Georgetown County government has received the Outstanding Safety Achievement Award from the S.C. Association of Counties for the second year in a row. The annual award is presented to counties that have demonstrated significant progress in a specific area of their risk management and safety program through special projects.
Georgetown County received the award for its Safety Awareness Detective program. The County’s Central Safety Committee hid paper magnifying glasses throughout county departments and gave clues to their locations. When an employee found one, they were to take it to the county’s risk manager and answer a safety question. A correct answer earned a reward. The magnifying glasses were put in strategic locations to make employees more aware of things like where fire extinguishers are kept. Clues were also hidden on county vehicles to encourage employees to perform vehicle checks before operating a county vehicle.
“This program ultimately did achieve its desired outcome for increased awareness,” said Van Henson, director of risk management services for the S.C. Association of Counties, who presented the award. “We thought this was very unique and was definitely noteworthy enough to receive an Outstanding Safety Achievement Award. The number one asset of a county is its employees. Without them, services don’t get rendered, so it’s important they stay healthy and when – God forbid – bad things do happen, the proper processes are in place to get them healthy and back to work as quickly as possible.”
Georgetown County Risk Management is always looking for new and creative ways to improve safety, which not only benefits employees, but helps keep insurance costs down. The safety of a work environment is measured by an “Experience Modification Factor.” The county’s modifier has gone done for the last several years in a row, proving risk management efforts are effective, Henson said.