For Immediate Release: October 22, 2024
PERMA and OCWA team up to help workers reduce slip and fall accidents
Mobile slip simulator training enhances employee safety
Syracuse, N.Y. – Oct 22, 2024 – PERMA, the Public Employer Risk Management Association, is unveiling its new Mobile Safety Solutions Center this morning at OCWA – Central New York’s Water Authority – to help reduce employee slip and fall injuries. Slip, trip and fall accidents are the most frequent cause of worker injuries reported by PERMA members. Interactive simulator training has been shown to reduce these work incidents more effectively.
“Syracuse winters are a prime time for slip-and-fall accidents, so we are thrilled PERMA is enabling us to enhance our training and reduce the risk of falls for our 180 employees,” said Geoffrey G. Miller, PE, BCEE, OCWA executive director of operations. “Every one of our employees plays a key role in our ability to provide safe, reliable water to our communities and we want to keep them healthy as they provide this vital service.”
In the past five years, PERMA has paid nearly $50 million in claims from more than 4,400 slip-and-fall incidents involving employees from its more than 600 public employer members throughout New York state. Studies by the Los Alamos National Lab have found simulator training can result in up to a 70% reduction in slip-and-fall incidents, making this interactive, experiential training far more effective for participants than classroom training.
“Reducing the human toll on employees and the operational and financial tolls on our member organizations caused by slip-and-fall incidents is a win for everyone involved,” said Mary Beth Woods, PERMA executive director, noting that the association invested in the training simulator to help its members drive a significant reduction in employee injuries and the related expenses. “Workers who have learned walking techniques to improve their stability on slippery surfaces through this experiential training will be safer on the job, which benefits both the employee and the employer.”
PERMA will provide this training opportunity to more than 20 municipal employers over the next year. The goal is to reduce workers’ compensation-related injuries due to slips and falls, both in frequency and severity for PERMA’s member employees.
“We applaud PERMA for its proactive approach to enhancing the safety of workers across New York state,” said Stephen Acquario, executive director of the New York State Association of Counties. “We’re confident this interactive training will reduce worker injuries and provide significant cost savings by decreasing lost time, claim-related costs and insurance expenses.”
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PERMA, Public Employer Risk Management Association, Inc. is a member-owned, not-for-profit association of public entities providing risk management services and workers’ compensation coverage through a group self-insurance program. Founded in 1982, PERMA provides more than 600 public entities across New York state with a cost-effective alternative to traditional workers’ compensation programs that improve the quality of services provided to injured employees.
OCWA—Central New York’s Water Authority—was established by act of the New York State Legislature in 1951 and currently serves 350,000 consumers in Onondaga, Oswego, Madison, Cayuga, and Oneida counties. The Authority is among the 125 largest public drinking water systems in the country, operating two major water treatment facilities, over 2,200 miles of main, 14,150+ fire hydrants, 63 storage facilities, and 48 pump stations.
For additional information, contact:
- Christina Burtis, OCWA director of public affairs, 315-455-7061, cburtis@ocwa.org
- Sal Prividera, Giro Communications, 518-598-6215, sal@girocommunications.com