Williams College Employee Safety Committee Meeting
Tuesday, January 17, 2006 @ The Faculty House
Attending: George Aitken, Cheryl Brewer, Bob Briggs, Lisa Briggs, Gail Burda, Cosmo Catalano, Michael Chapman, Scott Duncan, Gary Lohnes, Kris Maloney, Pat Mancuso, Joe Moran, Norm Parker, Jay Racela, Dennis Richard
Absent: Adriana Cozzolino, Pete Mazzacco
Old Business:
- Knife sharpening in the dining halls: Lisa reported that the sharpening company had agreed to sharpen every two weeks and alternate the handle colors of the sharpened knives between blue and black in order to alert employees that the knives had been sharpened.
- Accident reports at Dining Services: Lisa reported that accident reports have been distributed to all Dining Services facilities and are readily available to all shifts.
- CPR: Bob reported that the first class would be January 25 at 6:00 PM. Bob will send notice to those who had signed up. Other classes will be scheduled as needed. The class is also open to those seeking recertification.
New Business:
Incident Reports submitted to the committee this month:
- An employee at Sawyer Library, while working at the binding table, got a sliver from the edge of the table. Recommended corrective action: sand and seal table edge. A work order has been called in. Norm will follow up.
- A Dining Services employee at Mission kitchen suffered an injured wrist when a plate dropped from a rack hitting the wrist. Corrective action: employee was cautioned to be more careful stacking plates.
- A custodian in Mears suffered a scratched left eye from a hanging Christmas decoration on an office door. Corrective action: employee cautioned to pay more attention.
- A custodian suffered a strained lower back standing from a squatting position picking up a vacuum. Corrective action: the employee was using correct lifting technique, cautioned to be more careful.
- An employee at OIT in Jessup suffered an eye injury from a floppy disc tossed by another employee. Corrective action: employees cautioned to not hurry excessively, not to toss equipment and the staff was counseled on safety procedures.
- A custodian was hurrying and bruised left elbow on towel hook while removing a shower curtain. Corrective action: employee advised to slow down.
- A grounds foreman suffered a lower back strain while helping to move wrestling mats. Recommended corrective action: use equipment to assist and/or have enough staff on hand. Joe: injured employee was just off restricted duty and advised to be more careful under those circumstances. However, moving the mats is difficult and the procedure was handled as well as possible.
- An employee stepped off a steep path to let a student pass and fell resulting in a stiff back. No corrective action.
- A student employee in Greylock cut index finger while cutting bread. Corrective action: henceforth, no students will cut bread. There is a question as to whether the injured student was a kitchen employee or a diner cutting bread in the dining room. Joe will follow up.
- A security officer suffered a burning sensation in eyes and lungs while evacuating students from Fitch because of an ammonia leak from the skating rink. Follow up: the officer did not have proper protective equipment. Joe reported that a couple of meetings will decide future actions such as possible metering of the hockey rink, possible review of protocols, etc.
Additional New Business:
- There was no additional new business.
Dining Services Safety Committee:
- See above under Old Business.
Next meeting: Tuesday February 21, noon @ The Faculty House
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