Safety Auditing Program to benefit faculty, students, staff

"We have a good safety record at UD thanks to the good cooperation from faculty and staff members. But, safety is an ongoing concern, and we wanted to design a system to pinpoint and correct any deficiencies in our safety program. We feel that the safety auditing system will help us to identify problems and ensure that they are remedied," Robin Elliott, occupational health and safety, said.

The auditing program also will train students to be safety conscious and take proper precautions and use safety equipment, Elliott said.

To conduct a safety audit under the new program, a representative from occupational health and safety, accompanied by a department representative, will conduct a site visit and discuss findings at the end of the visit with the department chairperson or director. The department head will follow up on changes that need to be made to improve safety, and a final report of the audit will be given to the chairperson/director, dean and provost.

Some violations can be corrected immediately; others may take a period of time, Elliott said. A follow-up inspection will be made to make sure all safety precautions are in place. If violations are not corrected within a reasonable time, infractions will be reported to the chairperson/director and to the dean, and the responsible person must reply in writing how he or she plans to correct the violation and prevent a recurrence. Later, an unannounced inspection will take place to determine if corrective actions have been implemented.

Repeated violations of safety programs could result in the temporary or permanent loss of laboratory privileges.

"Safety is our primary concern as it is for most faculty and staff, and the administration and AAUP have recognized the importance of enforcing basic safety precautions and the use of safety equipment for everyone's welfare," Elliott said. "The safety audit is a means of making sure safety procedures are followed and that safety equipment is used for everyone's benefit.

"In some cases, departments may request a safety audit to improve their programs. The safety audit also will be used if a department has repeated incidents resulting from safety program failures or does not have an operating safety program," she said.

DOHS will display information and answer questions about the safety auditing program at their open house today (see box).

For information on the safety auditing program, contact Elliott at 831-1435, or send e-mail to <relliott@udel. edu> or visit the web site at <http://www.udel. edu/OHS/safetyaudit/audit. html>.

Vol. 19, No. 16

Jan. 13, 2000

Vol. 19, No. 16

Jan. 13, 2000

Safety Auditing Program
to benefit faculty, students, staff

Safety open house today