Category Archives: Business

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New Voluntary Hot Air Balloon Safety Program Announced

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The Balloon Federation of America (BFA) has instituted new safety accreditation for companies and pilots.

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The Envelope of Safety program was the result of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) year-long call to action from the commercial hot air balloon industry in response to last year’s mid-air accident in Lockhart, Texas which caused 16 fatalities.

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The Envelope of Safety aims to enhance the standards for commercial balloon operators and reduce the risk of injury or death leading up to and during a flight. The program is voluntary and aims to reassure confidence by giving consumers the ability to select a ride company or pilot meeting the new flight worthiness certification. The Envelope of Safety’s missions it to insure that companies and pilots carrying four or more passengers:

  • Are commercially certificated for 18 months
  • Accumulate a specified amount of flight experience
  • Hold a second-class medical certificate from the FAA

Additionally, pilots are required to pass a drug and alcohol background check, attend a BFA-sanctioned safety seminar in the 12 months before takeoff and be enrolled in the FAA WINGS pilot proficiency program.

The program features three levels of safety accreditation—Silver, Gold and Platinum—which detail stringent safety requirements for companies of all sizes. That criteria includes meeting pilot requirements, holding valid aircraft and commercial vehicle insurance and hosting a forum for passengers to rate the company.

While the FAA is not connected to the new program in an official capacity, it did applaud the BFA’s announcement on its own website and promoted it via social media. Following last year’s deadly incident in Texas, the agency was criticized for having previously rejected the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) recommendations for stricter safety oversight regarding commercial hot air balloon travel. That accident, in which a Heart Of Texas Hot Air Balloon Ride vessel crossed power lines, caught fire and plummeted 100 feet to the ground, is considered the worst of its kind in U.S. history.

The NTSB held a board meeting to examine the cause of the July 30, 2016 crash and found the accident attributable to the Heart Of Texas pilot’s pattern of poor decision making, which led to “the initial launch, continuing the flight in fog and above clouds and to dissent near clouds that decreased the pilot’s ability to see and avoid obstacles.” The board believed the operator’s bad judgment may have been exacerbated by the many prescription drugs found in his blood, according to a toxicology report. The board stressed, however, that it did not believe the medications impaired the pilot’s ability to operate the balloon.

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The NTSB recommended that the FAA review its policies based on the findings and, in particular, close a loophole that exempts balloon operators from holding the same second-class medical certification that other aviators must possess.

“Today’s recommendations, if acted upon, will bring the safety standards and oversight of commercial passenger carrying balloon operators closer to those that apply to [general aviation] pilots,” said NTSB Chairman Robert L. Sumwalt.

According to the FAA, 413 people died in 219 general aviation accidents in 2016, with inflight loss of control—mainly stalls—accounting for the largest number of fatal accidents.

Visit the BFA’s site or the FAA’s endorsement for more information regarding the Envelope of Safety.

When Nature’s Wrath Alters Your Business Travel Plans

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The recent devastation of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria pulverized Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, displacing hundreds of thousands of residents and racking up billions of dollars in property loss. These massive storms, as well as others, also wreaked havoc on corporate travel, crippling a good portion of the business economy by preventing companies from getting employees to their destinations.

FlightAware’s cancellation tracker reached the 3,000 mark the Sunday that Hurricane Irma hit Florida as airports closed throughout the state.

But travel issues didn’t ease once the airports reopened, because there was still the issue of missing aircraft. According to reports, JetBlue didn’t have a single plane in the state of Florida and most other airlines cleared out their aircraft from vulnerable airports ahead of the storm. So, flights couldn’t resume until airlines flew aircraft back into the state. This meant that a large number of business travelers, in one of the most convention-friendly states in the U.S., were either stranded or unable to land.

This leaves us with the question: How do you keep stormzillas like these from throwing an oversize wrench into even the most carefully orchestrated travel management plans?

The simple answer: You can’t. But there are ways to minimize the collateral damage that the next big storm brings when planning business travel.

Travel Management Companies can help, as they monitor global weather conditions daily, so as to respond quickly when major disruptions to travel occur. These companies also receive automatic flight updates, enabling them to immediately rebook individuals onto different flights. Due to the fickle nature of hurricanes, which can force additional flights to also get cancelled, companies must investigate ground transportation options as well.

Here are four sanity-saving tips that might come in handy while traveling during hurricane season:

    1. Book flights wisely:

Choose an early morning flight. That way if your flight gets cancelled you have the entire rest of the day to find an alternative flight. And if possible, pick an airline with tons of flight options—the more the merrier when you positively have to get to a game-changing meeting.

  1. Must-Have Phone Apps:

Any app on your phone or tablet that displays a 7-Day Forecast (such as The Weather Channel) is a godsend and helpful when planning business trips. Don’t wait until a storm hits to start making alternate plans. Stay ahead of the weather system game and make your contingency plans as far ahead as possible.

  1. The domino effect:

Always remember that even though your flight lifts off in Chicago (where you are unlikely to get hit with a hurricane), chances are the weather is going to be much different when you land in Miami (where the possibility always looms). Be aware of the weather in all cities on your itinerary. Some airlines will even address customer service issues on their social media pages.

JetBlue and Delta are among those that used Twitter to help passengers during Hurricane Irma.

  1. Allow for extra time:

For business travelers trying to get somewhere in unpredictable weather, one of the best suggestions is to simply give yourself plenty of time to get where you are going. While it might cost a little more to book a flight the day before or put an extra night for a hotel room on your AMEX card, but weighed against the option of missing a meeting with a client, it is an investment well worth taking. And if you do find yourself stranded in an airport, turn it into your temporary office.

Inclement weather will always threaten business travel. But by being pro-active in how you handle the situation, you’ll find yourself handling all the adversity thrown your way, no matter which way the wind blows.

Hurricane Devastation Impacts Health Care Supply Chains

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The destruction caused by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico last month has created major disruptions for the island’s pharmaceutical product and medical device manufacturing facilities. Days of interruption and damage to manufacturing plants are affecting international supply chains for products such as cancer and HIV treatments, immunosuppressants for patients with organ transplants, and small-volume bags of saline, which are necessary for patients who need intravenous solutions.

Puerto Rico is the fifth-largest territory in the world for pharma manufacturing and produces about half of the world’s top-selling patented drugs, according to a 2016 report from Pharma Boardroom. Short-term economic losses are being estimated, while concerns persist about the storm’s long-term effect on employees’ abilities to travel to work, the safety and efficiency of the machinery used and the ability to keep the facilities running on generators. In a statement issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Oct. 6, Commissioner Scott Gottlieb detailed plans to help Puerto Rico recover its medical product and manufacturing base, which he said “are a key component of the island’s economic vigor.”

“[..]even the facilities that sustained relatively minor damage are running on generator power. They could be without commercial power for months…Moreover, most of the facilities that we know of, that have resumed production, maintain only partial operations. New shortages could result from these disruptions and shortages that existed before the storms could potentially be extended.”

Citing data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Gottlieb said that pharmaceutical products manufactured in Puerto Rico “make up nearly 10% of all drugs consumed by Americans. And that doesn’t even account for medical devices.” He noted that the FDA is keeping a close watch on about 40 critical pharmaceutical and biological drug products which, in the event of a shortage, “could have substantial impact on the public health.”

He added, “In urgent cases, when critical products are at issue, we’ve intervened over the last two weeks to help firms secure fuel to maintain production lines, get clearance to move logistical support into the island or finished goods to their recipients.”

The Washington Post reported that more than four dozen FDA-approved drugmaking facilities are in Puerto Rico, including ones owned by Pfizer Inc., Merck, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Amgen. Baxter International Inc., which the Post cited as being the “dominant player” in the IV market, issued a statement acknowledging the impact of the storm on its operations:

Our sites sustained minimal damage, and we’ve initiated limited production activities in all of our facilities. In addition, we are examining all opportunities to leverage Baxter’s global manufacturing network as we continue efforts to restore operations in Puerto Rico.

As it relates to product supply, in advance of the hurricanes, we implemented our hurricane preparedness plan to help mitigate potential impact. We have also been delivering products to customers in Puerto Rico to help address patient need on the island. And we are continuing to proactively communicate with our customers the actions we are taking to minimize potential disruptions, including closely managing product inventory.

Not all facilities have suffered damage, however. Amgen announced on its site that back-up generators are powering its Puerto Rican site and that, “No product nor in-process inventory has been lost, and … the inventory maintained by the Company and its global distribution network is sufficient to meet patient demand.”

Words (and Clauses) Matter

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A recent report published by RIMS highlights the importance for risk professionals—or the person within the organization tasked with the responsibility—to fully understand the language included in their insurance policies.

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The report A Common Language: Aligning Third-Party Contracts with Insurance Policies, suggests that there are “clauses in contacts that may not be understood as well as others, and some people may be tempted to skim past those to move work along.”  But, in this haste, deciding to “skim” past those clauses may activate exclusions, limitations and even, unknowingly, nullify the transfer of risk to a third-party.

Authored for RIMS by Brenda Tappan of United Educators, the report defines key insurance terms that should be understood by contract reviewers, as well as common contract clauses that impact the validity of both the contract and insurance policies.

“At any given time, an organization could have hundreds of contracts with external stakeholders,” Tappan said. “With in-depth knowledge of coverages held by the organization, risk professionals can play an integral role in ensuring terminology is understood and that discrepancies between third-party contracts and insurance policies are identified.

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The report advises risk managers to be aware of the following insurance contract elements:

  • Indemnification Clauses – This clause delineates whether the parties of a contract wish to retain, transfer or share responsibility from a potential third-party. Be aware that not all “bodily injury” or “property damage” will be covered, even if you have stipulated everything correctly in the indemnification clause.
  • Additional Insured Status – This status provides proof of financial capability to cover what is assumed in the indemnity clause. Keep the additional insured provision separate from indemnification clause because if the latter is found unenforceable, the additional insured clause might be unenforceable as well.
  • Waivers of Subrogation – This says that the insurer has the right to stand in the place of the insured and go against the responsible party to make themselves whole. Risk professionals might consider requesting a Waiver of Transfer of Rights endorsement. Also, get as much in writing as possible – don’t leave anything up to chance or interpretation.
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  • Primary and Non-Contributory – Essentially, the insured will not seek contribution from any other insurance available. When named an additional insured, you are afforded coverage as provided by the other insurance policy.
  • Excess and Umbrella Coverage – Organizations buy this coverage to increase the limits. It can be used for commercial general liability, commercial auto, employers liability, and other primary liability policies. As an indemnitor, you will want to ensure that for any coverage that taps into the policies that provide the upper limits, there is a specified cap to the coverage contractually offered to the indemnitee.
  • Limitation of Liability – It’s an attempt by third-party contractors to cap the amount of liability they will be responsible for to a set amount prior to an incident. Be on the lookout for these limitation of liability clauses. Generally, they are found toward the end of the contract, but can have a significant impact on indemnification.