Loading...
Minutes 11-13-00 MINUTES OF THE SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD AT FIRE STATION #3, COMMUNITY ROOM, 3501 N. CONGRESS AVENUE, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2000 ¢_. 10:00 A.M. PRESENT Chuck Magazine, Chairman Curlene Baker Tom Balfe Mark Bobich Bob Borden (arrived at 10:15) Tom Egnaczyk Steve Lulkin Dorothy Mack Barbara Madden Chris Mitchell Larry Quinn Eugene Ruffolo Sharon Tierney Carisse Weise, Vice Chair Risk Management Communications Parks Utilities Admin/EWTP Fire Golf Course Recreation Human Resources City Clerk's Office Planning Public Works Utilities/WWTP ITS City Manager's Office ABSENT Wendy Danysh Dominic DeMauro A.D. Henehan Police Finance/Warehouse Library I. Call to Order Chairman Magazine called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m. II. Roll Call The Recording Secretary called the roll. A quorum was declared present. III. Acceptance of Minutes of October 16, 2000 Regular Meetin9 Mr. Bobich wished to note in the minutes under the hands-free cell phone use (Page 4), where it states that the hands-free cell phone adapters can be purchased from ITS for $30.00, that he shopped around and found that the adapter can be purchased in Target or Office Max at a cost of $15.00 to $25.00. Ms. Baker wished to note under Fire Drills that the Fire Department would be developing a policy for their Department and Chairman Magazine said that the Fire Department was aware of this. Meeting Minutes ~ Safety Committee Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida November 13, 2000 Motion Ms. Mack moved to accept the minutes of the October 16, 2000 meeting as written. Motion seconded by Mr. Ruffolo and unanimously carried. IV. Safety Committee Education and Training Program Chairman Magazine introduced Mr. Paul Viollis, from Corporate RiSk Consulting. Mr. Viollis was~present today to discuss workplace violence and is a nationally- known expert on the subject. He will be one of the City trainers in the upcoming year in conjunction with the City's Professional Development Program. Mr. Viollis presented an overview of safety in the workplace and stated he has been researching violence in the workplace since the mid-1980s while doing graduate work and has a full time posit on with a firm that specializes in this subject. The salient points of his presentation were as follows: ¢' There was no statistical data available until the early 1990s. ¢' Mr. Viollis goes to various areas throughout the Country to help clean up and work as a liaison between his client and local law enforcement after a murder or violent crime has been committed. ¢' Mr. Viollis said that he has written a program to address and train people on how to handle issues before they become incidents. ¢' Although violent crime is down in the United States, violent crime in the workplace has risen exponentially and continues to rise. ¢ Employers don't have the time to look at issues until they ac?ally happen. ¢' The training consists of training employers on how to address conflicts that are taking place today in a productive manner. ,," Employees don't leave their problems at home. -/ Human Resource Departments are limited today in what they can ask potential employees. ,,' 43.1% of workplace violence victims are women. ,," In 1995,.this percentage was 12% and now it is forecasted to be over 55% by the end of next year. ,/' He supports Employee Assistance Programs because they are free and are completely confidential. For an employee who has issues that he brings to work but cannot handle, EAP can help prevent something bad from happening. If an employee files a complaint it is completely confidential. ¢' All threats should be considered serious. ¢' The average jury award five years ago was $196,000. Today it is $2.2 million. · /' One out of every six violent crimes that occur in America occur at work. ¢' It is estimated that one out of four workers will be attacked next year. ,/' 50% of workplace violence does not get reported. ¢' Police react not proact, but there are not enough officers for police to always be proactive. 2 Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida November13,2000 It is the City's responsibility to educate employees to become the City's eyes and ears. Don't think it can't happen to you. Domestic violence is one of the leading causes of workplace violence and has risen over 200% and amounts for 15% of all instances. Some or all of the following characteristics maybe a warning that an employee is having problems that could lead to an act of violence: 1. Male, between the ages of 25-40; 2. Does not handle stress well and gets easily frustrated; 3. Chronic complainer at work; 4. Dissatisfied with work, doesn't like work, but won't look for another job; 5. Socially withdrawn, typically as the result of domestic issues; 6. Lacking in interpersonal skills; 7. Difficulty in accepting criticism and dealing with authority; 8. Experiencing marital or-'family difficulties; 9. Fascination with gunshot a survivalist lifestyle; 10. Anti-management and boasts about getting even plans; 11. Job is the core of their identity; 12. Loner at work; 13. Verbal stress; 14. Doesn't handle change well; 15. Loud outbursts; 16. Impending lay-off, strikes, significant job site changes; 17. Poor employee/supervisor relationship; 18. Brings weapons on municipal property to show friends; 19. Overt signs of depression and/or substance abuse (over 65% of the acts of violence are drug or alcohol related); 20. Signs of~withdrawal, change in appearance, taking personal pictures down, reduced communication level; 21. Romantic obsession with a co-worker, stalking, following, walking people to cars and looking at people in the workplace that makes them uncomfortable; 22. Increase in tardiness, sick leave and requests to depart early; 23. An employee's expression of fear toward another employee; the intimidation factor; or 24. Employee suddenly withdraws all funds from company sponsored deferred compensation plans. Chairman Magazine noted that all these warning characteristics are outlined in the proposed Administrative Policy Manual for Workplace Violence. Mr. Viollis pointed out that one out of three supervisors ignore the above warning signs. Employees need to be better trained in listening skills, conflict resolution and learning how to calm the aggressor. One thing that must be avoided is getting into any type of physical confrontation. The main message behind all this Meeting Minutes '~ Safety Committee Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida November 13, 2000 training is to learn to address the issues of today, before they become an incident. Ms. Weise inquired if Mr. Viollis offered training in verbal de-escalation skills. Ms. Weise feels this would be very helpful for employees who must deal with customers on a day-to-day basis. MS. Weise noted that irate citizens come into the City Manager's Office and that she has to deal with them. In order for her to assist these people, it is necessary for her to first get them to calm down and stop yelling. Mr, Viollis stated that this is included in the violence in the workplace training. Chairman Magazine stated that Mr. Viollis and Ms. Spoerri are making arrangements for Mr. Viollis to come back next year to give the mandatory training for general employees and supervisors. Ms. Weise stated she had concerns about the immediate need for this training for the employees working in Customer Service, who may encounter irate customers on a regular basis. Chairman Magazine suggested that Ms. Weise contact Ms. Spoerri to arrange for this specific training for customer service employees. Mr. Viollis also inquired if the cash handlers in customer service have had training in proper cash handling safety procedures? No one was certain on this. Ms, Weise stated there aro customers coming up to the City Manager's Office angrier than when they walked in the door. Also, Chairman Magazine felt that these customers should not be coming up to the City Manager's Office and should be dealt with in the Customer Service Department. Discussion took place on dealing with angry customers. Ms. Mack pointed out that employees and supervisors need to be trained in following the chain of command. Ms. Mack stated that before anyone goes up to the City Manager's Office from Customer Service, the supervisor of that Department should be dealing with these angry customers first. Mr, Viollis said that a groat many things can be handled at the entry level and that it is just a matter of training. One of the first things an employee must learn is to depersonalize the situation, Chairman Magazine suggested that the next item to be addressed while Mr. Viollis was still present was the Workplace Violence Policy, which had been furnished to the members. V. Old Business I. Workplace Violence Policy (taken out of order) Chairman Magazine asked if any members had any comments, changes or suggestions? Meeting Minutes ~ Safety Committee Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida November 13, 2000 Mr. Egnaczyk inquired under Procedures, Item 1.A (2), if all three steps were necessary. Chairman Magazine replied that all these people must be notified on what is going on. Mr. Bobich suggested changing this to state contact "a supervisor" who could then make the call. Chairman Magazine stated this is a citywide policy and that each Department could make up their own internal S.O.P. Ms. Weise requested that the section be clarified to state that "the Department will set up the chain of command for reporting". Chairman Magazine requested that Ms. Weise furnish the wording for this change. Mr. Viollis also suggested implementing "code words" to alert someone to call 911. Chairman Magazine stated that Customer Service utilizes panic buttons, which immediately goes to dispatch and dispatch notifieS the police. Ms. Baker pointed out that it is important that the Officer needs to know what is happening and how to approach the situation. Mr. Viollis stated that code words could be used for various types of situations, thereby informing the Officer what is taking place and how to handle the situation. Chairman Magazine said he would add some wording on the use of code words in the Manual. It was reported that the security lock on the door from customer service into the first floor of City Hall closes very slowly and allows people to enter the hallway of the first floor without using their passkey. Ms. Weise said she had reported this previously. Mr. Quinn said that he would follow through on this. Someone asked if a "9" was required before dialing 9117 It was determined that the "9" was not necessary. Chairman Magazine said he would follow through with the changes and suggestions and present the revised Policy at the next meeting. Mr. Viollis concluded his presentation. A. Fire Drills Nothing to report B. Safety Newsletter Nothing to report C. "Proud to be a Safe Worker" Awards None D. Departmental Inspections & Safety Meetings 5 Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida November 13, 2000 Chairman Magazine reminded the members to pick up the Inspections and Safety Meetings Reports on their way out. E. Defensive Driver Course Chairman Magazine stated they are looking at a different course, but it would be similar to the previous one offered. He will be meeting with representatives from the Local Safety Council to determine this. Chairman Magazine stated he is looking into getting group insurance rates for automobile insurance for employees and employees who take the defensive driver course would receive an additional discount. Mr. Bobich reported that he has spoken with the Florida Highway Police and he is hopeful that they will be providing their "seatbelt convincer" for the next City Health Fair. Ms. Weise said she contacted Ms. Cheek and she will be placing this on the itinerary. F. Safety Belt Use Project Team Chairman Magazine stated that this is going to be addressed very shortly. G. Incident Review Board Referrals None H. Infection Control Policy Mr. Bobich said he still has some more information to get and would like to come up with an abbreviated, but complete, version. Chairman Magazine suggested Mr. Bobich contact him so that he could provide him with the name of a contact that would have access to many policies. Mr. Bobich planned to review the policy with Chief Ness. Mr. Bobich would also like the City to utilize a laundry service for any employee that would be at risk to exposure for any blood borne pathogen or infectious disease. Ms. Weise asked if the City could be held liable because of something an employee brought home on their clothing and Chairman Magazine stated it could, if the City did not have a program in place to protect the employee and their family. Currently, there is no program in place. The Police Department has a policy for the firing range, but there is nothing for other at risk employees. J. Safety Manual Review Ms. Weise stated that in reviewing the Manual it could be done in two different ways. The Manual could be divided into sections and delegated to various 6 Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida November 13, 2000 members to review or a committee could be formed and to review the Manual, policy by policy. Ms. Weise said she had no preference on how this was done, but it must be on a volunteer basis. She will bring this up again at the next meeting. VI. New Business A. Other - Flu Shots Chairman Magazine noted there have been problems with the supply of the flu serum and said that Ms. Cheek thought that it should be available around November 15th. Ms. Mack was not sure on this because Ms. Cheek had been on vacation. Chairman Magazine stated when the shots are available; they would be for employees only at no charge. He will let everyone know when the shots become available. VII. Announcements Chairman Magazine announced the following Safety Council Training: November 16th, OSHA 10-hour construction course. November 29th, OSHA inspections course. December 6th, Instructor Development Course-Coaching the Lift Truck Operator. VIII. Next Meeting Date: Monday, December t 8, 2000. Chairman Magazine requested that the December 11th meeting date be changed to December 18th. Mr. Ruffolo suggested that the meeting could take place in the Utilities/VVest Water Treatment Plant meeting room, to which everyone agreed. VIII. Adjournment Mr. Bobich moved to adjourn. Respectfully submitted, The meeting properly adjourned at 11:30 a.m. Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (2 tapes) 7