OXNARD -- State Compensation Insurance Fund will sponsor a comprehensive accident investigation seminar in Oxnard April 18. The seminar, which is free to State Fund policyholders, is designed to show employers how to more thoroughly investigate accidents to reduce their future claims.

Featured speakers at the seminar include Hank Cierpich, Safety Engineer with the California Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Project and Michael Kerney, Director of Risk Management Services.

The seminar will be conducted in two parts. In the first section, Mr. Cierpich will provide an overview of how the California Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) program, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Fatality Assessment, investigate workplace fatalities in Southern California. Cierpich will explain the investigative techniques and surveillance procedures the FACE program uses to identify and prevent risks for occupational injuries and fatalities.

By better understanding FACE’s investigative methods, employers will come away better equipped to implement accident-prevention strategies in their own workplaces. Seminar attendees will also be made familiar with FACE resources and how to access the full text of hundreds of fatality investigation reports.

In the second section of the seminar, Mr. Kerney, who is also an Associate in Risk Management (ARM), will explain how workplace hazards can be discovered and corrected through properly conducted accident investigations. He will show how accident investigation results can work as a catalyst for preventing future workplace accidents and provide workers with a safer environment.

During this portion of the workshop, attendees will conduct simulated investigations involving different industries and explore three accidents. All participants will leave with a variety of investigation forms that will enable them to develop their own custom accident investigation reporting tools.

The seminars are scheduled from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at State Fund’s Oxnard District Office, 2901 N. Ventura Road, 2nd Floor conference room. Registration begins at 8:15 a.m. and free parking is available. A continental breakfast will be served at the event. Participants will also receive an accident investigation camera kit.

Register now for this or other available seminars.

The Oxnard seminar is part of a series of educational programs State Compensation Insurance Fund is holding throughout the state in order to help employers create safe workplaces. State Fund has the largest safety and health services program among California workers’ compensation insurance carriers.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Established by the California Legislature in 1914, San Francisco-based State Compensation Insurance Fund is a self-supporting, nonprofit, fairly competitive public enterprise that provides workers’ compensation insurance coverage at cost to California employers.