Marsh Risk Consulting’s Tom Hilgen Named 2011 Risk Innovator by Risk & Insurance
New York, September 20, 2011
Marsh Risk Consulting honored with a Risk Innovator Award by Risk & Insurance for second consecutive year
Tom Hilgen of Marsh Risk Consulting (MRC)’s Workforce Strategies Practice has been named a 2011 Risk Innovator by Risk & Insurance for his role in the development of the Ergonomics Call Intake and Resolution Management solution.
The solution represents a unique approach to addressing distributed workforce safety needs, allowing risk managers to address employee ergonomics and safety concerns in a more efficient, timely, and cost effective manner.
“Ergonomics issues are a large contributor to lost workday injuries, which can result in higher workers’ compensation costs, through both claims and the use of costly onsite ergonomics evaluations,” said John Merkovsky, Global Leader of Marsh Risk Consulting. “MRC’s Ergonomics Call Intake and Resolution Management system enables organizations to avoid many of these costs by identifying and addressing ergonomics concerns early. We’re proud of Tom Hilgen’s selection as a 2011 Risk Innovator, which reflects both his and Marsh’s commitment to delivering innovative and value-added risk management solutions to our clients.”
Following an initial phone call or email, MRC’s call intake specialist asks the employee in a subsequent phone conversation a series of questions about the employee’s discomfort, work habits, workstation setup, and posture, among other factors. A software program, developed by Mr. Hilgen and his team, uses the responses to these questions to determine the root problem and solution for the employee. In many cases, this is a combination of adjusting the employee’s posture and either adjusting or replacing equipment used by the employee.
Originally developed for a leading financial institution and client of Marsh, the system is now in use by six Marsh clients—including its parent organization, Marsh & McLennan Companies. Benefits of using MRC’s Ergonomics Call Intake and Resolution Management system include:
- claim avoidance through early response and effective telephonic evaluations;
- reduction of musculoskeletal disorder claims due to better incident resolution;
- reduction of on-site evaluations by ergonomics specialists, which can cost more than $1,000 per evaluation; and
- rich data, which can be filtered by demographics, location, and other factors to support continuous ergonomics improvement efforts.
"Mr. Hilgen devised and executed a practical, cost-effective solution for his client to resolve its leading, recurring ergonomics-related workplace injury,'' said Paul Bomberger, Editor-in-Chief of Risk & Insurance. "Because his new ergonomics system worked so well, Marsh is now using it with other clients. In our view, that makes Mr. Hilgen an innovator.''
This is the second consecutive year that Marsh Risk Consulting has been honored with a Risk Innovator Award. Ben Fidlow was named a 2010 Risk Innovator for his role in developing IDEAL, an analytical model for directors & officers' (D&O) liability insurance programs offered by MRC and Marsh’s FINPRO practice.