According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), workplaces that establish safety and health management systems can reduce their injury and illness costs by 20 to 40 percent. Safe environments also improve employee morale, which positively impacts productivity and service. California retail businesses are no different, having your Retail Safety Programs in place can increase your bottom line. Contact GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. to get your retail business quote today 209-634-2929. We include safety programs, compliance training and HR to our clients at no additional cost to you.
When it comes to the costs associated with safety, consider the following statistics from OSHA:
U.S. employers pay
almost $1 billion per week for direct workers’ compensation costs alone, which
comes straight out of company profits.
Injuries and
illnesses increase workers’ compensation and retraining costs.
Lost productivity
from injuries and illnesses costs companies roughly $63 billion each year.
In today’s retail business environment, these safety-related costs can be the difference between reporting a profit or a loss. Use these tips to understand how retail safety programs will directly affect your company’s bottom line.
Measuring Retail Safety Programs – The Costs
Demonstrating
the value of safety to management is often a challenge because the return on
investment (ROI) can be cumbersome to measure. Your goal in measuring safety is
to balance your investment vs. the return expected.
There are many
different approaches to measuring the cost of safety, and the way you do so
depends on your goal. Defining your goal
helps you to determine what costs to track and how complex your tracking will
be.
For example, you
may want to capture certain data simply to determine what costs to build into
the price of a product or service, or you may want to track your company’s
total cost of safety to show increased profitability, which would include more
specific data collection like safety wages and benefits, operational costs and
insurance costs.
Since measuring
can be time consuming, general cost formulas are available. A Stanford study
conducted by Levitt and Samuelson places safety costs at 2.5 percent of overall
costs, and a study published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) estimates
general safety costs at about 8 percent of payroll.
If it is
important for your organization to measure safety as it relates to
profitability, more accurate tracking should be done. For measuring data,
safety costs can be divided into two categories:
Direct , or hard
costs, which include the following:
Safety wages
Operational costs
Insurance premiums
and/or attorney’s fees
Accidents and
incidents
Fines and/or
penalties
Indirect, or soft
costs, which go beyond those recorded on paper, such as the following:
Accident investigation
Repairing damaged
property
Administrative
expenses
Worker stress in the
aftermath of an accident resulting in lost productivity, low employee morale
and increased absenteeism
Training and
compensating replacement workers
Poor reputation,
which translates to difficulty attracting skilled workers and lost business
share
When calculating
soft costs, minor accidents costs are about four times greater than direct
costs, and serious accidents are about 10 to 15 times greater, especially if
the accident generates OSHA fines or litigation costs.
Just the act of
measuring costs will drive improvement. In theory, those providing the data
become more aware of the costs and begin managing them. This supports the
common business belief that what gets measured gets managed. And, as costs go
down, what gets rewarded gets repeated.
The Value of Retail Safety Programs
OSHA studies
indicate that for every $1 invested in effective safety programs, you can save
$4 to $6 as illnesses, injuries and fatalities decline. With a good safety program
in place, your costs will naturally decrease. It is important to determine what
costs to measure to establish benchmarks, which can then be used to demonstrate
the value of safety over time.
Also, keep in
mind that your total cost of safety is just one part of managing your total
cost of risk. When safety is managed and monitored, it can also help drive down
your total cost of risk.
Considering the statistics, safety experts believe that there is direct correlation between safety and a company’s profit. We are committed to helping you establish a strong safety, health and environmental program that protects both your workers and your bottom line.
Contact GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. today at 209-634-2929 to learn more about our value-added services.
California’s Leader in Insurance and Risk Management
As one of the fastest growing agencies in California, GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. is able to provide its clients with the latest and greatest of what the insurance industry has to offer and much, much more.
We are headquartered in Turlock, CA, with locations across the heart of California’s Central Valley, Northern California and beyond to provide a local feel to the solutions and services we provide our clients. We pride ourselves on exceeding our client’s expectations in every interaction to make sure that our client’s know how much we value and appreciate their business. Contact us today 1-209-634-2929 for your comprehensive business insurance quote!
As the workforce in America becomes more mobile, so do the capabilities of employers to track their employees on the road. From a distance, accurately monitoring employee productivity, working hours, injuries, conduct and company property presents a challenge. The use of global positioning systems (GPS) is an excellent way to address these difficulties. Using satellites and receivers installed in a vehicle, laptop or cell phone, these devices are able to locate an employee’s physical location and vehicle speeds with reasonable accuracy. Using a GPS to help manage your fleet costs is more affordable that you would think.
How GPS Tracking Works
GPS fleet
monitoring started out as a tool specifically for the shipping and delivery
industry, but the technology has proven its worth for almost any business that
has a fleet of its own.
GPS programs can be used on employee cell phones, laptops or on stand-alone GPS devices, but the most robust information and management comes from devices installed directly into the company’s fleet vehicles. These devices can monitor and report on a wide variety of information, including speed, engine start up and shut down, routes, and idling. You’d be surprised how GPS can manage your fleet costs.
The information from GPS systems can be available from the device, either uploaded or viewed on the device itself, or sent remotely to a main system. When sent to the system remotely, administrators and dispatchers can access the information in real time via the internet or specialized software. Viewing maps of vehicle locations, routes and vehicle status reports can help supervisors and dispatchers better manage their employees’ time and improve efficiency and manage fleet costs.
The Benefits of Using GPS To Manage Fleet Costs
Fleet tracking
can have multiple positive results for your business. Using the information
reported from the GPS devices can help eliminate inefficiencies and save time.
Your workers can get to more jobs per day, increasing productivity and, in
turn, profits. This can also help improve customer satisfaction by reducing
customer wait times.
Tracking can
also reduce labor costs and unauthorized vehicle use. Being able to monitor
vehicle locations and routes with timestamps will help you make sure all hours
reported by workers are accurate. You can flag the movement of your vehicles
during non-working hours or in certain areas that your company vehicles and
workers should not be.
As well as improving employee monitoring, fleet operating expenses can be reduced through more efficient management of your vehicles, assisted by the data available from GPS. Fuel costs can be cut down by:
eliminating inefficient routes
unapproved employee usage
avoidable traffic delays
and speeding.
The peace of mind of monitoring your vehicles and knowing where they are at all times improves the safety and security of your entire fleet, reducing or preventing the costs associated with theft. Other ways GPS can manage your fleet costs include defending against false claims. For example, if a false claim comes in to your company that a vehicle of yours damaged property, such as a parked car, you can use your records to prove no vehicle was in the vicinity at that time.
The benefits to
using GPS tools are useful to any company that owns fleet vehicles. However,
there are also several legal considerations that employers need to consider and
address before implementing GPS technology for their mobile workers to protect
their employees and the company.
Invasion of Privacy
Employees may
have a reasonable expectation that their location and actions are private from
their employer.
For example, an
outside sales representative attends a support group during his lunch break
during working hours. Though he does not disclose this information to his
employer or co-workers, the employer discovers that the employee is attending
these meetings through GPS monitoring. The employer may then be held liable for
invasion of privacy.
Employer Fails to Supervise Employees Properly
If an employer
discovers that an employee presents a risk to others and does not act, the
company is at risk for a claim of negligent supervision.
For example, a
commercial driver tends to speed while he is on the job, and his employer
discovers this through the GPS system installed in his vehicle. The employer
does nothing about this discovery, and the driver subsequently gets into an
accident because he was speeding. As a result, the employer is liable for
negligent supervision.
Employee Discrimination
Though an
employee’s membership with a group may be protected by federal and state
discrimination laws, the employer may not always be aware that the employee is
a member. Yet, with the use of GPS technology, an employer can sometimes
discover their employees’ affiliations, thus supporting a discrimination claim.
For example, an
employee is receiving treatment for a terminal illness on his own time. Through
GPS tracking on his laptop, his employer discovers that the employee is ill. A
few months later, the employee is terminated and when the he files a disability
discrimination claim, his employer cannot deny knowing about the employee’s
illness because his laptop was being monitored.
Inaccurate Data Collection
If an employer
makes an employment decision based on data collected from a GPS and the
information is found to be inaccurate, the employer may be subject to
defamation, wrongful termination and employment discrimination claims.
For example, the
GPS system installed in a delivery driver’s vehicle inaccurately places the
driver at a gentlemen’s club near where he is actually making deliveries.
Though the employee was doing his job honestly, the employer assumes that he
was visiting the club on the clock. As a result, the employee is terminated.
This puts the employer at risk for claims of wrongful termination.
Additional Considerations of the Dangers of Using GPS Technology
There are
additional dangers employers need to consider:
Employees who are
monitored may feel as though their employer does not trust them and may
relinquish some of their independence and individuality that they once brought
to the job. This may negatively affect their independent decision-making
abilities.
There may be an urge
to implement unreasonable schedules because employees are constantly monitored.
The ability to
monitor employees during breaks and before and after working hours can pose
issues. By learning what employees do with their own time, an employer can
obtain a full picture of the lives of their mobile employees. Thus, employers
may breach the privacy that their employees expect and prefer.
Recommendations for Employers to Reduce the Risk Associated with GPS Monitoring
When using GPS devices to monitor your employees and manage your fleet costs, consider these recommendations to reduce your risk:
Limit GPS monitoring
to company-owned property, as it is easier for an employee to make a privacy claim
while in possession of his or her own property.
Develop a
comprehensive written policy about the use of GPS technology, and enforce this
policy strictly. It should outline how the devices and the information attained
will be used. All employees who will be monitored with a GPS device should
acknowledge receipt of the policy in writing.
Limit GPS monitoring
to the confines of the policy for legitimate business operations only.
Do not monitor any
activities relating to union organizations, as that can be seen as unlawful
surveillance.
Re-calibrate the
system for accuracy on a regular basis.
Check with your
legal counsel before implementing GPS technology.
Remember that while the use of GPS technology can be a powerful management tool, it can become a legal headache if not managed properly. By using this technology lawfully, you can benefit by improving the efficiency of your business while still respecting the privacy of your employees.
California’s Leader in Insurance and Risk Management
As one of the fastest growing agencies in California, GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. is able to provide its clients with the latest and greatest of what the insurance industry has to offer and much, much more.
We are headquartered in Turlock, CA, with locations across the heart of California’s Central Valley, Northern California and beyond to provide a local feel to the solutions and services we provide our clients. We pride ourselves on exceeding our client’s expectations in every interaction to make sure that our client’s know how much we value and appreciate their business. Contact us today 1-209-634-2929 for your comprehensive Commercial Auto insurance quote!
Optimism is the fuel that drives the entrepreneurial spirit, so it isn’t surprising that most small business owners consider themselves optimists. Too much optimism, however, can get a small business owner into trouble. A business plan built solely on the “best case scenario” is like a house of cards, one gust of wind—or fire or wrongful termination lawsuit—and the entire business can come crashing down. That’s why smart business owners temper their innate optimism with a healthy dose of reality. In other words, they learn to manage risk. They also have a comprehensive Small Business Insurance policy. Contact GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. for your free quote today 209-634-2929.
The first step in implementing a comprehensive risk management plan is identifying potential risks. To help you get started, we have provided a list of the top 10 threats facing small business owners. As you read through the list, consider the unique risks facing your business and ask yourself whether those risks are being managed effectively:
1. Protecting your Property
Property holdings are often a small business owner’s largest asset. Therefore, for the long-term security of your small business, it is vital that you evaluate potential threats to your property and develop a plan to manage those threats. Begin by taking a complete inventory of all your assets to determine how a loss might affect your business and how much small business insurance you need. Property coverage can come in many forms to suit your specific needs, but a typical commercial property insurance policy will provide the replacement cost value for your building and the actual cash value for your business property.
You have a lot weighing on your budget already, but don’t make the mistake of planning for the “best case scenario” when it comes to your business property insurance coverage. Leaving your small business underinsured is a risk too great to take.
2. Business Interruption
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that more than 40 percent of businesses never reopen following a disaster such as a fire or flood. Is your business prepared to weather the storm if disaster strikes? If a fire causes the facility to be temporarily unusable, what would you do? Ideally, you would move to a temporary location while your permanent place of business is being repaired, but traditional Property Insurance does not cover this move or the loss of income while the permanent business location is being repaired. Ill-prepared businesses are often forced to completely shut down operations during repair, which can do irreparable damage to their brand and leave employees without work for extended periods of time. To mitigate this risk, consider adding Business Interruption Insurance coverage to your Property Insurance policy. This invaluable, though often overlooked, coverage safeguards your business by covering operating expenses and lost income while the permanent business location is being repaired. This will allow you to maintain payroll and, if needed, reallocate current employees to help with the cleanup effort.
3. Liability Losses
No matter how well you plan, running a small business can be fraught with unexpected surprises—the only way to completely avoid liability is to shutter your business. Smart business owners do the next best thing: protect their assets by carrying adequate Commercial General Liability Insurance coverage. CGL policies provide coverage for claims of bodily injury or other physical injury, personal injury (libel or slander), advertising injury and property damage as a result of your products, premises or operations. A CGL policy with adequate coverage limits enables you to continue normal operations while dealing with real or fraudulent claims of negligence or wrongdoing, and also provides coverage for the cost of defending and settling claims.
4. Key Person Losses
Many small businesses are built around the talents and expertise of a few individuals. If an employee crucial to the functioning of your business departs unexpectedly due to death or injury, would day-to-day operations continue as usual or would disorder and uncertainty ensue? Would you be able to maintain your current level of performance and current revenue stream? How would you cover for the financial loss of the employee or pay for a temporary replacement during his or her recovery? Key Person Insurance can help you answer these questions with confidence. This coverage is designed to provide financial stability in a time of stress and uncertainty, allowing you to keep your California small business moving forward without missing a beat.
5. Injuries to Employees
California small business owners, especially those with less than 10 employees, often struggle with understanding their employee health and safety obligations. Just like their larger counterparts, small businesses have the same responsibility to indemnify workers who are injured or become ill during the course of their employment. Many businesses do not realize the full effect workplace accidents have on their organization. Beyond initial treatment costs and lost production time, on-the-job injuries have an impact on insurance premiums, which can increase your costs for years to come.
Thankfully, by managing exposures and promoting safety, it is possible to control workers’ compensation insurance premiums. Having the proper pre- and post-accident procedures in place can drastically reduce the severity of a workers’ compensation insurance claim, and implementing a comprehensive safety program can reduce the accident rate. Together, these two steps can produce tremendous long-term savings.
6. Managing Electronic Data and Computer Resources
Small businesses often lack a formal IT department or even rudimentary internet security measures, which leaves them vulnerable to unscrupulous cybercriminals searching for an easy target. With an estimated liability of more than $200 per compromised record—multiplied by hundreds or thousands of customer records—the cost of a single data breach incident can be devastating for a small business. If your business stores customer records electronically, it is crucial that you have robust security measures in place. In addition to taking preventative measure to reduce Internet-based exposures, specialized technology coverage, such as Cyber Liability Insurance, can help protect your small business against damage from cyber attacks, data breaches and other Internet-based exposures.
7. Environmental Exposures
Think of a business with significant environmental exposures.
What comes to mind? Most people think of a large manufacturing, mining or
petroleum operation, but these are not the only industries at risk for
environmental liability losses. It is important to perform a comprehensive risk
analysis to determine your own level of exposure. Keep in mind that because
most commercial insurance policies contain pollution exclusions, unless you
carry Environmental Insurance, you may be uninsured against significant
environmental loss exposures.
8. Employment Practices
From the moment you begin the pre-hiring process until the final goodbyes at the exit interview, you are at risk for a lawsuit. In fact, three out of five employers will be sued by a prospective, current or former employee while they are in business. Although many lawsuits are groundless, defending against them is costly and time-consuming. Your business should take a hard look at whether it can afford to defend itself against accusations of wrongful employment practices. If not, there is an insurance solution called Employment Practices Liability Insurance that will protect your company against wrongful termination, discrimination (e.g., age, sex, race, disability) or sexual harassment lawsuits.
9. Contracts
When first starting out, many new business owners simply don’t have the time or expertise to adequately evaluate each clause in everything they’re signing. This oversight, however, can create major problems down the road. In many cases, small businesses become saddled with large additional risks, accepted via risk transfer from savvy suppliers or customers. While it’s tempting to shave costs by skimping on legal fees, making sure your business isn’t accepting additional and unnecessary risk can save you a lot of money over the long haul, both in legal costs and in insurance coverages. GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. has solutions for you, call us today 209-634-2929.
10. Manage Your Supply Chain
Do you rely on one or more third-party suppliers to produce
certain components used in your products? If you do, a disaster that interrupts
your supplier’s regular business operations could have a crippling effect on
your production abilities. Although you should always try to minimize potential
liability through contingency planning and other risk management techniques, as
supply chains grow across the globe, sometimes there is little you can do about
the exposures faced by your suppliers. In a perfect world you could simply
avoid doing business with companies that present numerous risks or that are
unwilling to conform to your standards, but pricing constraints and niche markets
limit the number of potential suppliers to choose from. Supply chain insurance
is meant to cover losses you incur as a result of an interruption to your
supply chain. Such coverage allows you to work confidently with suppliers who
face exposures beyond your control.
Small Business Insurance is a key component of any comprehensive risk management plan, but successful risk management also involves prevention, training and contingency planning. Contact GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. at 209-634-2929 to learn more about the tools and resources we can offer to help you manage risks, control workers’ compensation costs, advance safety and boost employee morale.
California’s Leader in Insurance and Risk Management
As one of the fastest growing agencies in California, GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. is able to provide its clients with the latest and greatest of what the insurance industry has to offer and much, much more.
We are headquartered in Turlock, CA, with locations across the heart of California’s Central Valley, Northern California and beyond to provide a local feel to the solutions and services we provide our clients. We pride ourselves on exceeding our client’s expectations in every interaction to make sure that our client’s know how much we value and appreciate their business. Contact us today 1-209-634-2929 for your Small Business Insurance quote!
Individual Differences and the “High Risk” Commercial Drivers
There is a common belief in the trucking industry that, while most truck and bus drivers are both conscientious and safe, a relatively small percentage of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers are associated with a significant and inordinate percentage of the overall number of motor carrier crashes. These drivers are considered to be “high risk” commercial drivers, and the study summarized in this Tech Brief focuses on these commercial drivers. This project explores factors associated with “high risk” commercial drivers and the means by which carriers can reduce crash risk through various safety management practices and other safety interventions.
How This “High Risk” Commercial Drivers Study was Designed
Expert industry opinion was accessed through survey questionnaires on the topic. Surveys were distributed to a random sample of safety managers listed in the American Trucking Associations’ fleet directory. A second survey sample consisted of a group of “other experts”—those who are professionally involved in CMV safety but are not fleet safety managers. This group included former drivers and fleet managers, government regulatory and enforcement personnel, industry trade association representatives, and researchers. Of course, these are overlapping categories, and most “other experts” indicated several different motor carrier safety-related professional experience areas.
The results from these surveys were then compared to reviewed research literature on the topic, with emphasis on the personal factors associated with risk and carrier management approaches to reducing the problem. A number of these factors potentially correlate with risk and may be the basis for safety interventions to reduce risk.
Survey Method and Results Two parallel survey forms were used—one for current CMV fleet safety managers and the other for other experts in motor carrier safety. The “safety manager” and “other expert” survey forms contained 50 and 48 questions, respectively. The surveys for “other experts” did not include questions regarding CMV fleet information. These surveys were divided into seven parts:
Part 1:How Important is the Problem?
Most respondents (59 percent Safety Managers, 54 percent Other Experts) felt that the worst 10 percent of drivers were associated with 50 percent or more of fleet crash risk.
Part 2:Driver Factors Associated with Risk.
Sixteen personal factors were rated on a scale from “0” (no association) to “4” (strong association) with regard to their strength of association with crash risk. The factors, mean ratings (to the nearest tenth), and rankings are presented in order of safety manager ranking in Table 1. When there were ties in the mean ratings, rankings were determined by looking at additional decimal places, which are not shown in the table. Respondents in both groups rated personality traits such as aggressiveness, impulsivity, and inattentiveness as having the highest associations with risk.
Part 3:Driver Hiring Practices and Tools.
The most frequently used, and highest rated, hiring practices were checking the applicant Motor Vehicle Record (MVR), contacting past employers, testing for alcohol and drugs (required by Federal regulation for interstate carriers), and on-road driving tests.
Part 4: Driver Evaluation.
“Continuous tracking of driver crashes, incidents, and violations” was almost universally used by safety manager respondents and had the highest-rated effectiveness for both respondent groups in terms of the four driver evaluation practices presented.
Part 5:Driver Management.
While reprimands (verbal and written) and manager counseling were among the most-used methods for driver management, “monetary rewards” received the highest effectiveness rating.
Part 6:Comments.
Three lines of blank space were provided on each form. Part 7:Respondent Information.
Concepts of Crash Risk
Many interacting factors affect commercial driver crash involvement. The focus of this study was on personal “constitutional” risk factors, or relatively enduring characteristics such as health, physical skills, and some personality traits. At any given moment, however, a number of other factors and influences are operative. A conceptualization of some major interacting factors is shown in Figure 1 (next page).
Researchers have discovered that certain personal traits are related to the occurrence of a vehicle crash—some drivers have a “differential crash risk.” To the extent that this differential crash risk is enduring, it probably reflects constitutional or other long-term personal traits. This differential crash risk may also vary across time, reflecting chance variation or changeable traits such as age, maturation, or learning by experience.
Factors Related to “High Risk” Commercial Drivers
Many factors related to driver risk were assessed in this literature review. The five most cited include:
Age: For young CMV drivers, age is a very strong personal factor that affects crash involvement. In one statistical study, young truck drivers (ages 18-21) had moving violation rates that were almost twice those of the middle-aged drivers (30-49). Speeding above the speed limit and unsafe speeds for conditions were the two top violations cited. In fact, young commercial drivers were reported to be about 50 percent more likely than middle-aged drivers to be charged with a violation in a crash (Blower 1996). In two-vehicle crashes with light vehicles, the young truck driver was twice as likely as the other driver to be charged with a hazardous action or traffic violation, which is opposite the trend for large truck-light vehicle crashes in general (FMCSA 2003). On the other hand, there appears to be no major safety problem relating to older truck drivers.
Commercial Driving Experience: Experience driving a large truck or bus is clearly a factor in driver safety. Not surprisingly, most motor carriers, particularly large carriers, require prior commercial driving experience for applicants to be considered for hiring (Stock 2001).
Sleep Disorder: Many studies agree that the relative risk of being involved in a crash rises if the driver has a sleep disorder. The numbers given were anywhere from 3 to 14 times the normal risk.
Impulsivity: Impulsivity, characterized by behavioral instability and an inability to control impulses, including threatening behavior and violence, has been suggested to be related to an increase in crash risk. A 1967 study found that both a high crash/other accident group, and a high violation group scored higher on a measure of impulsivity than those with a low number of crashes/other accidents and violations (Schuman, Peltz, Ehrilch, and Seltzer, 1967).
Social Maladjustment and Aggressive/Angry Personalities: Various studies of the personalities of high-crash drivers found these drivers to have negative social traits. For example, when studying South African bus drivers with repeated crashes, Shaw and Sichel (1961, 1971) described these individuals as being selfish, self-centered, overconfident, resentful and bitter, intolerant, and having antisocial attitudes and criminal tendencies.
Operational Safety Management Methods
Based on the research review, the study team believes that there are at least two distinct ways to improve the safety performance of a group of CMV drivers. Figure 2 illustrates these. In the first example (Figure 2a), the highest-risk drivers are eliminated from the distribution, as they are never hired, thus “cutting off the tail” of the driver risk distribution. This intervention would have the effect of improving the performance of the average driver of the group by eliminating the greatest source of risk. In the second example (Figure 2b), the safety performance levels of all, or most, drivers in a group are improved through effective intervention. The overall average safety level of the fleet improves through “across the board” advancement. Based on the literature, and discussions with motor carriers, there are a number of methods to reduce driver crash risks.
These include:
Systematic hiring,
Driver selection tests,
Driver performance evaluation,
Driver training and counseling,
Driver rewards and punishment,
Behavior-based safety,
Driver self-management, and
Driver termination.
“High Risk” Commercial Drivers
The survey results and statistical findings presented in this report support the view that commercial drivers differ greatly in their levels of crash risk, and that a relatively small percentage of drivers (10-15 percent) account for a disproportionate percentage of total fleet risk (30-50 percent). However, these results lead to the realization of further research needs. The findings presented in this report generally imply, but do not verify, that relative driver risk, both general and specific, endures across long periods of time.
In other words, “risk” is, to some extent, a long-term personal trait, in addition to being obviously related to specific situations and conditions. The various personality traits and performance variables discussed in this report must now be confirmed. One way that this can be done is through a systematic and quantitative determination of the role that each of the many factors discussed play in commercial driver risk. Another research need has to do with carrier management strategies in working with the drivers who are more “accident prone.” This can be done through research in relation to all driver management functions, including selection, evaluation, and management intervention. With further research, motor carrier companies can learn how to work with or avoid the “high risk” commercial driver, and the risk for all drivers on the road can be reduced.
California’s Leader in Insurance and Risk Management
As one of the fastest growing agencies in California, GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. is able to provide its clients with the latest and greatest of what the insurance industry has to offer and much, much more.
We are headquartered in Turlock, CA, with locations across the heart of California’s Central Valley and beyond to provide a local feel to the solutions and services we provide our clients. We pride ourselves on exceeding our client’s expectations in every interaction to make sure that our client’s know how much we value and appreciate their business. Contact us today 1-209-634-2929 for your comprehensive commercial auto insurancequote!
References
Blower, D.F. The Accident Experience of Younger Truck Drivers. Final report for the Trucking Research Institute and the Great Lakes Center for Truck and Transit Research. May 1996.
Corsi, T.M. and Barnard, R.E. Best Highway Safety Practices: A Survey of the Safest Motor Carriers About Safety Management Practices. Final report for FMCSA Contract No. DTFH61-98-X-00006. 2003.
Schuman, S.H., Pelz, D.C., Ehrlien, N.J., and Seltzer, M.L. “Young male drivers: Impulse expression, accidents and violations.” Journal of the American Medical Association, 200, 1026-1030, 1967.
Shaw, L., and Sichel, H.S. “The reduction of traffic accidents in a transport company by the determination of the accident liability of individual drivers.” Traffic Safety Research Review, 5, 2-12, 1961.
Stock, D. I-95 Corridor Coalition Field Operational Test 10: Coordinated Safety Management; Volume I: Best Practices in Motor Carrier Safety Management, Final Report. August 2001.
A fire in your workplace can be extremely costly; in addition to the costs associated with fixing the damages, there is also a good chance that your day-to-day business activities will be interrupted during the repairs. To avoid potential expenses related to work place fires, it is important that you have adequate commercial property fire insurance, which is included as part of most commercial property insurance policies for commercial buildings. However, it is important that you understand your policy to make sure it provides all the protection you need and that you aren’t paying too much for premiums.
Types of Commercial Property Fire Insurance
There are two primary factors that come into play when dealing with fire protection. Make sure your coverage incorporates them both to make sure you won’t be left holding the bill.
Commercial Property: This is the portion of your policy covers the building itself and the equipment in it. When there is a loss to physical assets caused by a fire, this is what pays for replacement and repair costs.
Commercial Casualty: In the aftermath of a fire, there may be a time period where you may not be able to conduct business, often due to a damaged work space. This part of your policy will cover any loss of revenue during the recovery period of a fire.
Commercial Property Fire Insurance will offer different levels of protection based on your policy. Review your situation to ensure that the amount of coverage is comparable to your potential risks.
Fire Sprinkler System Credit
You can greatly reduce your premiums for fire coverage by installing a sprinkler alarm system.With some insurance providers offering 10 to 60 percent discounts, these systems can quickly pay for themselves. However, to get your full credit, you have to make sure that your system is reviewed regularly.
According to the Insurance Services Office (ISO), many organizations receive partial to no credit on their fire insurance expenses for having a fire sprinkler system in place. This is because the facility and the sprinkler system have not been properly inspected in order to provide full credit. At the request of your insurance company, ISO can inspect your facility and develop an accurate credit on your fire insurance, which will reduce your overhead costs and increase your bottom line.
Fire Sprinkler Evaluation Process
The ISO fire sprinkler evaluation process consists of a review of the following areas:
The system design is based on the requirements of occupancy
Adequate water supply
System installation and components
System test
An inspection of building areas without sprinklers
Building conditions that could affect sprinkler operation
Necessary Testing and Certifications
The following must be reviewed or completed before you receive an ISO credit:
Main drain test
Copy of the Underground and Overhead Piping Hydraulic Test Certificate
Dry pipe trip test results (applicable to systems with dry pipe valves only)
Fire pump performance test results (systems with fire pumps only)
System design criteria evaluation through a review of the sprinkler plans, hydraulic calculations or hydraulic data plaque information
Count on the Experts
When it comes to getting the appropriate coverage at a reasonable price, GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. is here for you. Learn more about fire risk mitigation and how you can receive full credit for your fire sprinkler system by contacting us at 209-634-2929.
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The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
