The Washtenaw County Road Commission (WCRC) recently received their annual Experience Modification Factor (MOD Factor) from their insurance provider, the County Road Association Self-Insurance Fund (CRASIF). WCRC’s 2017 MOD Factor of 0.85 is the best rating since the organization joined the CRASIF insurance pool in 2001, a testament to the organization’s award-winning efforts to improve organizational safety.
The MOD Factor measures a road commission’s safety by examining the past three years of workers’ compensation claims compared to other county road commissions. The average MOD Factor is 1.00. If the MOD Factor is greater than 1.00, an agency’s loss history was worse than the average which leads to an increased insurance premium. If below 1.00, the loss history was better than average and results in a discounted insurance premium.
In 2017, WCRC’s sub-1.00 MOD Factor will save the organization $197,520 on their insurance premium compared to 2014 when WCRC’s MOD Factor was its highest at 1.47.
“While cost savings is always a goal, safety is really about our employees. The work we perform can be dangerous. A low MOD factor means that safety is top of mind organizationally and that our crews are returning home safe to their families every day,” said Roy Townsend, Managing Director at the Washtenaw County Road Commission.
In March 2017, WCRC received an Excellence in Operations award from the County Road Association of Michigan for their 2016 Safety Program. WCRC’s Safety Program is designed to engage employees in creating a safe work environment. The cornerstone of the program has been the Safety Suggestion program where employees can submit ideas to improve safety. WCRC’s program saw a 25% boost in safety suggestions in 2016, resulting in eleven safety improvements across the organization.
