UNC CHARLOTTE PERSONNEL INFORMATION MEMORANDUM

PIM 27

SAFETY – Accident and Illness Prevention Plan

DATED:  March 20, 1998

Category:  Environmental/Occupational Safety and Health

Contact:  University Safety Director – ext. 4291

1. General

        a.    The University engages in a program of voluntary compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Act of North Carolina and with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations and codes. To be effective, this program must be proactive and must embody the proper attitudes toward injury and illness prevention on the part of all members of the University community.

        b.    The program is designed to provide not only a safe and healthy working, teaching and learning environment, but also an atmosphere of safety and health awareness through training and employee and student involvement. The participation and earnest cooperation of all faculty, staff, students and visitors are actively encouraged.

2. Responsibilities

        a.    All members of the University community share the responsibility to provide and maintain a safe and healthful working, teaching, and learning environment and to reduce or eliminate known hazards.

        b.    Certain areas of University activity have been identified as requiring special attention to safety and health considerations. Such areas have unique procedures and special features designed to increase safety and reduce the risk of injury.

        c.    All members of the University community are expected to comply with this plan. Supervisors are responsible for enforcing safety and health standards and supplying proper support and training to affected employees.

3. Safety and Health Committees

        a.    The University Safety and Health Committee is appointed by the Chancellor to serve as a forum to discuss safety and health issues and to develop University-wide policy concerning environmental and occupational safety and health.

        b.    The Safety Operations Committee is appointed by the Chancellor to review accidents, statistics, complaints, training, and inspections and to provide input to the University Safety and Health Committee.

        c.    Departments are strongly encouraged to develop Departmental Safety Committees to further promote accident prevention. Primary responsibilities should be to assure that jobs are planned with safety in mind, employees are receiving proper training, and employees are involved in accident prevention, accidents are reviewed, and corrective action is taken.

4. Facility Inspections

        a.    The Safety Office will conduct inspections of each department/facility on a quarterly basis to identify hazards and eliminate accident potential. These inspections will record pertinent safety and health violations, noncompliance items and observed deficiencies.

        b.    Notification of findings will be given to the person in charge of the facility/department and the Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities Management.

        c.    The person in charge of the facility/department is to respond to the Safety Office within 30 days indicating corrective action taken.

5. Hazard Assessment

Management at all levels must ensure safety, health and personal security are prime considerations in the development and planning of all tasks to be performed by University employees. It is the responsibility of each department to conduct a hazard assessment of each job or task and to develop appropriate written safe work practices.

6. Industrial Hygiene Surveys

        a.    Employees must be protected from environmental hazards that arise out of or during the course of employment. Work areas must be surveyed to sample known or suspected health hazards (such as noise, airborne contaminants, toxic materials, solvents, and radiation).

        b.    It is the responsibility of each department to identify potential exposures during routine operations as well as unusual circumstances. The Safety Office should be notified of any potential exposure.

        c.    The Safety Office will assess the method of sampling required to provide accurate results. Sampling results will determine the degree of control attained and the need for further action. Employees shall be notified of all sampling results.

7. Additions or Changes in Equipment, Processes or Chemicals

        a.    All new equipment, processes or chemicals introduced to the work area are to be evaluated for potential safety and health concerns. The Purchasing Department is to forward copies of applicable purchase requests for hazardous materials to the Safety Office for review.

        b.    The department head is responsible for notifying the Safety Office prior to changes in hazardous equipment, processes, or chemical use.

8. Education and Training

        a.    A direct relationship exists between the number of accidents, or the severity of injuries/illnesses, and the attention given to appropriate safety and health training.

        b.    Educational and training programs are to be established by each department to ensure each employee is instructed regarding his or her work hazards and the methods by which these hazards are controlled.

        c.    Minimum training requirements include:

                         i.     New employee safety orientation

                       ii.     Specific job training or documented on-the-job safety training

                      iii.     Special hazard training (such as hazardous chemicals, hazardous equipment, respirator use, etc.)

                     iv.     Monthly education and training for employees in high accident potential categories.

9. Accident Investigation

        a.    All occupational injuries/illnesses must be thoroughly investigated as soon as possible after the occurrence so that the Accident Prevention program can function. The employee's immediate supervisor is responsible for conducting the investigation and forwarding reports to the Safety Office and the Benefits Office.

        b.    Follow-up investigations will be conducted by the Safety Office for all serious and lost-time injuries.

10. Disciplinary Action

        a.    Procedures have been established to provide for the discipline of employees who repeatedly violate safety and health requirements and guides.  See STATE PERSONNEL MANUAL-Disciplinary Action, Suspension and Dismissal. Safety and Health requirements are established and enforced to protect employees by preventing injuries and illnesses.

        b.    In most cases employees who violate safety and health requirements will be disciplined in the successive disciplinary concept with the JOB PERFORMANCE category of discipline. On occasion, an employee may commit a violation of a safety and health requirement that is so careless and reckless, or that so endangers life or property that it can be considered PERSONAL CONDUCT subjecting the employee to immediate dismissal.