Top 10 Bits of Information From The 2018 WCRI Conference
The 2018 WCRI Conference was a smashing success – as every year. The data given out was next to amazing – as every year. I live blogged the 2018 WCRI Conference on this webpage. Please excuse typos, etc. as I was typing it as it happened. This year was tough blogging for some reason.
The Top 10 takeaways<<never liked that word<< were:
- The BLS is much more helpful than just spewing numbers and stats. You can talk to someone on the phone. This info came directly from the prior Director of BLS – found that out at happy hour. I may write an article on how to call them. They have digital librarians that will help you find the information – Cool!!! <<Data nerds take heart!!
- The subject of Opioids can still dominate a conference. I thought this subject had passed, but there are a ton of studies out that rank them as less effective once thought
- The attendance numbers at the conference were amazing with a winter storm in effect. The winter storm consisted of a few hours of snow which is not a big deal for Bostonians. I freaked out when I saw the snow going sideways. Many incoming flights were canceled. Next year’s conference is in Arizona.
- Marijuana was a big subject at the 2018 WCRI Conference. An economist from the state of Georgia and his daughter pulled together some very incredible numbers. A father/daughter statistical team seemed cute until he produced tons of slides with great numbers. The numbers seem to show that states with relaxed marijuana laws had lower opioid user overall.
- Stacking projections on top of projections lessen the accuracy of the final numbers. For example, if you are flying and making two connections, and the on time %’s are .9, .9, and .8 the likelihood of you being on time is multiplicative. You have only a 64.8% chance of being on-time even with those high numbers. Stop calling me a data nerd, please.
Public Domain by Kopiersperre - The panel was outstanding this year. Some people left early and missed a great panel. I blogged live as hard as I could for an hour to get all the info and questions. Dr. Ruser asked great questions and led the panel well. I have seen some panels where the moderator loses control and the panel goes right into the toilet – not in this case.
- One of the smoothest presentations (you can tell that she does it for a living) was from the National Safety Council. I rarely compliment someones presentation at the end. I did tell her she was good at what she did – from voice inflection to hand gestures.
- United Airlines uses in-airport clinics at their major hubs. The woman that runs the Risk Management Department had to absorb the Continental claimants in the merger. Mergers can be nightmares on the Workers Comp departments. The in-airport clinics go right along with my Six Keys To Saving On Workers Compensation Costs that I wrote in the 1980’s.
- The conference is always a good one to network. This goes to show that you do not have to slap up 100 booths to have a conference where you can actually talk to people that are very receptive to communicating with you.
- I blogged the whole conference live. This year was very tough for some reason. I infused the introductory material but it seemed to be too preliminary to provide any benefit. My wrist did swell for two days, but it was worth it to get out as much information as I could to the blog and newsletter readers.
- Bonus – The people at WCRI are always more than gracious. The Director Dr. John Ruser, Andrew Kenneally, and Dr. Thumula went out of their way to talk to me and make me feel very welcome at various points during the conference.
I may have missed something in my Top 10. However, I did this from memory so it was what stayed in my mind for five days.
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