Author Archives: Morgan O'Rourke

About Morgan O'Rourke

Morgan O’Rourke is editor in chief of Risk Management magazine and director of publications for the Risk & Insurance Management Society (RIMS).

Staying Safe on Black Friday

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Every year it seems like Christmas shopping season kicks off earlier and earlier. When I went to pick up Halloween candy last month, I could have sworn there were more candy canes than candy corn. (Much to my dismay since I’m probably one of the only people on the planet who actually likes candy corn. I should have bought some anyway just to confuse trick-or-treaters.) But despite retailers’ seeming desire to start the Christmas shopping season in the summer, the traditional beginning of the season is still the day after Thanksgiving, otherwise known as Black Friday.

Unfortunately in recent years, Black Friday has come to stand less for the effect is has on retail balance sheets and more for the incidents of tragedy that have befallen shoppers caught up in the buying frenzy. Reports of injuries, tramplings and worse have become all too common. One of the most infamous incidents occurred two years ago when a seasonal worker at a Valley Stream, New York Walmart was trampled to death after shoppers broke down the doors to the store in their rabid hunt for bargains.

This year, in an effort to prevent another tragedy OSHA has sent a letter to the CEOs of 14 national retailers, including Walmart, Target, Macy’s and Best Buy, encouraging them to take proper precautions to protect the safety of workers and customers. OSHA also included a fact sheet entitled, “Crowd Management Safety Tips for Retailers.”

OSHA has prepared these guidelines to help employers and store owners avoid injuries during the holiday shopping season, or other events where large crowds may gather. Crowd management planning should begin in advance of events that are likely to draw large crowds, and crowd management, pre-event setup, and emergency situation management should be part of event planning.

OSHA tips concern the proper training of workers, suggestions for the use of barricades to control the flow of crowds and the importance of communication with customers, employees and security personnel.

The National Retail Federation expects that 138 million shoppers will head out to the stores on Black Friday this year, up from the 134 million that had planned to go out last year. It’s bound to be chaotic but let’s make sure that the holiday season kicks off safely.

And if you want to pick me up something nice, I won’t mind.

shopping

Reuters’ Best Photos of the Year

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Granted we still have a month and change left in 2010, but Reuters has posted their 55 best photos of the year. Considering that their photographers produce over 500,000 photos each year, these are some impressive shots.

As you would expect, they depict everything from tragedy to human interest and run the gamut of emotions from harrowing to heart-warming to just plain awesome (I’m looking at you, kid carrying a shark through the streets of Mogadishu).

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They are certainly not boring. Don’t miss it.

June 8: East Grand Terre Island, Louisiana

April 22: Eyjafjallajokull volcano, Iceland

September 23: Mogadishu, Somalia

The Impending Wireless Spectrum Shortage

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Back in September, I wrote about how we were running out of internet addresses under the current IP addressing system (update: as of this moment, about 173 million addresses remain). But that’s not the only high-tech shortage on the horizon.

According to the FCC, the proliferation of  broadband data usage is threatening to use up all the available wireless spectrum space. A report released last month outlined the scope of the problem. Today, 42% of consumers own a smartphone, up from 16% three years ago. In that same timeframe, AT&T, the exclusive U.S. carrier of the iPhone, has seen its mobile network traffic increase by 5,000%. In just the latest six months of reporting, subscription to mobile data services have increased by 40% and between the first quarter of 2009 and the second quarter of 2010, the amount of data used per line has increased by 450%. Obviously this has put a strain on network capacity.

Mobile data demand is expected to outstrip capacity at current levels by 2014. According to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski this shortage could have dire consequences:

“If we don’t act to update our spectrum policies for the 21st century, we’re going to run into a wall — a spectrum crunch — that will stifle American innovation and economic growth and cost us the opportunity to lead the world in mobile communications,” he warned.

In June, President Obama pledged to make an additional 500 megahertz of wireless spectrum available over the next decade as part of the National Broadband Plan. The FCC has recommended that at least 300 megahertz should be made available in the next five years and that such a move would create $100 billion of economic value. The extra space is expected to come from a reallocation of government-controlled bands and from unused spectrum currently owned by television stations (the stations would be reimbursed after the spectrum is sold in auction to wireless companies).

The reallocation process has already begun. This week the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced that it had identified 115 megahertz of spectrum that could be repurposed from weather satellites and Department of Defense radar systems, in effect making one of the first down payments on the 10-year plan.

Ultimately, wireless spectrum is a finite resource so one of the keys to making sure that the demand for wireless services is met now and in the future will have to be a more efficient allocation of space, whether it is through improved technology or just reassigning megahertz where they are needed most. The National Broadband Plan is a step in the right direction.

And thankfully, it looks like it’s still safe to get a smartphone.

smartphones

The Basics of Employment Practices Liability Insurance

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Although employers can face employment litigation at any time, employment-related lawsuits tend to increase during a stagnant or faltering economy. In order to best insulate themselves from costly verdicts, settlements and defense costs, policyholders need to understand the basics of employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) policies. In their latest Risk Management online exclusive article from Anderson, Kill & Olick, attorney Darin McMullen covers what you need to know about EPLI coverage.

EPLI policies are relatively new, having been introduced less than 20 years ago. Although an approved ISO form EPLI policy exists, EPLI policies are most often sold as manuscript policies and can have varying coverage terms and exclusions. Because EPLI policies are not uniform, a policyholder must carefully read a proposed policy prior to purchase. The key is assessing whether, based upon the policyholder’s business, the policy will provide coverage for the employment claims that it is most likely to deal with and for whom such coverage will be provided.

Whether EPLI policies are new to you or if you simply need a refresher, don’t miss this informative article only on RMmagazine.com.