SECTION III:      BASIC ELEMENTS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL

                             HEALTH AND SAFETY PROGRAM

 

A)      EMPLOYEE EDUCATION AND TRAINING

 

PURPOSE

 

To provide initial and ongoing environmental health and safety education programs and training for all employees of Community Colleges of Spokane.

 

Safety education and job training are two separate but related tasks.  The intent of safety education is to help employees understand why safety is important to them personally and, as a result, to modify their attitude toward safe work habits.  Job training programs regarding safety increase worker awareness of the importance of good safety habits, and provide them with the methods and skills necessary to put these safety techniques into practice.

 

Training requirements include but are not limited to the following:

 

1.     Increase awareness of and promote safe and environmentally correct work practices:  To communicate environmental awareness and the importance of safe work practices, to improve team spirit by demonstrating management's concern for the individual worker, and to promote acceptance of safety procedures and requirements by presenting accident prevention as a positive, desirable and integral part of all activities.  To foster a working, teaching, learning environment where individuals are encouraged to talk, listen, examine and reach an understanding of why they and others behave the way they do in a given circumstance, and be motivated to develop safe work habits.

 

Initial environmental health and safety orientation and on-going training programs, administered and delivered at all levels, are the primary method of promoting general safety and health awareness and a positive employer/employee attitude toward safety and health.

 

Safety bulletin boards in each facility of Community Colleges of Spokane employing eight or more persons serve as an on-going method of promoting safety/health awareness and practices within the district.  These bulletin boards are maintained by the safety committee member or building safety representative specifically assigned to each major CCS facility.  Safety bulletin boards serve as a posting place for a variety of safety-related materials, such as posters, newsletters, accident statistics and OSHA/WISHA required materials.

 

2.     Maintain ability to provide first aid treatment in response to college medical emergencies:  Provide employees, students and visitors immediate and effective emergency response should an injury result on college premises and/or during college-related activities.  The first-aid training of appropriate personnel will not only provide lifesaving skills but will also increase awareness of the consequences of unsafe acts, help to develop a sense of responsibility for others, and assist in the removal of mental blocks to action in emergency situations.

 

Mandatory guidelines for first aid certification and training have been developed by Community Colleges of Spokane, per WACs 296-24-060 and 490-28A-014 to assure that CCS employees, students and visitors can be afforded quick and effective first aid attention in the event that an injury occurs on the job or in the classroom, shop, athletic or other college-related setting.

 

Clarification or interpretation of these requirements is the responsibility of the CCS Environmental Health and Safety Office, in conjunction with the Human Resources Office, using the following criteria:

 

·         to achieve the intent of the WAC by maintaining the ability to provide quick and effective first aid in the event of injury to persons on college premises and/or participating in college related activities, and

·         to do so in a reasonable fashion.

 

Administrators are responsible to ensure that appropriate personnel within their division, as outlined below, are first aid certified.  Responsibility for ensuring that appropriate vocational personnel are first aid certified rests specifically with the college deans of professional/technical education, per WAC 131-16-091 (9).

 

Within Community Colleges of Spokane, the following employees are required to have a current first aid certificate, including CPR.

 

·         Professional/technical (vocational)  instructors and counselors (prior to second quarter of employment in vocational programs) where the instructional environment brings students into physical proximity with machinery, electrical circuits, biologicals, radioactive substances, chemicals, flammables, intense heat, gases under pressure, excavations, scaffolding, ladders and other hazards.  WAC 131-16-091 (8).

 

·         All full-time staff members in direct charge of a group or groups of employees, together with part-time staff within this category where there is no full-time staff member who is first aid certified present at all times at, or near, those places where employees are working.

 

·         At least one employee is to have a valid first aid certificate in any work area, whether fixed or physically dispersed, where two or more employees (either full or part-time) are working, and where there is no person in charge who is first aid certified present at all times.

 

·         Full-time science department staff, both faculty and classified, who are involved in providing lab-setting instruction which includes working with potentially hazardous chemical substances (e.g., chemistry), together with part-time staff within this category where there is no full-time staff member who is first aid  certified present at all times at or near those places where employees are working.

 

·         Faculty, both full and part-time, whose area of instruction involves extensive physical activity on the part of their students (e.g., football, baseball, rafting, aerobics, swimming, gymnastics, rodeo, horseback riding, etc.) and/or field trips to remote areas.  (Part-time faculty are exempted from this requirement if there is present at all times, at or near the place of the activity, another staff member who is first aid certified.)

 

·         Safety professionals, safety officers and environmental health and building safety representatives (or safety committee members, if they serve in a building safety representative capacity).

 

·         Other employees who are, for the above or other reasons, required by their supervisor, with prior administrative approval, to be first aid certified (e.g., buildings and grounds department staff, designated head start program staff, etc.).

 

·         NOTE:  Where part-time staff who are not first aid certified are working in facilities remote from the primary campuses, or working/teaching (even when on the primary campuses) during the evening, administrators are to designate a first-aid certified full-time staff member who will be available at or near that place of employment during those same hours.  All staff are then to be notified as to the name of this individual and how they may be quickly reached in the event of an emergency requiring first aid.

 

·         "Valid first aid certificate" means one which is less than three years old.

 

3.     Provide summary information regarding CCS emergency procedures and the CCS environmental health and safety program to new employees:  Provide new employees with an initial overview of the CCS environmental health and safety program, including a brief outline of established emergency procedures, at the time of the orientation session scheduled through the human resources office.

 

A safety segment is included in the orientation training which human resources provides to new classified employees and to new faculty.  Safety related items covered in this orientation include:

 

·         an initial overview of the CCS environmental health and safety program

·         how to report unsafe conditions and practices

·         a brief outline of established emergency procedures

·         how and when to report injuries

 

4.     Provide specific on-job-training:  (generally provided by the employee’s supervisor, manager, or dean):  Teaches employees, as appropriate, the most efficient, safe and environmentally correct manner in which to perform their tasks and provide them with the knowledge of potential hazards within their work area and of required protective devices or clothing, if applicable. 

 

On-job safety training shall be initial with new employees, and shall include follow-up refresher training, as needed and/or required by law, or as directed by the safety officer.  When a new hazard is introduced into the work area, the immediate supervisor shall provide safety training appropriate to the hazard prior to his/her employee(s) exposure to the hazard.

 

As a minimum, initial environmental health and safety training, provided by the immediate supervisor, shall include the following:

 

·         How and when to report injuries, including instruction as to the location of first-aid facilities and equipment.

·         How to report unsafe conditions and practices.

·         The use and care of required personal protective equipment.

·         The proper actions to take in event of emergencies including the routes of exiting from areas during emergencies.

·         Identification of the hazardous gases, chemicals or materials involved along with the instructions on the safe use and emergency action following accidental exposure.

·         A general description of the CCS total safety program.

·         An on-the-job review of the practices necessary to perform the initial job assignments in a safe manner.

·         Location and use of facility fire alarms and extinguishers and location of nearest building/room exit and telephone.

·         Name and work location of safety committee member or building safety representative assigned to the same facility as the new employee.

·         Location of facility safety bulletin board.

 

The immediate supervisor will monitor his/her employees' work performance to ensure the employees follow established safety procedures.  The immediate supervisor will provide refresher training on the above areas as appropriate and needed.

 

Environmental health and safety staff (475-7041) are available to provide assistance to supervisors in these areas, as needed or as required.  Examples:

 

·         where work assignments necessitate the use of respiratory protection, it is mandatory that employees be provided with respirator fit testing and training by qualified environmental health and safety staff;

 

·         where a supervisor is uncertain as to the level of exposures in their work area(s) and appropriate safety measures (e.g., chemical exposures, equipment operation, sound level exposures, etc.), or where there is lack of clarity regarding environmentally safe work practices, such as hazardous material use, handling and ultimate disposal, the environmental health and safety office should be contacted for work area evaluation and training assistance.

 

FACULTY:  CCS faculty are hired as knowledgeable and highly qualified individuals in his/her field of instruction with the expectation that the scholarship and/or technical skills they possess at the time of hire include those which will enable them to set a good example and provide hazard warnings and proper instruction regarding safe and environmentally correct practices appropriate to the specific classroom/shop environment in which they teach.  This is particularly essential in the professional/technical (vocational) programs, such as those which involve equipment and machinery operation and/or the handling of potentially hazardous chemical substances.  (Refer to Chapter 131-16 WAC, Washington State Community and Technical College Personnel Standards and/or Section IV:  Organizational Structure and Specific Responsibilities, “Faculty Safety Responsibilities” portion of this document for further detail.)

 

ADJUNCT FACULTY AND PART-TIME CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEES:  At the time of hire, these groupings of employees at CCS are provided with a letter from the Human Resources Office explaining the availability, through their supervisor, of the CCS employee handbook appropriate to their classification (adjunct faculty or classified employee).  Contained within this handbook are sections on environmental health and safety and CCS emergency procedures.  They are also notified regarding how these documents may be accessed on the CCS intranet home page.

 

Adjunct faculty are hired with expectations similar to those of full-time faculty in terms of possessing appropriate job knowledge, skills, and the ability to accomplish safe conduct of the class(es) they teach.  The supervisor to whom the adjunct faculty member reports is to ensure they possess a workable knowledge of CCS emergency procedures.  As needed, the supervisor is to provide adjunct faculty with hazard warnings and safety training specific to the hazards they will encounter in the CCS classroom, laboratory or shop setting in which they will be teaching.

 

PART-TIME CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEE OR WORK STUDY STUDENT: The supervisor to whom a part-time classified employee or work study student reports is to ensure they possess a workable knowledge of CCS emergency procedures.  For those part-time classified employees or work study students whose work environment brings them into physical proximity with machinery, electrical circuits, biologicals, radioactive substances, chemicals, flammables, intense heat, gases under pressure, excavations, scaffolding, ladders and other hazards, their immediate supervisor is to ensure that appropriate safety training and hazard warnings are provided prior to exposure to such hazard(s).

 

5.     Provide formalized safety training programs, as appropriate (generally provided to employees by staff of the CCS Environmental Health and Safety Office):

 

For example, specific, written safety programs are in place for each of the areas listed below and mandatory training is provided to appropriate CCS employees.  Supervisors should contact the Environmental Health and Safety Office to schedule training sessions for their employees.

 

·         bloodborne pathogens exposure control (initial training and annual refresher)

·         confined space entry (initial training)

·         fall restraint (initial training)

·         hazardous energy control (lock-out/tag-out) - initial training

·         hearing conservation (initial training and annual refresher)

·         respiratory protection (initial training and fit testing; annual refresher)

 

In addition, CCS Environmental Health and Safety Office staff (475-7041) will provide training on other safety-related topics (e.g., chemical safety, ergonomics, etc.) upon request and according to their work schedules and time availability.

 

6.     Provide classroom, shop and laboratory safety training (provided by faculty to students):

 

Per WAC 132Q-94-010:  "....the board of trustees of the Washington State Community College District 17 expresses its firm commitment to the safety and health of its students and employees.  The board further recognizes the importance of students and employees developing safe work habits, particularly in the areas of equipment and machinery operation, and in the handling of potentially hazardous chemical substances."

 

Per WAC 132Q-94-020:  "Adoption of these health and safety rules by the board of trustees is based on the following standards:

 

·         The possibility of accidental injury to an individual exists at all times and in all places and no place of work nor any human activity is exempt from the possibility of accidents.

 

·         All community college safety programs are for the benefit of both the Washington State Community College District 17 and the individual students enrolled within the institution.  There is no conflict of interests between the students and the college in the area of an accident prevention program; through accident prevention, everyone benefits.

 

·         Accident prevention requires both organization and education, consisting largely of the desire to provide and maintain an environment free of hazards through institution of a common-sense safety program and the determination to carry out the program effectively.

 

·         Effective accident prevention includes instructor leadership, student cooperation, effective organization, thorough training, and good supervision."

 

At Community Colleges of Spokane:

 

·         Each instructor is responsible for the safe conduct of their classes, and will explain any hazards that might be involved, the rules to be followed and the precautions to be observed.  The briefing can be short or long, depending on the nature of the class and the hazards involved.  It can be given on the first day of the class or as the class reaches that phase of the course, whichever is appropriate.

 

·         As a minimum, all classroom instructors are required to explain CCS emergency procedures to their students, including facility evacuation procedures:  route to be taken to exit the building; points of assembly after exiting the facility; plans for evacuation of persons of disability, etc.

 

·         Where the instructional environment brings students into physical proximity with machinery, electrical circuits, biologicals, radioactive substances, chemicals, flammables, intense heat, gases under pressure, excavations, scaffolding, ladders and other hazards, the instructor is to ensure that appropriate safety training and hazard warnings are provided students (e.g., in courses conducted in laboratories, shops, some physical education classes, etc.).  (Refer also to Section IV:  Organizational Structure and Specific Responsibilities, “Faculty Safety Responsibilities” portion of this document.)

 

7.     Provide refresher safety training, as needed:

 

An on-going emphasis on safety and a reminder of safe work practices and environmentally correct procedures is provided through refresher safety training, as needed and appropriate.

 

Staff of the CCS Environmental Health and Safety Office provide refresher training and updates for topic-specific safety programs, as needed and according to the frequency required by existing regulations.

 

Supervisors provide appropriate refresher safety training to their affected employees on an as needed basis to ensure understanding and compliance with safe work practices and environmentally correct procedures.