You may think that when you pay your premium to SAIF Corporation every month, all you get is low-cost workers' compensation coverage. But did you know that, as a policyholder, you have free access to SAIF's comprehensive employer training programs?
SAIF's educational programs can help you succeed not only in workplace safety, but also other important topics of interest to management.
These programs focus not only on safety and other workers' compensation issues, but also areas like supervisory skills, multicultural communication, and other workforce issues. Some of SAIF's classes even feature experts such as physicians, attorneys, or police officers. The classes offered by SAIF appeal to a broad spectrum of work environments, ranging from agriculture and motor vehicle safety to proper lifting techniques, fall protection, and office ergonomics. Some of SAIF's programs are taught completely in Spanish.
Beverly Wilson, who coordinates the training programs for SAIF's regional office in Bend, said, "We develop classes based upon input we get from our policyholders. By listening to them and paying attention to what they write on our class evaluation
forms, we are able to provide the education they are asking for while creating a partnership resulting in lowered premiums."
"Education for employees isn't something that most small businesses budget for," said David Jordan, SAIF's regional operations director in Medford. "Providing this important information free to our policyholders helps make Oregon the safest state to work."
Jordan added that even one avoidable injury can cost a small company thousands of dollars every year. By involving both management and employees in safety education, such injuries become less likely as worksite risk areas become more identifiable.
"Safety education doesn't cost an arm and a leg," said Jordan. "But by educating yourself, you could, quite literally, save an arm or a leg."
¡Tambien en Español!
OR-OSHA's PESO program
Spanish-speaking employees make up a growing portion of Oregon's workforce, and language barriers represent a challenge to safety in the workplace. To address the needs of these employees, SAIF has teamed up with OR-OSHA to make the PESO program available to them. (PESO stands for Programa en Español de Seguridad e Higiene en el Trabajo de Oregon OSHA, or Oregon OSHA's Spanish Language Program for Job Safety and Hygiene.)
PESO covers a wide range of topics including fall protection, machine safeguarding, back safety, restaurant safety, hazard identification, safety committees, and industrial vehicles.
"Oregon OSHA requires that all workers be trained before being exposed to hazardous work," said Tomás Schwabe, senior safety and health instructor with OR-OSHA, who teaches PESO at SAIF. "By making PESO programs and materials available free to Oregon employers, we're seeing that language is no longer a barrier to safety."
Latino Business Fair
SAIF also participates in the Latino Business Fair held every November at Chemeketa Community College in Salem. SAIF will be presenting a course on the basics of workers' compensation in Spanish. Read more in the fall 2009 issue of Comp News.