THE TRAINERS GUILD

Update
A Guide to Prescriptive Cleaning

JANUARY 1, 2016 ISSUE #2

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WCF Provides Educational

Grant for Simon Institute
Standards Development
Workers Compensation Fund (WCF) is pleased to announce it has made a significant financial commitment to developing ANSI standards in the jan san industry. The contribution of an
educational grant was announced to the Simon Institute (SI) by Dan Hair, Senior Vice President
and Chief Risk Officer and Flint Belk, Industrial Hygiene Manger at WCF. SI is the accredited
developer of standards for the custodial, janitorial and housekeeping industry. The grant is presented to further the development of an ANSI standards program to recognize janitorial, custodial and housekeeping workers who pass an examination for safe handling of cleaning chemicals.
Simon Institwwwute leadership Paul Condie, President; Renae Walker, Treasurer and Jim Ginnaty,
Chairman of the Standards Writing Committee will accept the WCF contribution. Dan Hair commented that WCF has long promoted improved janitorial safety standards and professionalism in
the cleaning industry. We see this contribution as a starting point in professionalizing the jan/san
industry though standards development.
Since 1917 WCF has been an innovative insurance
company committed to customer service, strong business
partnerships and aggressive cost management. In 1917,
the Utah Legislature passed a workers compensation act,
requiring all employers to have insurance for their employees. The system was established to protect both the
employee and the employer from financial ruin that a
workplace accident could cause.
Because workers compensation insurance was new
to the entire country, policy makers in Utah debated how
to best formulate Utahs system. After much discussion,
it was agreed that a state fund should be created to compete with insurance carriers. WCF was established with
a $40,000 loan, which it repaid to the state in 1922. Since
then, WCF and its policyholders have seen many changes,
but the companys purpose and vision remain the same:
to provide excellent customer service to our policyholders
and their employees.

National Coverage
To better serve WCFs multi-state customers, Advantage Workers Compensation Insurance Company (Advantage) was created in 1998 to write
workers compensation outside Utah. Today, Advantage is licensed in fifty states and the District
of Columbia. Stop gap coverage is available in the monopolistic states. Advantage has extensive
experience, knowledge and resources in a number of states, and can be an excellent resource on
multi-state or single state workers compensation. Five claims offices are maintained in the western
United States. A full-service office will open in early 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
As of January 1, 2016, Advantage is a wholly owned subsidiary of WCF and will share the same
A. M. Best rating. With a national scope built on personalized local service, WCF provides excellent services to its customers and stakeholders.
In 2001 The Boeing Company created a best practices benchmarking group for facility cleaning. The group conducted studies and gathered safety data to be presented at a symposium. The
Boeing Company sponsored the first symposium at their global headquarters to benchmark
best practices in facility cleaning. The Boeing Company sponsored a symposium at their global
headquarters in Puget Sound. Boeing utilized the symposium to fulfill requirements of Malcolm
Baldrige Quality award.
At that first symposium
Boeing documented that
their cleaning process was
ISO 9001 compliant and
satisfied requirements for
quality control in the aerospace manufacturing segment. Following the Boeing
sponsored symposium
other participants voted to
continue the benchmarking best practices project.
The following year it was
sponsored by The University of Texas at Austin. The
University of Massachusetts
at Amherst sponsored the
following years program
in 2003 and in 2004 GMI,
a San Diego based BSC,
sponsored symposium. In 2006, the benchmarking best practices group formed a non-profit
taxable corporation dedicated to improving facility cleaning operation standards. In 2010, the official name of the group was registered in the State of Utah as Simon Institute. In 2014 the Simon
Institute was accredited as a developer of American National Standards by ANSI , including basic
custodial, housekeeping, janitorial management, training, tasks and time standards. The WCF
donation is in support of the first SI standards project BSR SI-0001 Standard - Cleaning Chemical
Handlers Permit Guidelines.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
PAUL CONDIE
www.simoninstitute.org
801.983.5263

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