CAI-NJ Feb 2022

MANAGEMENT TRENDS... from page 46.

environment, ventilation systems should be checked for adequacy and effectiveness. Generally, steps taken to alter an environment to make it safer is considered an engineering control. • Administrative Controls — Establish good practices and procedures for all areas of your community. “No running on the pool deck” is an obvious rule, but each community can come up with rules and regulations for its residents as well as proper practices for any association employees. • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) — Sometimes seen in the limited scope of work practices, a commu- nity might expand this to include recommendations to residents for their own safety. As example, along with other important measures to provide safe walking sur- faces during the winter season, “PPE” includes always wearing proper footwear when walking through the community. Recommendations with respect to wearing face masks while in a community facility would also potentially mitigate against health hazards. Transferring Liability Although not a preventive measure, a proper plan to transfer liability resulting from an incident is important to safeguarding the association from a potentially devastating financial impact. Here are three ways to transfer liability and protect your association from major financial losses: • An examination of the association’s insurance coverage is critical to ensuring that all exposures that are insurable are properly covered. Property loss, general liability, directors’ and officers’ coverage, flood insurance (where applicable), crime coverage, auto insurance (where applicable) and excess liability (umbrella) coverage are all major components of an association’s insurance program. The association’s insurance professional will be able to assist in examining each of these policies to be certain that 1). adequate coverage is provided with reasonable deductibles and 2). that within each policy there is insurance to cover the sub-categories of coverage (e.g., coverage for upgrades required by a change in building codes in the event of a building loss requiring reconstruction, and full replacement cost cov- erage as opposed to a co-insurance policy that requires CONT I NU E S ON PAGE 50

community facilities such as clubhouses and fitness centers. The most important element is to recognize that no two communities are exactly alike, and each should develop its own profile with respect to keeping residents safe and

minimizing the risk of property loss. Creating Steps to Keep People and Property Safe

Once the list of potential areas of hazard is established, a plan for eliminating or minimizing the danger can be established using one or more of these methods: • Eliminate or “Design Out” the Issue — Eliminating a hazard is always the best approach, but it is sometimes not practical. Cutting down a diseased tree would elim- inate the potential hazard from that specific tree and a program of regular tree inspection and maintenance would eliminate or greatly reduce the potential risk throughout the community. An example of “Designing Out” the issue might be for a community with a fitness center to eliminate old or potentially hazardous equip- ment or going back to tree care, removing trees that are within a specified distance from buildings, roadways, walkways or community facilities. • Substitute the hazardous item — Being cognizant of aged or dated equipment would help in avoiding a haz- ard. A community with a fitness center should replace older equipment with newer/modernized equipment where safety upgrades are possible. Walkways that have become uneven due to root growth or frost heaves might be removed and replaced with steps taken to eliminate the underlying cause of the problem. • Isolate the hazard — Items such as electrical panels or mechanical equipment should be separated from access except by authorized, qualified individuals. Pools, out- side of normal operating hours, should be locked secure- ly to prevent unauthorize use and potentially dangerous behavior. Each community can assess other areas of potential danger that could be blocked off from access. • Engineering Controls — Ensure that all areas are safe and secure. Especially in the current pandemic

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