Employee Safety Committee Meeting

Tuesday, June 21, 2005 @ Lewis Room, Mears House

Attending: George Aitken, Janet Bartlett, Cheryl Brewer, Bob Briggs, Kim Brown, Cosmo Catalano, Michael Chapman, Adriana Cozzolino, Joe Moran, Norm Parker, Dennis Richard

Absent: Judy Kocsis, Gary Lohnes, Kris Maloney, Pete Mazzacco, Michelle Migdal, Judi Willette

Old Business:

• B&L sidewalk: waiting to get permission to connect with storm drain.
• There was considerable discussion about people bringing their dogs on campus.
  • Two members conducted informal surveys and most responses were that dogs should not be allowed on campus at all or only with restrictions.
  • In most cases the people bringing dogs onto campus are faculty, making most staff employees feel uncomfortable about complaining. Many custodians are uneasy or afraid to clean an office when a dog is in it while the owner is away. One Committee member told of a staff person who has been bitten twice by the same dog but is afraid to complain.
  • It is understandable that faculty members, because they often spend so much of their time in their offices feel as if their offices are extensions of their homes. However, finally, this is not the case.
  • Concerns were expressed for employees who are allergic to dogs, uneasy or simply afraid of dogs.
  • The Committee finally agreed that dogs would be permitted on campus and the Committee suggests the following possible guidelines:
    • Dogs must be leashed at all times.
    • Owners are responsible for cleaning up after their dogs.
    • If a dog is kept in an office while the owner is away a sign will be left on the door indicating that a dog is in the office. The room will not be serviced by any facility staff or cleaned while the dog is present.
    • Incidents involving dogs will be handled on a case by case basis.
    • No retribution against an employee voicing a concern about the behavior of a dog will be tolerated.

New Business:
Incident Reports submitted to the committee this month:

1. A heating plant engineer suffered a pinch and minor cut to his left little finger: while loosening a nut, the wrench on the opposing nut released driving the ratchet in the employee's hand into the door handle pinching and cutting the finger. Follow up: unsafe conditions, insufficient supply of tools for the job, unsafe actions by the employee because he failed to adequately support the wrench. Recommended action was to supply more tools. Corrective action: a second person will assist in further large door removals.
2. A stock attendant/dishwasher tripped over a stack of sheetpans while pulling a trash barrel outside injuring lower back. Follow up: employees were cautioned to store equipment properly, not in traffic areas.
3. An executive secretary in the Development office, while walking to the parking garage, lost her footing at the edge of the sidewalk and fell face down on the concrete. Follow up: deemed a true accident.
4. A Dining Services waitstaff employee cut finger on a broken wine bottle while emptying a van after an event. The bottle was broken during an event and placed in a box in the van. Follow up: employees were instructed to discard broken glass in regular trash receptacles.
5. A B&G custodian with a history of back problems suffered a strained back at the end of a work day. Follow up: no action was taken.
6. A Dining Service prep/server suffered a bump and bruise on tailbone and lower back. While bending to lift a case of soda, the employee was hit in the back by the walk-in cooler door as a second employee exited the cooler. Follow up: there was no way for the exiting employee to see the other one. Employees were cautioned to be aware of presence of coworkers and to take care when swinging doors into traffic area.
7. A Faculty House chef strained a previously injured leg that had been recently operated on when he tripped on a floor mat. He was able to catch himself and did not fall. Follow up: the corner of the mat was sticking up. Recommended corrective action was to regularly inspect mats for warping and wear. Joe inspected the mats and they appear to be in good shape.
8. A B&G foreman suffered a strained back. He was seated in the operator's seat of the road sweeper when a summer employee backed a utility cart into the sweeper. Follow up: cart driver failed to look behind prior to backing. All summer employees were instructed in proper driving techniques when operating the carts.
9. A Dining Services cook's assistant became faint and fell forward injuring shoulder, lower back, elbow and palm of hand. Follow up: cause was determined to be stress from the heat and insufficient fluid intake. The employee was instructed to drink plenty of fluids and take time to cool down in the future.
10. A Dining Service part-time dishwasher was standing next to another employee who was opening a can of Sterno and some gel from the can flew into the dishwasher's eye. Follow up: dishwasher standing too close to the Sterno, instructed to be more aware of surroundings and what is happening.
11. A B&G custodian suffered a strain in lower back while bending to pick up a bundle of linen. Follow up: employee using proper lifting technique.
12. A B&G grounds worker suffered a strain in lower back while lifting the end of a riser in Chandler Gym to place it on a dolly. Follow up: employee instructed to be more careful while lifting.
13. A B&G employee suffered sore eyes from exposure to vapors from acid used to clean coils. Follow up: should have been wearing full goggles and face shield.
14. A B&G employee fell on grated stairs suffering an injured left knee and shoulder. Follow up: heel caught on the grating.

Additional New Business:

• Cos expressed concern with the apparent number of Dining Service injuries and suggested that they may be caused by having to hurry because of event scheduling. He further wondered if the Committee could/should address this. Joe suggested that we wait until we get the statistical break-downs of injuries to see if there are injury patterns and differences from previous years.
• Cos also brought up the issue of cigarette receptacles because there had been a cigarette-ignited trash fire over the weekend at the CTD. Joe said he would speak with Bea about a receptacle for CTD and Greylock employees. Joe added that if an outside contractor violates the 25-foot rule, it should be reported to B&G so the project manager can address the problem.
• Joe commented that this was the best dorm clean-up yet, that the new policies (most of which were driven by Bea Miles) have finally begun have some positive effect.
• Some members’ terms are expiring. A letter will be sent to support staff for self-nominations. Committee members can also make nominations. Nominations will be discussed at the next meeting.

Dining Services Safety Committee:

• There was no report from Jodi.

Next meeting: Tuesday, July 19, noon, Faculty House

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