AWAIR (A Workplace Accident and Injury Reduction Program)
Department of Administration and MN.IT Services
Effective date: 4/2006
Date Revised: 10/2013
Program Goals:
The overall safety goal for the Department of Administration is to proactively work to reduce injuries and illnesses. The Department of Administration encourages a safe, injury free working environment, and encourages all employees to participate in injury and illness reduction activities and therefore be empowered to improve safety in the department. The ultimate goal for the Department of Administration is to reduce the number of personal injuries to zero!
Scope:
This policy applies to all employees in the Department of Administration that are exposed to or conduct work activities that have routine, as well as, unique or special hazards.
Standards:
This policy is being developed to enhance our department accident and injury prevention program and to meet the primary compliance requirements of Minnesota OSHA's AWAIR (A Workplace Accident and Injury Reduction program) bill as outlined in chapter 182.653 sub-division 8.
Annually set safety objectives for their divisions in their operations plans
Provide resources to accomplish set objectives.
Report quarterly on their progress at quarterly operations meetings
SUPERVISORY STAFF
Conduct safety meetings for their work teams.
Conduct surveys on crew to verify safe work practices.
Ensure work requests for safety issues are addressed promptly and correctly.
Prioritize list of routine, as well as, unique or special hazards and facilitate corrective actions in a timely manner.
Provide a complete copy of each SOP developed in their area to the department safety coordinator, via email.
Serve as a positive role model to all employees by consistently following all SOP’s.
Assure that all SOP’s, safety programs, and policies are followed consistently by staff under their supervision.
Review the safety goals with new employees and those employees who are transferred from other operational areas, for those work activities the new or transferred employee will be performing.
Implement corrective measures promptly for conditions causing injuries.
SAFETY ADMINISTRATOR
Works to establish and maintain a safety culture within the Department of Administration.
Provides safety objective ideas to division directors.
Maintains a composite of master copies of all resources developed (i.e. policies, SOP’s, etc.). Maintain safety-related resources and distribute as needed.
Reviews all SOP’s developed to assure their compliance with any established safety standards.
Makes completed SOP’s available to all operating units.
Orient new hires on general safety expectations.
Coordinates monthly safety inspections in conjunction with Plant Management Division (PMD) monthly building inspections.
Coordinates the distribution of quarterly and annual injury reports.
Chairs the safety committee.
Coordinates safety training, in cooperation with supervisors.
SAFETY COMMITTEE
Meets monthly to review accident reports/trends and address safety concerns.
Identifies safety goals, track and measure results.
Conducts safety inspections monthly in coordination with PMD inspections. Identifies hazards and recommend corrective actions.
Builds an overall awareness of safety and health.
OPERATIONAL EMPLOYEES
Attend safety meetings.
Report or correct all unsafe acts to supervisor.
Participate in the identification of those tasks that have routine, as well as, unique or special hazards that are performed within their work unit and cooperate with management to implement workable solutions.
Assist in the development of SOP’s.
Follow and adhere to safety policies and procedures, SOP’s, and safe work practices.
The AWAIR bill requires that an employer specify in their written program, the methods they will use to identify, analyze and control work related hazards.
IDENTIFYING THE HAZARDS
One common tool for hazard identification is the monthly Safety Committee inspections of buildings, along with the Plant Management inspection of buildings. Both groups utilize checklists to assist in identifying hazards.
All employees are responsible for identifying hazards; however, employees in their work areas are best equipped to identify specific hazards in their areas. The Supervisor's responsibility will be to ask Operational Employees to identify hazardous situations and analyze the hazard. Supervisors can develop and prioritize a list focusing on frequency and severity for potential hazards.
This list will be continually updated and revised as needed.
CONTROL OF HAZARDS
Once identified by the safety committee, hazards are reported to the appropriate building managers for correction. Monthly the building manager reports to the safety committee the status of corrective actions.
Also, the Supervisors in each operating unit will be responsible for 1) facilitating the completion of all items on the list; 2) implementing actions to control hazards 3) if a procedure is needed, the SOP should follow the format for SOP development. The SOP’s will then be implemented to minimize and or eliminate hazards via engineer controls, administration controls and PPE.
Another aspect to prevent the occurrence of safety and health hazards is the regular preventive maintenance of equipment. PMD utilizes the Archibus system for facilities management of preventive maintenance.
ANALYZE INCIDENTS
Department of Administration has a supervisory staff and employee oriented safety committee that review incidents and near misses in order to define root cause(s) and necessary corrective action.
For those tasks or work activities that involve unique or special hazards, SOP’s must be developed. Supervisors should work with their staff during monthly safety meetings to identify those tasks they feel are worthy of having a SOP developed. The development of a SOP should be a labor-management cooperative effort to identify the safest most practical method of completing a task with unique or special hazards.
The first step in developing a SOP is to break the task into 5 to 7 primary steps. These steps should be listed in sequential order of performance in the 'Primary Steps' section of the SOP form. When that has been successfully completed, each step is broken down into specific procedures. This process involves discussion about the primary safety concerns associated with the task. In the right hand column of the procedure section, any special safety equipment should be identified.
Supervisors will be trained on how to effectively facilitate the development of a SOP. Further training on SOP development will continue as needed, 1) when new supervisors are asked to develop an SOP or; 2) when existing supervisors need further coaching on the development of an SOP. The Facilitator of the SOP should sign each SOP. For electronic copies, typing the name of the Facilitator is adequate.
CONSTRUCTION PRE-JOB SAFETY REVIEW
The Department of Administration, Plant Management Division, has the unique ability to do small construction projects. A Construction Pre-Job Safety Review is completed prior to the project commencement and is written by the project superintendent and/or with the assistance by the Department of Administration Safety Administrator. The Pre-Job Safety Review is posted at the entrance of the project site and prospective project staff are to read its’ contents and sign their name after their review indicating their comprehension.
Once the SOP is developed, the Facilitator must e-mail it to the Department of Administration Safety Administrator. The Safety Administrator will then review it with the Facilitator and 1) implement the SOP so it is accessible to all operating units or; 2) work with Facilitator and make revisions.
New Hire - Through a collective effort with their immediate supervisor and Safety Administrator, all operational employees will receive orientation on how to correctly address hazards in the workplace that in part will be used to establish safe work procedures. The New Employee Safety Orientation Forms are used to communicate general safety information (i.e. emergency procedures, reporting injuries, safe work practices) and is provided by the Safety Administrator/Trainer, along with specific orientation training (equipment, PPE, emergency eyewash locations, chemical hazards, etc.), provided by the supervisor.
Safety Matrix – safety training requirements are spelled out in the safety training matrix, by topic.
Safety Training Resources (i.e. Employee Right to Know materials) can be found on the Human Resources Safety webpage.
Participation – Effective communication flows in many directions. Safety participation in PMD supervisor’s meetings for project review as well as Leadership Team meetings strengthens the flow of communication on all levels.
The goal of an accident investigation is hazard identification and prevention, not to affix blame. Objectives also include improving the work environment, improving operational and safety procedures, raising safety awareness and reaffirming the department’s commitment to the safety and well-being of its employees.
Supervisors complete accident investigations, which should be conducted as soon as possible. The report is then submitted to the Worker’s Compensation Coordinator, who forwards it to the Safety Administrator. The basic goal is to determine the basic and root causes, and to determine appropriate corrective action so that the incident does not happen again.
Responsibility for safety exists at all levels in the department. It is the policy of the department to provide for the health and safety of its employees by providing safe working conditions. Employees have the responsibility to use all provided safety equipment and procedures in their daily work. Supervisors must monitor to ensure that safe work practices are correctly followed and coach to correct unsafe behavior. Failure to use safety equipment and follow procedures may result in disciplinary action.
The Safety Committee shall review the AWAIR Program annually, along with the Safety Committee Annual Goals. The Division Directors annual goals should also be reviewed as to progress. This review shall be documented in the Safety committee minutes.
The Department of Administration is committed to providing a safe work environment where employees can thrive. To prevent workplace injuries and illnesses, a joint management-labor safety committee will be established. Employee involvement in accident prevention and support of safety committee members and activities is necessary to ensure a safe and healthful workplace.
The purpose of our safety committee is to involve labor and management in a non-adversarial, cooperative effort to promote safety and health in the workplace. The safety committee will assist management and make recommendations for change. Our goal is an injury free workplace.
Employee representatives shall be volunteers or elected by their peers or appointed by their bargaining unit. Employer representatives will be appointed. Safety committee members will serve terms of at least one year. Committee membership terms will be staggered, so experienced members are always serving on the committee.
The safety committee advises management about safety and health issues in the workplace. All written recommendations from the safety committee will be submitted to the appropriate department manager. Management will consider the recommendations and respond in writing to the safety committee within a reasonable time. Recommendations shall be concise, clear, and provide reasons for implementation.
Committee Actions and Member Responsibilities
Review and evaluate accident reports and near misses.
Elements to be evaluated:
Timeliness - reported by employee and paperwork submitted
Use of proper forms
Accuracy and completeness of information
Are there appropriate recommendations for prevention or corrective actions
Make recommendations for improvement of the accident investigation process
