Safety Committee Meeting Minutes for May 13, 2008

Safety Committee Meeting Minutes 

May 13, 2008 

Attending: Kay Bauman, Denise Courts, Janet Brooks, Ric Rea, Candace McDaniel 

Absent:  Patrick Williams 

Agenda: 

• Review of past meeting minutes 
• Vacant committee position 
• Facility Inspections 
• Bloodborne Pathogens Training 
• Hepatitis Shots 
• CPR Training 
• Downtown Building Evacuation Instructions 

Discussion: 

1. At the last committee meeting, we discussed the fact that Fariba Williams is unable to attend meetings regularly due to scheduling conflicts.   Ann Aliotta from Edmond has agreed to serve on the Safety Committee and will attend the next meeting. 
2. Copies of the Facility Inspection checklists are being routed to each committee member for review.  Any comments or need for immediate action will be communicated to the committee via e-mail until the next meeting.   
3. Human Resources has had several questions from Library staff concerning the materials available for Bloodborne Pathogens training.  There are several formats available through Human Resources other than the prescribed materials for annual training.  Janet will review all materials in the library to determine if all contain the OSHA mandated information to count towards annual training. It was also decided to dedicate the 3rd quarter of each year to Bloodborne Pathogens training.  By doing do, it will be easier for everyone to remember when the training is due and easier for Human Resources to track training completion.  We will utilize the weekly Safety Slides to promote the training during the 3rd quarter.  Anyone who does not complete the mandatory training during the 3rd quarter will have the opportunity to complete the training either at Focus or by using the available materials before year end. 
4. We discussed proper documentation of employees’ acceptance or declination of the Hepatitis B Shots that are available to all employees.  All new hires are offered the option to receive the shot series.  If they choose not to receive the shots, a declination form must be signed and maintained on file.  The employee may elect to receive the shot series at any time if they experience a hazardous exposure. Signing a declination form at the time of exposure is not necessary.   It was decided to add a reminder about the Hepatitis Shot availability at the bottom of the First Report of Injury form and the Unusual Incident form.  If the employee elects to receive the shot series following possible exposure, Supervisors should contact Human Resources for further instructions. 
5. New hire safety training was discussed.  We have powerpoint presentations available for all required new hire training.  A new folder labeled New Hire Safety Training will be added to the intranet with a collection of powerpoint presentations covering all required new hire safety training.  When that has been successfully added to the intranet, communication will be sent to all managers and supervisors with details. 
6. Denise presented some new information about CPR Training.  There is new equipment available for purchase to aid in employee training.  Following discussion, it was decided that since providing emergency assistance is not part of anyone’s job description, the purchase of such equipment could imply that employees are expected to learn CPR and be able to render emergency assistance to an ill or injured person.   Employees are not discouraged to take this training, but should do so on their own through the American Red Cross or other agencies offering qualified training. 
7. Denise reported six Workers’ Comp claims year to date.  All received treatment.  Of those claims, at least three were repetitive motion injuries.   
8. At a previous committee meeting, the question was raised about the mandatory use of back and wrist braces.  The last official directive issued called for the mandatory use of braces when performing certain tasks.  Due to recent medical beliefs, we discussed the need to change this directive to make the use of braces optional or at the direction of the employees’ physician.  Ric will research past documentation to see if there has been any official update.  We will discuss a possible change at the next meeting. 

Meeting adjourned – 11:30AM                      

Next meeting:  July 8, 2008 – 10:00AM