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Minutes 12-13-99 MINUTES OF THE SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD IN WEST WING, CONFERENCE ROOM C, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA MONDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1999 AT 10:00 A.M. PRESENT Chuck Magazine, Chairman Risk Management Bob Borden Fire Rescue Mark Bobich Utilities Admin/EWTP Bill Coup Library Wendy Danysh Police Department Phyllis Dixon Communications Tom Egnaczyk Golf Course Bob Lee (Richard Fiege) Public Works Barbara Madden City Clerk’s Office Wally Majors Recreation Eugene Ruffolo Utilities WWTP Jeanette Taylor Human Resources ABSENT Dan Nobile Finance/Warehouse Mike Rumpf Planning & Development Sharon Tierney ITS Norman Turner Parks I. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Magazine called the meeting to order at 10:10 a.m. II.ROLL CALL The Recording Secretary called the roll. A quorum was declared present. Chairman Magazine welcomed the two new members to the Committee, Tom Egnaczyk from the Golf Course and Richard Fiege from Public Works. III. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 8, 1999 REGULAR MEETING Motion Mr. Majors moved to accept the minutes of the November 8, 1999 meeting. Motion seconded by Assistant Fire Marshal Borden. Motion unanimously carried. MEETING MINUTES SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA December 13, 1999 IV. Safety Committee Education and Training Program “Accident Prevention – A Municipal Self-Inspection Guide” Chairman Magazine informed the members that there is a new system for safety inspections. The Florida League of Cities has prepared a new Self-Inspection Guide that will be utilized. He distributed an abbreviated copy to members and reviewed some of the salient points in the Guide. Chairman Magazine said that the Safety Coordinators are responsible for the safety inspections and any corrections that may be necessary within their own areas. If a problem is discovered during a safety inspection, an action plan needs to be determined to cure the problem. Also, it is important that the problem be followed up to make sure it has been corrected. Chairman Magazine also noted that if any department needed a special inspection by an outside source, to please contact him to arrange for this. It was also suggested that the safety inspections could be delegated and rotated among various employees within the department. Mr. Egnaczyk asked who would be responsible for inspections at the restaurant located at the Golf Course? Chairman Magazine said the County’s Health Department would do this and this is not a City function. Chairman Magazine said that the inspection checklists are available on the safety folder sharedata drive and there are checklists for various departments. It will be up to the individual safety coordinators to determine if some items need to be added to the checklist. It was noted that the vehicle checklist does not have to be turned into Risk Management. Those are for the department’s own use. Also, Chairman Magazine would like the safety inspection checklists to be completed and sent to him using the City’s email. The form itself can be filled out on the computer and emailed to his department. This procedure should begin in January 2000. Mr. Majors asked if these new forms would replace the current ones and was informed that the new forms will now be used. VI. OLD BUSINESS A. Fire Drills Assistant Fire Marshal Borden reported that he attempted to contact the Library to set up a fire drill with the safety coordinator. However, the safety coordinator is on vacation and Ms. Farace requested that the fire drill be delayed until a future date. Assistant Fire Marshal Borden asked that Ms. Farace inform him when the fire drill could be held. However, the fire drill itself will be unannounced. There have been no other fire drills scheduled. Assistant Fire Marshal Borden stated this was his Department’s first attempt 2 MEETING MINUTES SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA December 13, 1999 to set up a drill at any of the City’s facilities and he will be doing the drills without any assistance. Therefore, it will take extra time for him to schedule the fire drills. It was noted that the purpose of a fire drill is to determine how staff reacts to the alarm and to determine the speed and safety on how the building is evacuated. The fire department itself is not being tested. B. Safety Newsletter Chairman Magazine reported that Mark Bobich would be contributing a column in the Newsletter on OSHA news. He also pointed out that the newsletter now contains inserts announcing prizes and people have been calling as directed. This is only available to City employees. Some prizes have been given out and this practice will continue. C. “Proud to be a Safe Worker” Awards There were none to report. Chairman Magazine reported that there is a special pin that is given out to employees who do something above and beyond what is required. The safety coordinator or any supervisor could make this recommendation. D. Departmental Inspections & Safety Meetings Chairman Magazine distributed an updated matrix of the departmental inspections and safety meetings to the members. Mr. Bobich noted that his department’s inspection form was not included on the chart and said he turned in his report at the end of November. Chairman Magazine will follow through on this. Chairman Magazine reminded members that it is not necessary to have a special safety meeting every month. The safety meeting could be included during a regular departmental meeting or any other type of meeting. When a safety meeting is reported, the only items necessary to be reported are – ? Persons present, ? Topics discussed, and ? Report can be emailed to Risk Management. Assistant Fire Marshal Borden reported that the Fire Department held their safety meeting last week and he will be turning in the report shortly. Chairman Magazine requested that the Recording Secretary prepare an attendance report for the safety meetings for the year 1999. The report will be submitted to the City Manager. 3 MEETING MINUTES SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA December 13, 1999 The Safety Council of Palm Beach County gives out its annual awards in March. Risk Management will be preparing the necessary paperwork for the award nominations during February and if any department had anything they would like to submit, to please do so. E. Defensive Driver Course Chairman Magazine reported that there would be no courses scheduled for the month of December. He also stated that there is a problem with no-shows and tardiness. The classes are scheduled from 8:00 a.m. to 12 noon and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Trainings will be rescheduled for January. F. Safety Belt Use Project Team Mr. Bobich reported that the most recent survey shows there is a 75% seatbelt use. The City’s goal is 80% use. The question was asked why the target figure should not be 100% use? Chairman Magazine said that this is an eventual target figure, but first the City would like to attain a realistic goal of 80%. Assistant Fire Marshal Borden asked if the Fire Department had been checked and was informed they were not part of the check. Assistant Fire Marshal Borden said that the firemen could not leave the firehouse without their seatbelts on. Chairman Magazine told Assistant Fire Marshal Borden that he could conduct his own survey and submit the results to him. Mr. Egnaczyk inquired if there would be times when staff is working on vehicles in the garage and the wearing of a seatbelt might hinder their work if they were looking for a particular noise or sound? Chairman Magazine stated if an employee was sitting in a vehicle and it is parked and not in motion, a seatbelt is not required. However, once the vehicle is put in motion that person is operating a vehicle and the seatbelt must be worn. Just because you are listening for a noise, should not deter an employee from wearing the seatbelt. If a vehicle is being moved within a lot, a seatbelt must be worn. “A buckle up” bumper sticker has been ordered from DOT and will be available for vehicles in the very near future. G. Incident Review Board Referral 1. Oceanfront Park Boardwalk Slip and Fall Risks George Mantel from Roads and Streets informed Chairman Magazine that the particular piece of equipment that they had been waiting for has been received. Staff will be trained on it, and Mr. Mantel will be getting together with Mr. Evans at Oceanfront Park for a test. 4 MEETING MINUTES SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA December 13, 1999 Mr. Fiege said that Mr. DeBeck should also be involved in the testing of the boardwalk. Chairman Magazine will follow through with this. Members were referred to a memo dated November 15, 1999 from Assistant Fire Marshal Borden, as Chairman of the Incident Review Board, to John Guidry, Director of the Utilities Department regarding manhole covers. Chairman Magazine read the memo to the members concerning the type of equipment used for opening manhole covers. The IRB Board would like to see an improvement in the equipment necessary to open manhole covers. Mr. Bobich will follow through on this. Chairman Magazine requested that a copy of the memo be filed with the minutes of this meeting. Chairman Magazine inquired how much a manhole cover weighs and Mr. Bobich replied it could be from 20 pounds to several hundred pounds. H. Safety Manual Review Chairman Magazine asked members if they had an opportunity to review the Safety Manual? Members agreed that the Safety Manual was a good guide for the City and felt if the Manual was any more detailed it might not be utilized as much. Mr. Bobich will be providing information on HAZCOM that will be included in the new Manual. Mr. Lee suggested that something should be included in the Manual on cell phone use while operating a vehicle. Mr. Lee pointed out that all manufacturers recommend that a person operating a vehicle while using a cell phone should get off the highway and stop while using a phone. Mr. Lee will furnish further information on cell phone use to Chairman Magazine. A request was made to include how to spot hazardous chemicals being sent through the mails and how employees could avoid being injured and/or contaminated while opening mail. Chairman Magazine suggested contacting the U.S. Postal Inspectors to determine if they have literature available on the subject. Chairman Magazine said if the Clerk’s Office received any information on this, to please provide it to him because it could be useful for all departments. VII. NEW BUSINESS A. Other Chairman Magazine reported that he had sent out information previously asking for ideas for safety trainings and only received one response from Mr. Bobich who suggested three areas of training as follows: 5 MEETING MINUTES SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA December 13, 1999 ? Florida right to know law. ? Personal protective equipment policies. (Chairman Magazine noted that if an employee is injured on the job and not wearing their PPE, they will receive their wage replacement reduced by 25%. That is a State law that is available to the City. Assistant Fire Marshal Borden noted that the equipment had to be issued to the employee, that it be in working order and available to the employee.) ? Fire and emergency procedures guidelines. Assistant Fire Marshal Borden said that when the fire inspectors inspect City facilities they find continuous violations dealing with extension cords. He suggested that some type of training should be given on fire code violations. VIII. ANNOUNCEMENTS Chairman Magazine announced that the Safety Council of Palm Beach County would be holding forklift training. Mr. Bobich said he would be scheduling training. IX. NEXT MEETING DATE: Monday, January 10, 2000 @ 10:00 a.m. X. ADJOURNMENT Motion Mr. Majors moved to adjourn the meeting, which was duly seconded by Ms. Taylor. The meeting properly adjourned at 11:10 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Barbara M. Madden ________________________________ Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (one tape) 6