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County reports August OSHA incidents, outlines onsite safety audits and new OSHA-certified instructors
Summary
Rutherford County risk-management staff reported 31 incidents in August, detailed year-to-date reserves and paid claims, and announced two staff members completed 250-hour OSHA safety training and will offer OSHA 10/30 courses to county departments.
Rutherford County's insurance and risk management office reported 31 workplace incidents in August and provided a year-to-date summary of claims and reserves at the Public Safety Committee meeting Tuesday. Staff also described recent on-site safety reviews across county facilities and said two employees completed OSHA-certified safety training that will allow the county to offer OSHA 10 and OSHA 30 classes. Susan Thompson, assistant director of insurance and risk management, told commissioners the August total was 31 incidents: 17 at the Board of Education and 14 in county general operations. The county-general incidents included one at PAWS, one at EMS, one at archives, one at fire and rescue, one at juvenile detention and nine at the sheriff's department. Year-to-date incident frequency totaled 136; 99 of those were OSHA recordable. Claims data presented to the committee listed 21 lost-day claims, 58 restricted-day claims and 20 other recordables. Year-to-date reserves were reported as $759,465, with $258,839 paid year to date; 91 of 136 claims had closed. Jane Corbin, safety coordinator, reported on a countywide site visit program. She said the review covered 119 locations'1 schools (including central office and maintenance), 32 county departments, 19 EMS and fire stations and 14 convenience centers including the transfer station. Corbin said the visits included review of the county's on-the-job-injury (OJI) plan, reporting procedures and site safety audits. Committee members asked for details about a recent convenience-center injury. Thompson said OSHA inspected and did not issue citations; the injured employee had not yet returned to work but was expected to return. Thompson said the risk office had met with Solid Waste leadership and the mayor about possible safety changes at convenience centers, including speed-limit signs, directional signage and speed bumps, and that Solid Waste would lead site-specific plans. Risk-management staff announced two employees completed a 250-hour OSHA training program and are now certified to teach OSHA 10 and OSHA 30 courses. The staff said the county will schedule classes tailored to departmental availability to improve training access and hopes the training will reduce injuries over time. The committee moved to approve the risk-management report by voice vote.
