Why December is the Best Time to Implement an Accident Management System in Your District

Over 13 million employees work in the public education sector in the United States, and unfortunately, accidents happen and school district employees get injured. There are ways to mitigate the risk of accidents and injury occurring, but when injuries do occur, it’s critical to have an accident management system in place at your district.

As the year winds down, administrators in school districts are presented with a unique opportunity to assess safety protocols and streamline accident reporting. December, often marked by winter weather challenges and administrative preparations for the upcoming year, stands out as the ideal time to implement an Accident Management System in your district.

5 Reasons to Implement an Accident Management System Now

While there’s never a bad time to implement new safety initiatives, here are five reasons why now is an excellent time to implement an accident management system.

1. Winter weather brings more accidents

Slips, trips, and falls are the leading cause of injury for school employees. Because of icy parking lots and walkways, and melting snow leaving water puddling on floors, the risk of a slip, trip, or fall increases in the winter months. Even additional rugs being used to prevent water from puddling can create a trip hazard. Before the number of potential injuries increase from winter weather, you can implement a comprehensive approach to reporting, documenting, and investigating accidents that occur.

2. Calendar year OSHA reporting

OSHA requires most employers with more than 10 employees to keep a yearly log of all work-related injuries and illnesses, including school districts. This report-year corresponds with the calendar year, beginning in January. Not only does an accident management system provide a consistent way for districts to collect crucial employee injury information, but a digital log of all injuries can provide easy access to required OSHA reporting information. By implementing an accident management system before January, you ensure your accident reports are consistent and in one location, for easy OSHA reporting the following year.

3. Training your staff to use an accident management system

Many school districts provide online staff training more than one time a year in an effort to reduce the training load on staff at the beginning of the school year. For districts who offer a spring semester training cycle, it is easy to assign an additional five-minute training course that introduces the accident management system and educates all staff on how to submit an accident report in the new system with little to no additional workload on your administration.

4. Worker’s compensation data

By using the calendar year to your advantage, you also gain a full year of worker’s compensation information. With this information, you can track accident trends throughout your district, pinpoint hazardous areas that need attention, or routines or actions that need additional risk mitigation training (eg. ladder safety). You will also have easy access to information such as lost time away from work and potential fraudulent claims, preparing you for the best insurance rates.

5. Decrease your staff workload

Keeping track of accident reports, trying to gather all crucial information, contacting witnesses for investigation reports, submitting First Report of Injury (FROI) for each incident, getting relevant information to the MCO/TPA/insurance group – it can be overwhelming to your HR staff for one accident, let alone each accident that takes place within a district. An accident management system automates each of those needs to streamline the process, helping to ensure better accuracy, but also alleviating the tedious tasks that take up value work time.

In summary, December is a strategic window for implementing an Accident Management System in your district. Winter weather elevates accident risks, and as OSHA reporting corresponds with the calendar year, adopting a system now ensures consistent and accessible records. Training staff becomes seamless, and the worker’s compensation data garnered throughout the year aids in informed decision-making.

Ultimately, introducing an accident management system not only enhances safety but reduces the workload on HR staff, allowing them to focus on more valuable tasks for the well-being of the district and its employees. Make December the month your district takes a step toward a safer and more efficient future.