Special thanks to EMC Member, Mahle Filter Systems and Lisa Granger for hosting the first hands-on session for our Members!

We had a great turnout for the first regional event hosted this year.  Members and guests came prepared to work with calculator, statements and reports and settled in for some group actvity.  The session was led first with an overview for the attendees on the reports and statements that are issued by WSIB, in an effort to establish a base line understanding.

NEER is an experience rating program that automatically applies to firms that:

• Have total yearly premiums of $25,000 or more and
• Operate in at least one non-construction rate group (construction rate groups have their own rules)

In the NEER program, your organization can either lump sum refunds or surcharges based on your individual accident performance.  The NEER program compares the expected cost of claims for your firm against the actual NEER cost which is made up of:

1. total benefits paid to date
2. the projected future cost of claims over their expected lifetime and
3. an administrative cost

Mahle's best practice lies in the fact that they have built a system to track claims and status of the claim that automatically calculates and predicts costs for short and long term absences.  As part of the meeting, the review of the importance of a form 7 and the lost time injury incurred cost showed real relevance in the associated impact to organizations currently not tracking this information.  Like many in attendance, using some sort of tracking method is usually driven by just keeping track of what is going on and necessitated by the fact that this is only one portion of what HR and H&S professionals do, as part of their overall role. 

As part of the discussion, there was a quick overview of the features of the WSIB website that has tools and rate tables that can help professionals build a tracking system of their own.  There was much discussion revolving around the changes at WSIB that now make it imperative for organizations to take a lead role on "managing" claims and following up with WSIB personnel to ensure that claims are looked after and status updated in a timely fashion.

Lisa spent some time in showing the cost differences in open versus closed claim status.  A quick look around the room showed that most of the participants, even though we know closing a claim is important in managing costs, were surprised by the cost difference.  This brought real importance to taking a more involved approach in managing your claims process.   

In today's business environment, we know that using business metrics to measure performance is an essential way organizations are realizing their effectiveness.  For most, this may involve measurements focused on number of incidents, the severity of injuries, a matrix of common physical ailments and such.  Using a cost predictive tool can bring the language of business finance to the world of safety and help organizations truly understand the impact beyond just the cost of claims management.  Additionally, using a tracking and predictive cost tool will aid organizations in justifying improvements and investments to practices and processes where injury is prone.

Due to the great response in this session and the opportunity to expand the information in this session, EMC will look to host a follow-up session sometime in the fall for our members.

Have a safe and happy summer season!