ABOUT SESAC |
Who We Are SESAC is a group of nearly 50 Colorado based steel erection firms that are both union and non-union. They employ an estimated 700 employees and together work about 1.4 million hours per year. All members share the goal of reducing or eliminating serious accidents in an industry that has historically been recognized as one of the most dangerous in the U.S.A. The Concept of SESAC The SESAC organization deals with safety issues only. Matters of legal, labor relations, marketing and competitiveness are not part of its charter and practice. This allows the group of otherwise competitive contractors to unify and work together to sort out the maze of safety regulations and share improved safety and health ideas among the group. An idea or training class that might otherwise give one contractor a competitive advantage is instead shared with all the group to help all employees work safe and injury free, as well as improve the industry as a whole. By agreeing to work together, they have pooled their funds to employ full time safety consultants that specialize in steel erection safety and each gets the benefits of these safety assistants to help with their company's safety program. Each contractor has a complete written safety program personalized for their company by the safety specialists as well as site inspections and training and assistance with OSHA compliance. This "level playing field" in safety has resulted in improved safety and health for most of the member companies. Although they did not set out to get noticed, they have also received positive recognition nationwide, including from Federal OSHA, and Regional officials of OSHA. A Brief History In about 1992 there was an acknowledgment by the erectors that the safety record, insurance costs, and reputation of their industry needed fixing. This coincided with Region VIII OSHA taking steps to enforce the current OSHA standards more aggressively. There were some that felt they should fight OSHA, as it was apparent to some that the Regional Administrator was applying a weak federal law to steel erectors inappropriately. But, other forward thinking contractors that sincerely wanted to make a difference, voluntarily banded together to form a non-profit safety association specifically created to address the industry-wide safety issues and to allow all members to learn from one another and move toward improving safety and health records. The loose agreement with the OSHA Regional Administrator was that they would work with him to improve safety if he worked with them to get OSHA enforcement branches to understand the industry, make the existing laws better and more fairly enforced, and to apply the law equally to this trade. The contractors felt that they could assist OSHA in identifying the most hazardous activities instead of trivial laws that were antiquated and many times less relevant to improving safety. This loose agreement opened the door to many opportunities for OSHA to learn from the contractors, as well as allowed the contractors to successfully convince the Regional Administrator that certain practices are safer than others and that certain old interpretations by OSHA were potentially wrong and might even be more harmful, given modern technology and needs of the industry. Some of these newer understandings by OSHA found their way into the newest safety standard, recently proposed to OSHA by an industry-wide negotiated rulemaking group. Benefits of SESAC Membership - SESAC occupational injury related losses have improved dramatically
since the inception of the Safety Association. Members of the workers
compensation insurance dividend group have received hundreds of thousands
of dollars in discounts and dividends from improved safety and the insurance
savings resulting from this. |
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
GROUP DIVIDEND PLAN |
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What is the SESAC Dividend Plan? Progressive Steel Erectors and associated companies have joined together to share safety and management information. Since the inception, the members have benefited from improved safety and loss performance, lower insurance premiums, and less OSHA interference. What does it do? SESAC sponsors a Workers’ Compensation Dividend Group. After joining SESAC, members have the opportunity to earn a refund on their insurance premium, if the loss history each year is satisfactory. SESAC combines the premiums of many contractors for volume buying power! Membership in SESAC includes the following services to assist in keeping your job sites safe and to help earn premium rebates: - Professional safety management advice In addition, SESAC membership entitles members to claims management assistance which can: - Reduce the number of days away from work due to injury- reducing work.
comp. payouts Can I join with a poor safety record? SESAC is dedicated to improving the industry’s safety record. By joining, you will be among the best in the business, all of whom have continually improving safety records. With the SESAC membership, and professional Safety Administrators helping you, along with your commitment, your safety record will improve! Work. Comp. costs will go down! What are the risks? None. Your record stays with you just as it does now, and your credit and insurance record is for your individual company. The upside is tremendous... and the worst that could happen is that in a year with poor results no dividend is declared. What are the benefits? - Dividends How much can I get back? Each year’s performance is measured on its own and can vary. Average returns range between 15% and 25%. What would you do with 25% of your workers’ compensation dollars back on your bottom line.... instead of in the hands of your insurance company? What do I have to do? - Commit to running your company safely Services Available For Help SESAC Administrators as well as Pinnacol Assurance and Forsberg-Engerman will help with the following services (and others) to help you achieve your goals of lowest premiums and maximum dividend return! - Safety programs written and reviewed Contacts SESAC ADMINISTRATORS: Steve Miller, President COORDINATING INSURANCE BROKER: Craig Mowers INSURANCE CARRIER: Margot Long |