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Risk Control: Fire Safety Plan

Introduction

The development of a Fire Safety Plan (hereinafter referred to as the “Plan”) will help ensure the optimum use fire prevention and life safety features installed in a building. The complete plan will reflect all the resources available to the building occupants and identify the basic measures that will aid in an orderly and safe evacuation all occupants in an emergency. An effective Plan that enhances the life safety of staff and building occupants requires:
• a commitment by building management and staff to the safety of occupants;
• knowledge of the building and its fire safety protection equipment by supervisory staff;
• a clear understanding by supervisory staff of the fire safety procedures in the Plan and how to implement properly; and
• the cooperation and education of building occupants.

The following information discusses the preparation and implementation of a Fire Safety Plan.Read More »Risk Control: Fire Safety Plan

Insuring Cloud Computing

While cloud computing may seem vague and confusing, the National Institute of Standards and Technologies recently completed a working definition for the term after years of work and 15 drafts. So what is Cloud Computing? According to the official NIST definition, “cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction”, with the following 5 characteristics: • On-demand self-service • Broad network access • Resource pooling • Rapid… Read More »Insuring Cloud Computing

Public Servant Wins Compensation Over Work Trip Sex Injury

An Australian public worker has won the workers comp. claim hearing, for the injury she got having sex in a motel during the business trip, according to ABC News. Now the federal government should pay not only the money spent on her treatment, but also cover the legal costs. The woman, whose name was not released, sued her employer back in 2007,  for the denied workers compensation claim for the injury done by a glass light fixture that fell off the wall above a bed as she was having sex. In addition, as she said later, after the injury she… Read More »Public Servant Wins Compensation Over Work Trip Sex Injury

Zurich Insurance launches apps for risk managers

Zurich Insurance Co. Ltd. has launched two apps for risk managers, the insurer announced Wednesday at Risk & Insurance Management Society Inc.’s Annual Conference and Exhibition in Philadelphia. The Zurich Risk Room app is a limited version of the larger risk modeling software Zurich offers clients. The app shows scenarios for natural catastrophe and disaster management, supply chain disruption, regulatory imbalances, social value of insurance and economic value of insurance. Each has 10 to 12 preselected risks offering a comparison of different countries’ stability as well as modeling the interconnection among risks. New risks and scenarios will be added as… Read More »Zurich Insurance launches apps for risk managers

Risk Transfer: Managing 3rd Party Relationships

Introduction: Case Scenarios – A painter’s scaffold collapses resulting in severe injury to the painter and a pedestrian. The painter had no insurance. The building owner is held liable for all losses. – A cabinet installer puts a long screw into a wall. It punctures a water pipe causing water damage. The installer’s insurance policy was not renewed. The homeowner’s insurance company sues and recovers the damages from the cabinet retailer who recommended the installer. – A small motor manufacturer, to get the business of a big new customer, agrees to sign a contract which the customer requires of all… Read More »Risk Transfer: Managing 3rd Party Relationships

Is Siri As Smart As Apple Claims?

In many of Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple Corp.’s television advertisements about its new iPhone 4S, individuals are shown using the smartphone’s new voice-activated assistant feature Siri to make appointments, find restaurants and even learn the guitar chords to classic rock songs. But if iPhone 4S users ask Siri what she thinks about a recently filed lawsuit accusing Apple of false advertising, she probably won’t understand the question, much less direct them to the complaint, according to disgruntled customer Frank F., who filed his complaint March 6 in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif. The suit, which seeks class action status… Read More »Is Siri As Smart As Apple Claims?

Small Business Smartphone Use Policy

Employers who allow use of smartphones for business have approximately a 30% higher risk of being victims of identity theft and about 60% of smartphone users do not password protect their devices. It is vital that the sensitive data often stored on these tiny devices is protected: PASSWORD: The most important way to ensure that your mobile device is secure is to password protect it, and to keep track of where it is at all times. REMOTE LOCKING: Download features that provide remote locking of the device, and allow data to be erased from the hard drive. These services vary depending on… Read More »Small Business Smartphone Use Policy

How to Manage Work Related Stress

What Is Workplace Stress? People experience stress in many parts of their lives. Although stress is an essential element of many activities at work and at home, stress becomes harmful when it reaches an intensity that begins to impair daily activities. The focus of this brochure is harmful stress that arises from work situations, as opposed to stress that is generated by an employee’s personal life. Harmful workplace stress has been associated with: – Jobs that demand a lot from the employees while allowing them little control over how the job is performed, – Work environments that are unsafe and/or uncomfortable, and – Organizational practices that… Read More »How to Manage Work Related Stress

LOSS CONTROL: CARBON MONOXIDE (CO)

Sources of CO Unvented kerosene and gas space heaters; leaking chimneys and furnaces; back-drafting from furnaces, gas water heaters, wood stoves, and fireplaces; gas stoves; generators and other gasoline powered equipment; automobile exhaust from attached garages; and tobacco smoke. These products are all sources of CO which can be deadly if proper safety precautions are not taken. Where to Install Detectors According to the USFA (United States Fire Administration) a CO detector should be installed outside all sleeping areas (about 10 feet away from a bedroom). The USFA says that detectors should not be placed within 5 feet of any… Read More »LOSS CONTROL: CARBON MONOXIDE (CO)

Risk of Injury with Tablet Computers

Remember the story about the carpal tunnel syndrome? Now all workers compensation insurance applications ask whether the workstations are designed ergonomically. The time where the application will be asking one more question about the use of tablet pc devices is probably coming soon, as tablet computer users may run the risk of neck and shoulder pain after prolonged use of the devices, a group of scientists said in a newly published study. The study, commissioned by the U.S. States Department of Environmental Health, the Harvard School of Public Health and Microsoft Corp., among others, examined the effects of media tablet… Read More »Risk of Injury with Tablet Computers