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| Vol. 18, No. 38 | Aug. 5, 1999 |
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| Vol. 18, No. 38 | Aug. 5, 1999 |
The University's safety programming has received a national award for innovation from the Campus Safety, Health and Environmental Management Division of the National Safety Council.
The award- which was accepted by Robin Elliott, occupational health and safety, at last month's International Conference on Campus Safety, encourages colleges and universities to develop programs that solve or improve safety problems and to share them with other schools.
"I am pleased that the University is winning national attention for its safety programming," Elliott said. "The winning entry was on display at the conference, and I had opportunities to talk about what we have accomplished at Delaware with other institutions.
"Our department initiated a program to create interest and involvement in safety issues among the University's 44 departmental safety committees. The response and cooperation from the chairpersons, the committees and the support from the departmental administrators has made the program effective," she said.
Occupational health and safety's winning program features two new initiatives.
One is its recognition program-"Department of the Month"-highlighting and showcasing a department's safety activities on the front page of its web site. Photographs of the individuals responsible for a new program or a picture of what was done to improve safety in a specific area also are featured. Elliott also sends a memo to the department's chairperson or director, with copies to the executive vice president and provost.
A "Safety Department of the Year" is chosen, based on the committee's annual report. The Institute of Energy Conversion won in 1997-98, and this year's winner will be announced later this month. The top three reports for the year also are featured on the DOHS web site.
According to Elliott, the Department of the Month program, which began in April 1998, has been successful in creating awareness of safety issues and recognition of a safety committee's efforts. Using the web is far-reaching, motivating and cost-effective, Elliott pointed out.
The second part of the program also involves the web, Elliott said. Each safety committee has its own web page, which is linked to the occupational health and safety's web site. The members of the departmental committees also are invited to post any internal safety procedures they have developed.
"We thank the department committees for their work, and I encourage the University community to visit our web site at <www.udel.edu/OHS> to see what kind of safety-related activities are happening across campus," Elliott said.
-Sue Moncure
