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Minutes 12-10-01MINUTES OF THE SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD IN THE FIRE/POLICE TRAINING ROOM, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2001 at 10:00 A.M. Present Chuck Magazine, Chairman Carisse Weise, Vice Chair Tom Balfe Barry Brandenburg Bill Coup Gary Ezzell Eric Falstad Dorothy Mack Barbara Madden Brent Rolle Mike Rumpf Tina Smith Rodney Vickey Kim Williams Risk Management City Manager Parks ITS Library Utilities/WWTP Golf Course Human Resources' City Clerk's Office Recreation Planning Utilities/EWTP Finance/Warehouse Communications Absent Bob Borden Fire Tom McCabe Police Larry Quinn Public Works John Yurch Engineering Also Present Don Johnson, Building Official Glenda Hall, Parks Superintendent I. Call to Order Chairman Magazine called the meeting to order at 10:06 a.m. II. Roll Call The Recording Secretary called the roll and a quorum was present. III. Acceptance of Minutes of November 19, 2001 Regular Meeting Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Boynton Beach, FL December 10, 2001 Chairman Magazine requested that the motion that was duly made, seconded and apprOved unanimously adopting the Personal Protective Equipment Policy be included on Page 4 at the end of the discussion of the item. Motion Mr. Coup moved to approve the minutes of the November 19, 2001 meeting, as amended. Motion was seconded by Mr. Vickey and unanimously carried. IV. Safety Committee Education and Training Program: "Safety - Everyone's Responsibility" The video was postponed. V. Old Business A. Fire Drills There was no representative present from the Fire Department to give a report. B. "Proud to be a Safe Worker" Awards Chairman Magazine reported that the Holiday Parade was held at night for the first time this year. For the safety of her workers, Ms. Glenda Hall, Parks Supervisor, supplied flashing reflectors to be worn as armbands to make them more visible. Chairman Magazine presented Ms. Hall with a Safe Worker Award for using her own initiative to purchase additional equipment in order to ensure the safety of her staff. Mr. Johnson suggested that there be more crowd control at the turn on the corner of Ocean Avenue to prevent the children from wandering out into the street. Chairman Magazine felt that the entire street should be barricaded on both sides. C. Departmental Inspections & Safety Meetings Chairman Magazine will e-mail the reports to all the members. D. Defensive Driver Course The schedule of dates for the course for January and March were previously distributed. E. Incident Review Board Referrals 2 Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Boynton Beach, FL December 10, 2001 Entering private property, i.e. fenced in backyards (Police and Code Enforcement) No report F. Wellness Program (Magazine) The contract should be signed by January so that the first Lunch 'n Learn session can be scheduled for that month. This will be done on a monthly basis. Brochures will be circulated. G. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Policy a. Building Division Proposed Change Chairman Magazine reported that some departments have raised issues regarding the Personal Protection Equipment Policy. The Building Division has concerns regarding the field inspection division wearing safety shoes. Mr. Don Johnson, Building Official, is present to address these concerns. Mr. Johnson distributed a memo dated June 15, 2000 from Chuck Magazine, Risk Manager, when the item had been previously reviewed. The memo stated that the field inspection section was exempted from wearing steel-toe safety shoes. He was present today to request that this policy be continued. The field inspection section would continue to wear a safety shoe, but would be exempt from wearing a shoe that contains a "steel-toe". Vice Chair Weise inquired if the definition of a safety shoe included a steel toe and Chairman Magazine responded that it does in accordance with American National Standards Institute (ANSI) specifications. Mr. Johnson acknowledged that the inspectors do go out to construction sites and Chairman Magazine stated that people on construction sites are required to wear steel-toed shoes in accordance with OSHA standards. Mr. Johnson cited that OSHA Standard 926 does not require that a steel-toed safety shoe be worn. Mr. Johnson said that the inspectors would still wear a hard-sole, hard-sided, non-slip shoe, but without the steel toe. Chairman Magazine pointed out that if this were approved, the City would not reimburse the inspectors for their shoe purchase as these would not be considered safety shoes. Vice Chair Weise suggested that the shoe might become part of the Department's uniform requirement and under those circumstances, they may be reimbursed departmentally, however this was outside the scope of the Safety Committee. The City only pays for safety-shoes as defined in the PPE. Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Boynton Beach, FL December 10, 2001 Chairman Magazine said that after today's meeting, he would be sending a letter to all department heads informing them of what constitutes a safety-shoe. This would include: > steel safety toe - protection from falling, rolling or moving objects - class 75 must withstand an impact of 75-pounds and compression of 2,500 pounds; > leather upper - exterior of shoe/boot; > sole - various materials, may include leather, composition, synthetics and rubber, to protect against slipping, oil penetration and other hazards; ;> shank - steel or other material to prevent puncture through the sole; > 6" style boot for use when ankle and foot need support or protection. Mr. Johnson responded that the safety inspectors do not work in the type of environment that would require this kind of shoe. Currently the specification table lists an "Ftl" shoe requirement for Building Inspect/Rehab. Also Mr. Johnson requested that Electrical and Mechanical/Plumbing Inspectors (Ft2) also be exempted. Although the Rehab Inspector does not fall under the Building Department, the Committee may also want to consider exempting that position as well. Chairman Magazine noted that under the specifications, an Electrical Inspector is required to wear an "Ft4" shoe, which is an electrical boot. Mr. Johnson responded that Electrical Inspectors do not touch live wire. Chairman Magazine pointed out that if these three categories of inspectors are exempted, they would not be reimbursed for their shoes in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement that specifically states that the City purchase safety footwear. The old policy for the field inspectors would have to be updated. He suggested that Mr. Johnson speak with the Finance Department regarding reimbursement for shoe purchases other than safety shoes. Mr. Johnson requested that the Committee consider adding an alternative footwear to the safety policy. Chairman Magazine noted that the PPE was sent to every department for review and to bring it back to this Committee with that department's recommendations. Mr. Johnson said he did not have an opportunity to review the new PPE Policy. Vice Chair Weise asked if the Committee wanted to keep the ANSI Standard for safety shoes, or develop a definition of a safety shoe for various departments. Vice Chair Weise said as an alternative, this Committee could vote to exempt the Building Department from having to wear a "safety shoe" as defined by ANSI. Chairman Magazine asked if any member wished to make a motion to change the safety shoe definition from the ANSI Standards for safety footwear, which is required by OSHA. There was no motion made; therefore the City will continue 4 Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Boynton Beach, FL December 10, 2001 with the ANSI Standards. Chairman Magazine distributed a Safety Footwear Requirement Memo dated December 10, 2001. Motion Vice Chair Weise moved to allow the Building Department to change the standard of footwear to whatever that Department feels is necessary. Chairman Magazine said that the motion should state that the safety requirement under footwear should be deleted and left "blank" under the three categories requested by Mr. Johnson. Vice Chair Weise accepted the amended motion. Motion seconded by Mr. Coup. For clarification purposes if the motion were adopted, mechanical/plumbing inspectors, building inspectors, and fire inspectors would no longer have a safety footwear requirement. It would then be up to the Department to decide how they wanted to proceed. A lengthy discussion on the motion ensued. Vice Chair Weise informed Mr. Johnson that if the motion was approved, it would not be considered a safety shoe for reimbursement. In order to reimburse the inspectors, it would have to be through the departmental budget if this was approved through the Finance Department. Chairman Magazine reiterated that such decisions are outside the scope of the Safety Committee. Mr. Johnson requested that a memo to this effect be sent to Finance. Vice Chair Weise will follow through with this request. Chairman Magazine called for a vote on the motion. The Recording Secretary called the roll. The motion carried 8-5 (Chairman Magazine, Eric Falstad, Dorothy Mack, Brent Rolle and Gary Ezzell dissenting. Mr. Vickey had left the meeting.) b. Meter Reading Division Proposed Change No representative present, so this was not discussed c. Other Proposed Changes Ms. Smith wished to discuss the requirement that heavy equipment operators must wear hardhats while in the roll cage. She also inquired if this also applied to the Sanitation Department. Chairman Magazine stated that there is no head protection requirement for refuse collection/drivers, sanitation equipment operators and truck drivers. Ms. Smith stated if she were required to wear a hardhat while operating her equipment, it would result in her head hitting the roof, which in turn hurts her neck. 5 Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Boynton Beach, FL December 10, 2001 (The Recording Secretary left the meeting at 10:55 a.m. For the remainder of the meeting, Vice Chairman Weise took the notes. ) Vice Chair Weise requested that Ms..Smith bring back to the next Safety Committee Meeting additional information pertaining to the exact type of heavy equipment she feels does not require hardhats, together with an explanation of why they were not necessary. Mr. Coup also requested that Ms. Smith provide pictures so that the members would have a visual idea of what she meant by heavy equipment. Chairman Magazine requested a motion to remove the hardhat requirement from the PPE Policy. No motion was made. Ms. Smith will provide more information at the next meeting. H. Departmental Safety Issues Ms. Mack brought up the fact that police cam are creating traffic hazards in the parking garage. At times their vehicles are double-parked with the doom left open. This makes it very difficult for cam to maneuver throughout the garage, especially if another car was coming from the opposite direction. Chairman Magazine will follow through on this. VI. New Business A. Departmental Safety Issues -None B. Other- None VII. Announcements Chairman Magazine distributed the flyer from the Palm Beach County Safety Council for their upcoming workshops. VIII. NEXT MEETING DATE: Monday January 14, 2002 at 10:00 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (one tape) (December 12, 2001) 6