Does Safety Come Standard at Your Company?

Telcom Insurance Group always puts safety first, and we’ve provided the resources to ensure you do the same. Read on to learn more about cyber threats that face your board – and how to guard against them. Plus, we’ll discuss how to mitigate the risks that challenge crews and contractors on the job site. As always, we remain dedicated to supporting companies like yours, so feel free to get in touch!

The Cyber Threat to Your Board

Cyberattacks are no longer solely an IT issue, but a significant threat to your company’s leaders. In fact, one liability survey named cyber threats as one of the top risks facing directors and officers. Despite the prevalence of cyberattacks, many companies have not shown the appropriate urgency in addressing the issue.

To ensure your company and its board are protected, it’s important to know your coverage outcome when insurance policies collide. Would a cyber incident trigger coverage under your Directors and Officers policy? Or would coverage extend to an allegation that the board did not act appropriately to prevent a cyber threat?

A crucial element to understand before an incident occurs is the exclusion on your Directors and Officers policy. Be sure to find out if it is absolute – or simply excludes the expenses and damages that result from a cyber incident, leaving coverage should allegations arise against management for failing to take proper steps to protect against it.

With D & O litigation becoming increasingly common, now is the time to put appropriate safeguards in place. Our team recommends placing both policies with the same insurer instead of splitting them up. Here at Telcom Insurance Group, we offer the comprehensive coverage needed to protect your business, including both cyber liability and Directors and Officers insurance.

To learn more, contact our trusted team!

Safe on Site: The Important of JHAs and JSAs

When sending out crews and contractors, safety must remain top priority. As your team completes work and represents your best interests in the field, these tools can be used to enhance safety programs and enforce policies:

OSHA defines a hazard as an uncontrolled condition or activity that has the potential to cause harm. To prevent hazards, the Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) and the Job Safety Analysis (JSA) are beneficial tools that are often overlooked. Here at Telcom Insurance Group, we recommend that contractors perform JHAs/JSAs too.

One common use of a JSA is on a daily job – or in a micro sense, in which case it should be reviewed by anyone on the worksite and anyone visiting it, signed by all, offering another level of accountability. In the macro sense, the JHA is used by a management team or even better, a safety committee, on specific jobs for the purpose of training, PPE purchases, writing of standard operating procedures, etc.

Job Hazard Analysis

Used to identify hazards before they occur and determine the best steps to be taken to eliminate hazards or lower their risk, JHAs are key – especially when training new employees.

As you can see, this list encompasses nearly any task performed in the telecommunications industry and any peripheral work activities. The JHA helps in a number of ways, such as establishing work procedures, identifying needed personal protective equipment, identifying any needed notification processes such as the 811 Call Before You Dig Program, identifying training needs, or even new equipment or personnel needs.

For the JHA, there is a seven-step process that is generally accepted, including these steps:

Step 1: Involve as many employees in the process as possible – managers, safety people, front-line workers, engineers, etc. The more eyes on alert, the better chance of spotting hazards.

Step 2: Review your past accidents, looking for where incidents have occurred. Review your 300 logs and look for accidents, illnesses, losses of any type, near-misses and recorded unsafe acts and behaviors.

Step 3: Prioritize hazardous jobs and put the hazards with the biggest unacceptable risks with the most severe consequences at the top of the list.

Step 4: Review the job(s) with the employee(s) who conduct that type of work most often, asking for hazards and process steps.

Step 5: Outline the steps to complete the job(s) or task(s). Try to limit steps to no more than 8. If you have more than that, consider breaking the task into multiple sections to ease the process.

Step 6: Identify hazards associated with each step. This critical part of the process requires you to read current Safety Data Sheets of the chemicals handled to see hazards and PPE required.

Step 7: Find solutions to those hazards. Here the ultimate purpose is fulfilled!

A brief rundown of potential hazards to consider might include, but is by no means limited to, the following:

· Motion

· Noise

· Work layout

· Harmful dusts

· Sharp objects

· Pinch points

· Chemical exposures

· Falls

· Awkward positioning

· Lifting hazards

Job Safety Analysis

The JSA is conducted similarly, but is usually done right on the jobsite and only involves these three steps:

Step 1: List the steps needed to complete the task(s).

Step 2: Identify hazards associated with each step.

Step 3: List mitigating solutions that can be implemented on site immediately.

Use the JHA form below as a quick guide for writing your first JHA.

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Telcom Insurance Group?

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Phone: 301-220-3200

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