and dedication of the MIIA Health and Well Aware teams be recognized by this group of industry experts. More importantly, our success comes from the commitment of our members, who endeavor to lead healthy lives.”

In its award-winning essay, MIIA wrote, “We strive to help our members create a culture where all employees and family members live healthy, vibrant, and productive lives. We help create an energized workforce and wellness climate — a great place to work where employees feel valued and supported and are encouraged/motivated to make healthy choices.”

MIIA’s member groups are assigned a dedicated MIIA Wellness representative to help them build strong wellness programs at their worksites. The depth of MIIA’s programming includes Wellness Grants that focus on building a supportive culture and target specific needs of members; Wellbeing Smorgasbord, which includes free, self-directed wellness challenges; and Webinar Buffet, which educates and brings awareness to members on various health/wellness topics.

MIIA also recognized its partners that help employees save money on health care costs and stay healthy. They include Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Quizzify, Headspace, SmartShopper, Abacus Good Health Gateway diabetes management, Ompractice platform for virtual live yoga/meditation classes, AllOne Health EAP, IMC’s Joint Strong Program for musculoskeletal health, Learn to Live for cognitive behavioral therapy virtually, and Brown University for mindfulness programs taught by internationally recognized instructors.

“MIIA is grateful to the Validation Institute for its recognition of our health and wellness programming,” Corcoran said. “We are committed to continuing to build our wellness programming so that it always serves the needs of our members.”

The Validation Institute, based in Woburn, is a membership organization made up of a network of health care vendors, health benefits advisors, and purchaser benefit managers focused on delivering better health value and stronger outcomes than conventional health care.

 

MIIA Webinar Covers Basics of Municipal Risk Management

 

More than 100 municipal leaders participated in a MIIA webinar on June 27 covering how to identify, monitor and address risks in municipalities.

The hour-long session, “Municipal Risk Management 101,” explained how the risk management process can help local leaders prioritize their response to multiple areas of exposure; how their insurer, agent or advisor can assist them; the current state of the municipal loss picture in Massachusetts; and training and tools to prevent or mitigate future losses.

Attorney Regina Ryan, founder and president of Discrimination and Harassment Solutions, offered sample policies and best practices on a number of issues, including harassment and discrimination, code of conduct for employees and elected, appointed and volunteer officials, computer use, motor vehicle use, and pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions.

MIIA Risk Management Representative Maureen Montanus shared an analytical process to identify risk, quantify implications, and develop mitigation strategies. She said the process has four basic steps: identification, assessment, control and implement, and response monitoring.

Other speakers included MIIA Loss Control Manager David Dowd and MIIA Senior Manager of Risk Management Lin Chabra, who moderated.

MIIA Risk Management Code of Conduct Policy for Elected and Appointed Officials (170K PDF)

MIIA Risk Management Employee Professional Conduct Policy (100K PDF)

MIIA Risk Management 101 presentation (2M PDF)