PEF:Preventinginjuriescouldsavestatemillions
BySHERRYHALBROOK •Developaninitiativetoreduceclient it’swastedunlessthestatemakesthe
PEFgaveGov.DavidPatersonsixnew assaultsonstaff; necessarychangestoreduceinjuriesand
recommendationsinDecemberthatcould •Investinsafepatienthandling costs.”
savethestateabigshareofitsestimated programsforagenciesandworksiteswith Accordingtothereport,thetotaldirect
$227millionannualtabforworkers’ substantialincidenceofinjuriesfrom compensationcostsforthestatejumped
compensation(WC)injuriessufferedby patienthandling; 22percentfromnearly$18.7Minfiscal
stateemployees. •Identifythecausesofslips,tripsand year2007-08tonearly$22.8Min2008-09.
InalettertoPaterson,PEFPresident fallsanddevelopsolutionstoprevent Medicalcostsalonewentupnearly5
KenBryniencitedthe“urgentneedto them;and percentto$20.3M,andthetotalworkdays
addresstherisingworkers’compensation •Takemaximumadvantageofexisting lostwereup8.4percent.Infact,thetotal
injuriesandrelatedcosts,toprotectboth negotiatedhealthandsafetycommittees timelostwaslikelosing1,034full-time
thewell-beingofthestateworkforceand andfundingtoaddresstheseproblems. employeesforanentireyear.
toeliminatewasteandinefficiency.” PEFmadetherecommendationsafter Theinjuriesalsocostthestatemillions
PEFrecommendsthestate: reviewingtheannualreportofthestate ofdollarsinindirectcoststhatcanaddup
•Establishaworkgroupwith DepartmentofCivilServiceonworkers’ tofivetimesthedirectcosts.
representativesfromkeyagencies,PEF compensationcostsforstateemployees, TheoverallrateofnewWCcaseswas
andotherstate-employeeunionsto thatlooksatthedataagency-by-agency,as up3percentover2007-08.Thestate
analyzethecausesofinjuriesandaffected wellasstatewide.Theannualreportisa OfficeofChildrenandFamilyServices’rate
occupationsateachworksiteandinstitute requirementofalawpassedafewyears toppedthelist,rising33percentin2008-
comprehensivepreventiveefforts; agowithPEF’svigoroussupport. 09to19.6claimsper100employees.
•Developacomprehensiveoccupational “Weworkedtogetthislawpassed, Collectively,OCFSandthreeother
healthandsafetymanagementprogramfor becauseitgivesthestateharddataand agenciesemploy47percentofthecovered
theagencieswiththeworstproblems,and insightsintothemagnitudeoftheproblem, employees,butaccountformorethan75
stafftheprogramwithoccupationalhealth exactlywhere,howandinwhichjobsthese percentoftheincidentsandlostworkdays,
andsafetyprofessionals; accidentsareoccurring,”Bryniensaid,but andnearly80percentofthecosts.
PEFofferssolutionstostatetransportationcommittee
ByDEBORAHA.MILES ChamplainBridgeshowshowcostlyitisto
PEFprovidedtestimonytothestate
SAVING
failtomaintainourinfrastructure.
SenateCommitteeonTransportation
MILLIONS—PEF
Replacingthebridgehasbeenestimatedto
November23inAlbanywithstaggering
ExecutiveBoard
cost$50million.”
statisticsandsuggestionstosavethestate
memberEdward
millionsofdollars.
Lucastestifies
Studiesbackupsavings
EdwardLucas,aPEFExecutiveBoard
beforethestate
LucassaidPEFhasbeenpushingthe
memberandcivilengineeratthestate
Senate
ideatousestateengineersatDOTtime
DepartmentofTransportation(DOT),told
Committeeon
andagain,asanalternativetohiring
Sen.MartinMalaveDilan,chairofthe
Transportationin
privateconsultantsforbridgeinspections,
committee,PEFidentifiedaminimumof
Albanyonwaysto
constructioninspectionandroaddesign
$82.5millioninengineeringsavings,and
savemillionsof
work.
upto$108millioninothersavingsby
dollar
“Studiesandaudits,includingtwo
reducingtheuseofprivateconsultantsin
D
—
s.
eb
P
o
h
r
o
a
t
h
o
A
b
.
y
Miles
OfficeofStateComptrollerauditsanda
engineeringandarchitectprofessionsat DOT-sponsoredstudyperformedbyKPMG
DOT. foundNewYorkcouldsavemillionsof
“Thestatecansavemillionsbyusing dollarsannuallybyreplacingconsultant
stateengineersratherthanprivate
Bridgesneedrepair
engineerswithstateemployeeengineers.
consultantsforbridgeinspection,
DOT’scapitalplanranksNewYork
“Andbyreplacing90percentofall
constructioninspectionandroaddesign
amongthebottom10statesforboth
bridgeinspectionconsultantsimmediately,
work.Wehavefound$82.5millionin
highwayandbridgeconditions.Morethan
itcouldsaveatleast$12millionayear,”
savingsif90percentoftheengineering
one-thirdofthestate’sbridgesaremore
Lucassaid.
consultantsforDOTwerereplacedwith
than50yearsold,theexpectedusefullife
“Evenmoresavingscouldbefoundifall
stateemployees.
ofabridge.
professionsatDOTweremovedin-house,
“TheaverageDOTconsultantinacivil
Thestateisfacingnotonlyafiscal
asDOTspendsmoreonconsultantsthan
engineeringtitlemakes$97.58perhour.
crisis,butaninfrastructurecrisis.Lucas
anyotherstateagencyexceptSUNY.
TheaveragecostofaDOTengineeris$50
saidDOThas6,625statebridgesalready
“Facedwiththetwincrisesofbillion
perhour,includingbenefits,”Lucassaid.
morethan50yearsold.Without
dollardeficitsandcrumbling
“Oryoucouldsaythedifferenceis
significantinvestment,DOTexpects
infrastructure,PEFbelievesanyfive-year
approximately$92,000peryearfora
another1,526bridgestobecomedeficient
capitalplanshouldincludewaystoreduce
consultantwithanaverageannualsalary
overthenextfiveyears,andanother1,472
DOT’srelianceonconsultants.Thetimeis
of$190,000,comparedto$97,262with
overthenext10years.
now,”Lucassaid.
benefitsforDOTengineers.”
“Thesearealarmingfigures,”Lucas
said.“Theclosureofthebadlydecayed
Page6—TheCommunicatorFebruary2010 PEFInformationLine:1-800-553-2445
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