Health and Safety Policy

Effective Date
Category
Chief Administrative Officer
Executive Leadership Team

Purpose/Rationale:

Evergreen is committed to providing a healthy and safe environment for faculty, staff, students, visitors, and volunteers in all sites owned, operated, or controlled by Evergreen. This commitment includes supporting a culture of health and safety in all areas of the college.

Faculty, Staff, Students and Volunteers

Safety is of the upmost importance and one of the highest priorities on campus. At no time shall faculty, staff, students, or volunteers put themselves in an unsafe position or conduct any work they know to be unsafe.  Those who knowingly conduct or allow unsafe work to commence shall be subject to disciplinary action.

All Evergreen faculty, staff, students, and volunteers are responsible for:

  1. Observing and following health and safety regulations, policies, and procedures.
  2. Participating in mandatory health and safety training.
  3. Promptly reporting all safety and health hazards or violations and on-site incidents, injuries, and environmental illnesses to their supervisor, faculty member, or to the Environmental Health & Safety Team.
  4. If asked to do work that is not safe, immediately report it to their supervisor or the Environmental Health & Safety Office.
  5. Considering personal safety and the safety of others while performing all assigned tasks.

Executive Leadership and Administrators

Executive Leadership Team members and other administrators are responsible for providing safe working and learning environments for persons under their direction in accordance with WAC 296-800-110.

Health and Safety Committee

Evergreen’s Health and Safety Committee (HSC) reviews, advises, and makes recommendations on all aspects of the college’s health and safety programs.

The Committee will:

  1. Fulfill responsibilities designated in WAC 296-800-140 pertaining to accident prevention programs, and WAC 296-800-130 pertaining to health and safety committees.
  2. Review reports of accidents, illnesses, and injuries, and determine if the cause(s) of the unsafe situation was identified and corrected.
  3. Work proactively with work units to ensure health and safety plans and training are current and discuss recommendations for improvement, if needed, to mitigate risks.
  4. Convene subcommittees to address specific safety concerns when needed.
  5. Bring health and safety issues to the Environmental Health & Safety team.
  6. Review safety and health inspection reports to help correct safety hazards.
  7. May provide comments to the Environmental Health & Safety team on safety programs for annual assessment.
  8. Provide a committee representative for Washington State Labor and Industries compliance inspections.

Supervisors

Supervisors at all levels will:

  1. Reinforce the importance of health and safety and create a culture of health and safety in their work units.
  2. Immediately work to correct unsafe conditions or practices.
  3. Provide oversight of facilities, equipment, and practices to support a safe work and learning environment.
  4. Ensure individuals under their supervision have sufficient authority and support to properly implement health and safety regulations, policies, and procedures.
  5. Be aware of and follow safety plans for all Evergreen workplaces, classrooms, laboratories, field work locations, and student life areas.
  6. If applicable, manage incoming and outgoing of chemicals being used in their area through proper labeling, storage, and keeping Safety Data Sheet database up to date.
  7. Ensure compliance and assist with the implementation of mandatory health and safety training for staff, completing all appropriate safety training for their work area including OSHA 30 training if directed.
  8. Work with EH&S to report and investigate workplace accidents.
  9. Act in support of the Office of Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) and units with related responsibilities to monitor adherence to applicable health and safety regulations, policies, and procedures.
  10. Establish priorities and commit resources to the correction of health and safety deficiencies.

Environmental Health and Safety Team

The Environmental Health &Safety Team has the responsibility and authority for implementation of all Evergreen policies related to public, occupational, and environmental health and safety at Evergreen owned, operated, and controlled sites, providing a wide range of technical services and leadership. As part of this, EH&S:

  1. Establishes a work environment in accordance with safety and health standards established by the Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act.
  2. Assists in the formulation and implementation of written health and safety policies at Evergreen.
  3. Conducts health and safety training and provides educational materials, assistance, and training programs for Evergreen staff, faculty, and student employees.
  4. Collects, analyzes, and disseminates appropriate data on health and safety at the college and utilizes these data in recommending priorities and taking actions to promote environmental health and safety.
  5. Collects and maintains training records including employee names, types, and expiration dates, exposure assessments, and medical records, following HIPPA requirements.
  6. Develops effective lines of communication for required notifications.
  7. Conducts monitoring and auditing of health and safety programs.
  8. Enforces standards through well-publicized compliance guidelines.
  9. Responds promptly to detected problems and undertakes corrective action with relevant campus partners. This includes the authority to order immediate cessation of activities that present significant or immediate danger to life, health, or safety.
  10. Provides staff support to the Health and Safety Committee and any other work area requesting technical review. This includes, but is not limited to, approving the health and safety aspects of any project conducted on behalf of The Evergreen State College.
  11. Provides safety guidance and support to project managers regarding contractor work and corrects safety related issues.
  12. Represents the college in interactions relating to health and safety with external enforcement agencies and other entities in the areas of public health, occupational health, fire safety, and environmental regulations, and elevator compliance.
  13. Reviews the Health and Safety policy on an annual basis.
  14. Creates an annual report summarizing, but not limited to, injury reports, recommended changes or addendums to the safety policy (if any), significant Environmental Health and Safety Team activities and accomplishments, and opportunities for improvement.