RIVERSIDE/SAN FRANCISCO -- State Compensation Insurance Fund will sponsor two specially focused ergonomics seminars “Watch Your Back: State Fund's Back Connection™,” starting in San Francisco July 17 and followed with a second seminar in Riverside July 18. Both seminars are offered to any State Fund policyholder free of charge and are designed to show policyholders how to prevent back injuries and increase worker productivity.

The seminars highlight “State Fund's Back Connection™,” an educational and easy-to-use DVD. The innovative and interactive program is designed with the idea that preventing a back injury is much easier than repairing one. Employers will learn how to take a proactive approach to the preven­tion of workplace musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs), and how to encourage workers to take an active part in their own injury prevention. Policyholders will receive the interactive DVD free of charge, as well as a complete overview of its features. It provides all the resources needed by employers to develop an effective back injury prevention process customized to their business.

Featured speakers at both seminars will be State Fund ergonomics specialists who are trained in assisting policyholders in such areas as ergonomic program development and implementation, analysis of jobs and work processes, and training of employees and management. Attendees will also learn how to evaluate their operations, identify unsafe acts, compare alternatives for reducing the chance of injury, and how to implement or monitor injury loss prevention methods.

The workshops are designed for those who can make a dif­ference in reducing the risk of back injuries at their worksite, including business owners, frontline managers and supervisors, safety managers, maintenance supervisors, chief financial officers, or anyone in the organization responsible for employee safety.

The San Francisco seminar will be held from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at the Milton Marks Conference Center (basement level), 455 Golden Gate Avenue in San Francisco. Registration and complimentary continental breakfast begins at 8:30 a.m. To register, please call Gina Fullon at (925) 523-5265. To register via email contact Ms. Fullon at gffullon@scif.com.

The Riverside seminar will be held from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at State Fund’s Riverside District Office, 6301 Day Street in Riverside. Registration and complimentary continental breakfast begins at 8:30 a.m. To register, please call George Leebolt at (951) 656-8461, or send a fax to his attention at (951) 653-3570. To register via email, please email galeebolt@scif.com.

The San Francisco and Riverside seminars are 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.

Additional seminars in this series of educational programs are also available.

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.