Doing the Job Right in Orange City
Mike Marinan
Director of PGIT Safety and Risk Management
Public Risk Underwriters

The City of Orange City is a Volusia County community of approximately 7,200 residents and maintains a small town ambiance while offering all the amenities necessary for today’s fast-paced lifestyle.   Mr. Paul Johnson, Public Works Director, and Mr. Anson Chucci, Public Works Superintendent, are responsible for the department’s training and practice of working in a safety environment.   As a smaller community, it is always a challenge to maintain a viable and effective risk management program.   Orange City has been able to do so and is pleased to share the following success story with other PGIT members.

Recently, one of the public works crews was assigned to remove a large water oak that had become diseased and was posing a hazard at one of the city’s parks.   The crew was dispatched with the city-owned bucket truck and the tools to accomplish the task.   During the removal, one of the support ropes holding a cut limb snapped and propelled the 12-inch diameter limb into the occupied bucket.   The limb pinned the employee in the bucket until he could be extricated.   Although this incident could easily have resulted in a serious injury or a fatality, thankfully, the employee was not injured at all.

A paradox that is dealt with in the safety and risk management field is how to quantify something that didn’t happen.   In this case the employee was not injured.   As it pertains to this incident, however, there are several things we can quantify.   The crew followed the training provided by their Superintendent.   They accurately evaluated the jobsite which encompassed working near a 24,000-volt power line.   The truck had been properly maintained and the outriggers were extended and affixed.   The employee was adhering to fall protection standards with a tied off harness and lanyard.   He was wearing safety equipment that included goggles and a hard hat.   Would the employee have been injured if all those precautions were not taken?   No one knows.   What we do know is that he went home uninjured that night to his family.

Congratulations to Mr. Johnson, Mr. Chucci and all the employees of the City of Orange City for doing it right! Printable Copy.

Congratulations to Central Florida PRIMA Officers and Members

Public Risk Underwriters, PGIT’s administrator, is committed to supporting organizations promoting professional education for the public sector.   PRIMA, Public Risk Management Association, is one such organization.   In 2004, Public Risk Underwriters worked with the Central Florida Chapter of PRIMA to develop and host a web site for its members and the public.

At the 2005 annual conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, national PRIMA bestowed the PRIMA Chapter Recognition Award to the Central Florida Chapter for “www.centralfloridaprima.org”.   Congratulations to the local chapter’s officers and members!

Photo: Cindy Davis, PRIMA President 2004-2005 & Christina Hannon, Central Florida PRIMA Vice President.