Annual Report 2001-2002
Annual Report FY 2001 - 2002
I. Mission Statement & Vision Statement
- The Risk Management/Environmental Health & Safety Department will protect our students, visitors, faculty and staff through training, education and information dissemination. Additionally, we will assist in the preparation of our students for the future in the area of environmental health and safety. We will ensure that all activities conducted on campus meet and exceed requirements set by local, State and Federal agencies thus enhancing the overall working environment while fully supporting the education mission on campus.
- Our vision is to make the State University of West Georgia a forerunner in the areas of Risk Management, Environmental/Occupational Health & Safety compliance by maintaining current regulatory information and providing training and continuing our positive present throughout the University community.
II. Departmental Statement of Goals and Outcomes
- The strategic goals of RM/EHS are designed to further enhance the overall mission of the university as well as support the bread and butter goals specific to: public relations, the university experience, student, faculty and staff morale, external relations, and campus infrastructure.
Our goals include:
1.) Reduce insurance loss claims by 20 percentin the areas of worker compensation, auto/property liability and third party claims by providing appropriate training and information to all university personnel.
2.) Improve two way communications with the campus community on issues concerning incident reporting, safety, indoor air quality and liability by providing information via all faculty/staff email, website postings and mailings.
3.) Develop required safety related/environmental compliance documents while working closely with departments to incorporate existing policies/procedures in order to reduce duplication and confusion on similar topics.
4.) Conduct annual evaluation/assessment of all required written safety, environmental & loss control manuals/policies and update if necessary in accordance with the established schedule.
5.) Inspect all buildings once a year to identify potential safety and maintenance concerns thus reducing future loss claims and costly maintenance repairs. Work closely with departments to quickly correct any deficiencies within 30 days.
6.) Respond to indoor air quality (IAQ) complaints within two working days including working with the clients to develop systematic, cost efficient plans to study and correct most situations within six months.
7.) Provide meaningful and effective safety training to the University Community by structuring sessions to meet the needs of the audience in both content and media delivery.
8.) Continue to work closely with Public Safety, Residence Life, Facilities and Campus Planning to ensure an efficient, seamless approach to problem solving that will develop an atmosphere where faculty and staff are proud to work and students are free to excel in their academics without concern for the campus infrastructure.
III. Departmental Statement of Outcomes, Processes and Assessment Results
Because safety is everyone’s responsibility, RM/EHS must rely on the campus community to provide input on safety issues and concerns and actively strive to correct these situations. During this fiscal year we have experienced an increase in the number of people who have openly expressed concerns that heretofore may have otherwise gone unnoticed. As a result of this input, RM/EHS, along with the help of Facilities and Campus Planning personnel, have corrected several “slip, trip and fall” areas by replacing broken concrete sidewalks, rebuilding concrete steps, installing hand rails, replacing worn out entrance mats and provided slip, trip and fall training to facilities personnel so that they can help prevent these injuries within their department and help identify future potential hazards.
RM/EHS works closely with Facilities Division, the largest employing group on campus, to develop safe working practices by providing monthly training on a variety of important safety/environmental protection topics. Eighty-five percent of the people surveyed believed that the training sessions provided are very beneficial. Seventy-eight percent stated that the training has made them more safety conscious both at work and at home.
We have developed excellent working relationships with the Department of Administrative Services who administers our insurance program. This relationship has allowed UWG to process claims quickly which in turn creates a positive experience for individuals involved.
IV. Departmental Example of an Improved Process
RM/EHS developed and delivered annual Asbestos Awareness Training to all maintenance and custodial personnel covering topics including: the identification of suspect material, different uses of asbestos and potential health affectsfrom asbestos exposure. As a result of this training, facilities personnel have been more alert to the presence of suspect asbestos building material and notify this office immediately upon discovery.
RM/EHS worked with Campus Planning to incorporate a contractor safety section in all outside construction projects. Contractors must submit a copy of their safety plan during the bid process that is reviewed by RM/EHS and discussed with the contractor during the pre-construction meeting. RM/EHS makes frequent visits to the job site to insure that contractors are following OSHA guidelines thus providing our community with a safe workplace. Contractors are also asked to notify the University if they see something that we are doing that is unsafe or needs improvement.
V. General Statement of Department Condition:
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The Office of Risk Management/Environmental Health and Safety is comprised of only two fulltime professional personnel
,who are responsible for the following tasks and activities: filing/processing insurance claims, filing worker’s compensation for facilities personnel, property registries, hazardous waste management, indoor air qualityissues, safety training and safety inspections. In,March, the Environmental Safety Coordinator retired and a new person was hired in June. The primary task of the new Environmental Safety Coordinator has been to develop in-house emergency evacuation plans for all buildings on campus. This process has allowed this office to become more familiar with building layouts as well as the individuals working in each building and has given us greater visibility to the community. - Indoor Air Quality complaints in five different buildings on campus have taken a considerable amount of time and resources to properly investigate and correct. Individuals involved were very appreciated of the concern and efforts taken by this office and the University to improve their building and air quality.
VI. Departmental Achievements:
§ Created the newsletter “Due Diligence” which is distributed to the Campus Community and conveys information relating to university risk management, safety and environmental regulations.
- Performed respirator fit tests on 17 Public Safety Department personnel and provided respirator training. This was a result of the 9/11 and the anthrax threats nationwide.
- Input all current asbestos information into a newly designed web base system that can be accessed by facilities and campus planning.
- Responded to and processed 14 insurance claims for vehicle and property damage.
- Submitted and tracked 12 worker’s compensation claims and 21 first reports of injury notifications for Facilities Division.
- Conducted asbestos sampling in six buildings, submitting over 100 samples for analysis.
- Performed risk assessments in several areas on campus, identified problems and sought corrective action to eliminate potential loss. These projects include fume hood renovations, stained ceiling tile investigations, trip hazard areas near Cobb Hall, Row Hall, and Martha Munroe.
- Conducted and documented monthly safety shower and eyewash tests on all units located in Biology, TLC, and Callaway.
- Performed various microbial contamination surveys in six campus buildings to identify contaminates and investigated potential sources. Resolved and closed four indoor air quality cases.
VII. Staff Productivity:
- Active member of the BOR Environmental Safety Advisory Council
- Active member of the Georgia Higher Education Network for Environmental Health & Safety (GHENEHS)
- Attends LEPC meetings
- Attended three required refresher courses for RCRA, DOT and Asbestos certifications.
- Attended seminars to improve professional development in worker’s compensation, mold remediation, hazardous waste management, hazardous materials handling and environmental health and safety management.
VIII. Student Achievements:
- N/A
IX. Other Awards, Distinctions and Achievements:
- UWG’s Contingency Plan and Emergency Response Manual received high praise by the BOR Environmental Office and serves as a model for other institutions within the University System.