The two-day Risk Management Program at the Workers’ CompensationEducational Conference has been gaining steam over the lastcouple of years. This year, it takes place Aug. 24 and 25, 2015,and I believe that it’s clearly the best and most substantive riskmanagement program available anywhere.

The afternoonof Monday, August 24, is as good as it gets. Three of the mostrespected risk managers in the country—David Stills from Walmart,Marc Salm from Publix Super Markets and Mike Fenlon fromUPS—present “Lessons I Have Learned in My Risk Management Career.”This is not a series of “war stories;” the risk managerswill provide attendees with specific lessons that they can takehome and incorporate into their own risk management programs.

The second hour of the day is equally noteworthy. Michele Adamsfrom Walt Disney World Resort, Tara Acton from CenturyLink, andValerie Franco from Lowe’s combine to present a topic called “Womenin Risk Management.” These three distinguished women who lead theirorganizations’ risk management teams will discuss the challengesand opportunities that they have faced.

OnTuesday, August 25, we start with a program called “CompTalks,” three short but powerful presentations that will provideinsight into medical and management issues. Our panelists areheavyweights in three fields: risk management (Michele Adams),brokers (Joe Piccone, Charlie Martin, and Jeff Seibert) andmedicine (Dr. Paul Terpeluk, Dr. Thomas Gilliam).

This is followed-up by something that’s revolutionary. Disneyhas developed a patented technology called “SyncLink,” asynchronized wireless technology and data management system thatefficiently delivers real-time compliance data as well asfood-safety data to help manage safety issues. We predict that allemployers will be using something similar to this in the next 10years.

The next program gives a peek into the future as well. Called“Alternative Options to a State Workers’ Compensation Program,” thepanelists are Max Koonce from Walmart, Bill Minick fromPartnerSource in Texas, and Valerie Franco from Lowe’s. These threeindividuals, who regularly deal with state legislatures, willanalyze the possible benefits of allowing alternatives to a normalworkers’ compensation statutory process. There is legislationpending in many states that deals with this issue.

The final risk management program studies analytics. It’s called“Looking at Claims in a New Way,” and talks about analyticsprograms that look forward rather than back, providing accuratereserving advice, early notice of which claims are likely to turnrotten, and even a look ahead at which injured workers are likelyto hire lawyers. Analytics experts Gary Anderberg from GallagherBassett and Paul Braun from AON Risk Solutions guide attendeesthrough this technical but incredibly important subjectarea.

For people who work in a risk management department, thistwo-day program is where the action is.