Utilize Down Time to Become a Safety Star™

Author, Lauren Stumpf, Media Communications Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

If you are facing a slowdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, now is an excellent time to train your management team to become Safety Stars™. The RM365 Advantage Safety Star Program™ offers modules specific to the construction industry as well as organizations in the human services.

These online programs are ideal for your supervisors, foremen, safety coordinators, upper management, administrators, directors of human resources, facilities/operations managers, and safety committee members. All participants take the Accident Investigation and Analysis module while choosing several electives like Fall Protection, Heat Illness Prevention or Patient & Resident Handling, Bloodborne Pathogens, and 15-Passenger Van Safety, to name a few.

Sending management through the RM365 Advantage Safety Star Program™ can give a company a competitive advantage in the insurance marketplace, reduce the probability of claims, and lower its overall insurance costs.

To enroll in the RM365 Advantage Safety Star Program, visit www.ranchomesa.com/rm365-advantage-safety-star-program and fill out the application.

Podcast Episode 3 Now Available

Author, Lauren Stumpf, Media Communications Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Episode 3 of the Safety and Risk Management podcast network is now available to be heard on demand.

In epsisode 3, Drew Garcia, Vice President of the Landscape Group at Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, discusses landscape safety, operations, best practices, and industry advice with Fred Peratt, President of Enviornmental Enhancements.

About Enviornmental Enhancements
Founded in 2001, Environmental Enhancements is a landscaping company in DC and Sterling, Virginia that provides a full range of environmentally-friendly landscaping services to commercial property managers and homeowners. Washington Business Journal ranked them among the top ten leading landscaping companies in the DC and Sterling area. To learn more, visit eelandscaping.com.

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Subscribe to StudioOne™ Safety and Risk Management Network

Subscribe to the StudioOne™ Safety and Risk Management Network podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, or Spotify to never miss an episode!

To find the StudioOne™ podcast in any of the above apps on your mobile device, type in “StudioOne Safety and Risk” in the search box. You can also listen from your computer by visiting www.RanchoMesa.com/StudioOne or anchor.fm/ranchomesa.

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Latest Episodes

Business Owners Stay On Top of Ladder Safety

Author, Lauren Stumpf, Media Communications Assistant, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Thursday, March 12, 2020, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services Inc. hosted the Ladder Safety workshop in La Mesa, CA.

Ladder safety has been in the top 10 OSHA Cited Violations for the past 5 years. As a business owner, it is important to find a way to get ahead of this potential oversight and improve your safety program, starting with ladder safety.

Owners, foreman, and safety managers gathered for an educational demonstration on ladder safety. This workshop covered:

• Alarming trends with ladder safety.

• Ways to reduce the frequency of injuries from ladder falls.

• Ways to ensure you are using the proper equipment for the job at hand.

• Components of a proper ladder safety program for your company.

The workshop was conducted by Rick Fineman, Risk Management Vice President, and Tom Jolliff, Sr. Risk Management Consultant at ICW Group. March is National Ladder Safety Month. This is the perfect time to review your ladder safety program an educate your employees on the importance of following proper protocols. 

About ICW Group
Based in San Diego, ICW Group Insurance Companies is the largest group of privately held insurance companies domiciled in California. Quoting more than $3 billion annually, ICW Group represents a group of Property, Auto and Workers’ Compensation insurance carriers, including Insurance Company of the West and Explorer Insurance Company. For more information, visit www.icwgroup.com.

StudioOne™ Films NAWIC San Diego Contest Video Entry

Author, Alyssa Burley, Media Communications and Client Services Manager, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Amber Webb from Ryan Companies and Shelby Ballow from Dowling Construction pictured on the set of their upcoming NAWIC San Diego Chapter video.

NAWIC San Diego Chapter 21’s Amber Webb from Ryan Companies (who is the chapter’s President-Elect) and Shelby Ballow from Dowling Construction (Vice President for the chapter) visited Rancho Mesa’s StudioOne™ on Monday, March 9, 2020 to film a portion of the chapter’s new video.

The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) is hosting a nation-wide Marketing & Membership Contest. Chapters from throughout the country are encouraged to submit videos showing how NAWIC powers their members, the chapter and their community. Contest winners will be announced at the 2020 NAWIC Annual Conference in Houston, TX in August.

Good luck on the video contest submission and we look forward to releasing the finished video, soon!

Rancho Mesa is pleased to support the NAWIC San Diego Chapter and the local construction industry that it serves.

About National Association of Women in Construction San Diego Chapter
The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) San Diego Chapter, chartered on April 30, 1959, is very active and involved in the construction industry and the community. Each year the chapter participates in a variety of events including educational seminars and conferences, Women in Construction Week (WIC Week), Block Kids (construction awareness program for children in grades 1 thru 6), CAD/Design/Drafting Contest (High School student activity), Camp NAWIC (a week long program designed to mentor high school girls planning to enter the construction industry), college scholarships, joint meetings with other San Diego professional organizations and various activities with local charities. For more information, visit www.nawicsd.org.

Support Our Local Construction Industry at the NAWIC 2nd Annual Toast to the Trades - March 6, 2020

Author, Alyssa Burley, Media Communications and Client Services Manager, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) San Diego Chapter will celebrate its annual Women in Construction (WIC) Week with its highly anticipated 2nd Annual Toast to the Trades dinner on March 6, 2020 at The Dana on Mission Bay Resort.

Local members of the construction industry, government, and general public will come together to celebrate the careers that build San Diego.

This year’s event will include dinner, drinks, a silent auction, networking, and a panel discussion on “Paving New Roads to Construction.” Proceeds from the event will benefit several youth programs designed to introduce young adults to careers in construction.

NAWIC San Diego’s 2nd Annual
‘Toast to the Trades’

Friday, March 6, 2020 at 5:30 pm
at The Dana on Mission Bay, San Diego, CA

ENJOY DINNER, SILENT AUCTION & PANEL DISCUSSION. ALL SILENT AUCTION PROCEEDS DONATED TO THE FUTURE CONSTRUCTION LEADERS FOUNDATION 501 (C) (3)NON-PROFIT.

This event is part of WIC Week (Women in Construction) with a goal to highlight women as a viable component of the construction industry. WIC Week is one of the many ways we involve and give back to our community.

Register Online

WIC Week provides an occasion for NAWIC’s thousands of members across the country to raise awareness of the opportunities available for women in construction and to emphasize the growing role of women in the industry.

“We must remove barricades and barriers, fill potholes, and pave smoother roads for women in a male-dominated industry and build one another up to help each other achieve success in our careers,” said Diane Mike, NAWIC 2019-2020 National President. “We can and we will change the future of this industry by becoming ingrained at every level of construction to provide a diverse voice.”

Purchase tickets or sponsor the event by visiting nawicsd.org/event.

Rancho Mesa’s Alyssa Burley, Shane Medlin, Sam Clayton, Tom Carapella (Sunrise Bobcat), and Kevin Howard at the 2019 Toast to the Trades event.

About National Association of Women in Construction San Diego Chapter
The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) San Diego Chapter, chartered on April 30, 1959, is very active and involved in the construction industry and the community. Each year the chapter participates in a variety of events including educational seminars and conferences, Women in Construction Week (WIC Week), Block Kids (construction awareness program for children in grades 1 thru 6), CAD/Design/Drafting Contest (High School student activity), Camp NAWIC (a week long program designed to mentor high school girls planning to enter the construction industry), college scholarships, joint meetings with other San Diego professional organizations and various activities with local charities. For more information, visit www.nawicsd.org.

Cal/OSHA: Enforcement vs. Consultation Workshop Educates Local Business Owners

Author, Emily Marasso, Media Communications Assistant, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Do you know the difference between the Enforcement Branch and Consultation Branch of Cal/OSHA? On January 22, 2020, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc. hosted a workshop led by Carmen Cisneros, Area Manager from the Cal/OSHA Consultation Services Branch in San Diego. The workshop was held at the Boys & Girls Club of East County and covered how Cal/OSHA’s consultation branch can be a helpful resource to improve workplace safety.

Carmen suggests any business with an Experience Modification (XMOD) over 125, contact Cal/OSHA for a free onsite consultation. Have the consultation held at a jobsite to ensure you get accurate suggested improvements.

In addition to improving workplace safety, requesting a consultation from Cal/OSHA may assist your business in becoming eligible for the Golden Gate Program. Contact Cal/OSHA Consultation for more details.

Laws and guidelines will continue to change. The Cal/OSHA Consultation Branch is there to help make your job sites safer and hopefully assist in avoiding a visit from the Enforcement Branch.

To learn more about Cal/OSHA’s consultation services, contact your location branch office.

StudioOne™ Launches Safety and Risk Management Podcast Network

Author, Lauren Stumpf, Media Communications Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

StudioOne™, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services' media productions team, is very excited to announce the launch of its Safety and Risk Management podcast network.

The podcast series addresses safety and risk management issues that can affect a business's bottom line. The first few episodes provide insights from award-winning safety experts in the landscape industry.

Subscribe to the StudioOne™ Safety and Risk Management Network podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, or Spotify to never miss an episode!

To find the StudioOne™ podcast in any of the above apps on your mobile device, type in “StudioOne Safety and Risk” in the search box. You can also listen from your computer by visiting www.RanchoMesa.com/StudioOne or anchor.fm/ranchomesa.

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Latest Episodes

Are You Ready for 2020 Employment Law Updates?

Author, Emily Marasso, Media Communications Assistant, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc. hosted a 2020 Legal Updates workshop on December 2, 2019 at the Boys & Girls Club of East County.

Thomas E. Daugherty, a lawyer with Klinedinst Attorneys, led the workshop and discussed the employment law changes that will go into effect in 2020 and how you can be prepared.

Some of the key elements discussed in the workshop are:

• Independent contractors must meet all 3 elements of the ABC Test to be classified as such and not an employee.

• Mandatory arbitration agreements are no longer acceptable.

• The minimum wage amount is increasing again; affecting salary thresholds. 

In addition to these updates, the statute of limitations has increased from 1 to 3 years, and additional time has been given to employers to complete company-wide harassment prevention training. Alongside these changes, discrimination outlines have been extended to include perception against natural hairstyles including afros, braids, twists, locks, etc.

New parents can be thankful that workplace lactation accommodations have been updated and Paid Family Leave is now 8 weeks in lieu of the previous 6 weeks standard beginning July 1, 2020. Domestic partnership now includes any two adults over the age of 18 instead of the previous age of 62. Domestic partners are granted the same rights, protections, benefits, etc. as married spouses.

Construction employees, in certain counties, are required to be trained on Valley Fever and the dangers of being exposed to the fungus. The counties included, but not limited to, are Fresno, Kern, Madera, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare and Ventura to name a few. Gun violence restraining orders now expand availability to employers, co-workers (with employer approval) and employees or teachers at a secondary school.

For clients who missed the workshop, a video of the presentation will be available to view on-demand in the Risk Management Center within the next few weeks. An update will be sent when it is ready to view.

The Spirit of Giving Continues with OneofOne® Legacy Gift Drawing Winners

Author, Alyssa Burley, Media Communications and Client Services Manager, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa Insurance Services is pleased to announce the winners of this year’s OneofOne® Legacy Gift Drawing on Thursday, November 7, 2019.

For the second year, Rancho Mesa has asked its clients to identify what makes the company OneofOne®. What actions have Rancho Mesa employees done to go above and beyond their normal duties? For every response, clients were entered into a drawing for a chance to win one of ten $250 donations to the nonprofit of their choice or the grand prize, the naming rights to an examination room at Family Health Centers of San Diego.

This drawing is a win-win for Rancho Mesa and our local nonprofit community. Rancho Mesa gathers feedback from clients and in return, monetary donations are made to nonprofits that our clients care about in our community.

Within San Diego, Rancho Mesa works with and supports about 40 non-profits, one of those is the Family Health Centers of San Diego. They are one of the largest community clinics within the United States, offering a wide range of health care services that provides care to over 190,000 unique patients a year. They provide these services through 23 primary care clinics, 8 behavioral health facilities, 7 dental clinics, 3 mobile medical units, a teen health center, an outpatient substance abuse treatment program, vision and physical therapy, and a pharmacy.

Grand Prize Winner

Fuller Electric

$250 Donation Winners

Peek Brothers Painting
Custom Installations Inc.
NEWest Construction Co.
Rancho Del Oro Landscape
Apex Mechanical

Bert W Salas Inc.
New Wave Electric
South Bay Salt Works
American Sheet Metal
Minegar Contracting Inc.

Some of the 2019 OneofOne® Testimonial Entries:

About Family Health Centers of San Diego

For nearly 50 years, Family Health Centers of San Diego’s (FHCSD) mission has been to provide affordable, high-quality health care and support services to all people, with a special commitment to the uninsured, low-income and medically underserved. Annually, our staff provides care to more than 210,000 unique patients—a third of our region’s low-income patients—through more than 935,000 encounters. For more information, visit www.fhcsd.org.

Client Spotlight: Rancho West Landscape Uses a Simple Newsletter to Drive Safety

Author, Lauren Stumpf, Media Communications Assistant, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

To say Rancho West Landscape (RWL) is proactive in safety would be an understatement. They have made safety a top priority in their company. Their newsletter is among a variety safety initiatives they‘ve embraced. Each month, RWL is able to compress incredible content into a one-page company publication available in both English and Spanish. With the fast-paced schedule of daily business activities, maintaining the level of consistency in generating the newsletter is an achievement in and of itself.

Drew Garcia pictured with Christy Flores.

“Rancho West is always looking for a way to improve safety, training, process and communication,” says Drew Garcia, Vice President Landscape Group at Rancho Mesa Insurance. “This newsletter is a small example of their company’s culture that is rooted in safety. I always admire consistency in people and organizations. It has been a pleasure to work for Rancho West and watch activity like this continue with regularity.”

In the November 2019 issue, RWL announced their new safety program with Greenius. Greenius is an online safety platform designed to provide educational safety training to landscape professionals. To learn more, read Rancho West Landscape’s November 2019 newsletter Issue 16.

If you are interested in creating your own safety newsletter, Christy Flores, the writer, editor, and publisher of the RWL newsletter, broke down some of the key concepts she thinks about when generating the monthly issues:

• Look to make one key point and center the rest of the information around that point.

• Incorporate current events: time of year, weather, holidays, etc.

• Include company pictures to make it more personal.

• Recognize an employee or group of employees.

• Have fun with it (see the word search and incentive for participation).

• Keep it to one page, too much information is overwhelming.

• English and Spanish (hint: use Google translate and have someone read it over for clarity).

• Be consistent (Christy publishes monthly, but you can start off slow. Try publishing quarterly).

• Distribute newsletters with pay checks, post them in company common areas, and email if possible.

• Provide key contacts.  Christy keeps the area mangers phone numbers on every issue.

• Find the right person to own and enjoy creating the document.

• Find content online, in the news, through your association, and from your insurance broker/carrier.

• Newsletter templates are available on multiple websites and platforms. Christy uses Microsoft Publisher.

“I’m really proud of Christy for sticking to it. Without any recognition, she continued to create the newsletter to help make Rancho West a better company,” expressed Greg Duncan, President of Rancho West Landscape.

Rancho Mesa Insurance thanks RWL for allowing us to highlight their company in an effort to promote safety within the landscape industry.

About Rancho West Landscape
Rancho West Landscape has been servicing Southern California since 1990. As a local landscape contractor based in Murrieta, they have upheld the highest standard of service and continue to raise safety standards.