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Minutes 10-16-00MINUTES OF THE SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD IN THE RESTAURANT AT THE LINKS OF BOYNTON BEACH BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2000 AT '10:00 A.M. PRESENT Chuck Magazine, Chairman Mark Bobich Bob Borden Bill Coup Wendy Danish Tom Egnaczyk Richard Fiege Steve Lulkin Barbara Madden Eugene Ruffolo Sharon Tierney Carisse Weise, Vice Chair Risk Management Utilities Admin/EWTP Fire Library Police Golf Course Facilities Recreation City Clerk's Office Utilities/VVWTP ITS City Manager ABSENT Dorothy Mack Dominic DeMauro Phyllis Dixon Mike Rumpf Norm Turner Human Resources Warehouse Communications Planning Parks I. Call to Order Chairman Magazine called the meeting to order at 10:02 a.m. II. Roll Call The Recording Secretary Called the roll. A quorum was declared present. III. Acceptance of Minutes of September 11, 2000 Regular Meeting Motion Mr. Bobich moved to accept the minutes of the September 11, 2000 meeting as written. MotiOn seconded by Mr. Fiege and unanimously carried. Meeting Minutes ~ Safety Committee Meeting October 16, 2000 IV. 'Safety Committee Education and Traininq Pro.qram None V. Old Business Chairman Magazine announced that Richard Fiege is now in charge of Facilities. A. Fire Drills None to report. B. Safety Newsletter Not addressed C. "Proud to be a Safe Worker" Award None D. Departmental Inspections and Safety Meetings Chairman Magazine distributed the monthly reports for the departmental inspections and safety meetings. If there are any inspections or meeting dates omitted, please contact Chairman Magazine. E. Defensive Driver Course It is now three years since the initial defensive driver course was held and people who first took the course will now have to take it again. Chairman Magazine reported that the Safety Council has a new program, which is an improved version of their old program, and he will be following through on this. This program is mandatory for all drivers of City vehicles and employees who use their own vehicles on City business. Mr. Bobich stated that he has the Operation Lifesaver Video and would like this incorporated into the defensive driver course. Chairman Magazine suggested that this be shown at the departmental level during the safety meetings. Mr. Bobich agreed with this procedure. He noted that he will be taking the appropriate training course early next year and could bring the video into the departments after he completes the training. Mr. Bobich stated that the video is approximately 20 minutes long and then there is 20 minutes of.discussion. The video can be shown on a monthly basis until all departments have viewed it. 2 Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Meeting October 16, 2000 Assistant Fire Marshal Borden arrived at the meeting and Chairman Magazine inquired if there are any fire drills to report. Assistant Fire Marshal Borden had none to report, but stated they are working on scheduling fire drills once each year in every City building. Chairman Magazine reported that he would be meeting with Bill DeBeck, Deputy Fire Chief Steve Gale and representatives from the Engineering Department to discuss the fire alarm system. F. Safety Belt Use Project Team Chairman Magazine noted that he continues to see employees driving throughout the City not wearing seat belts and this is going to have to be addressed. If this practice continues, employees will be pulled over and they will be turned into the Department Supervisors for disciplinary action. G. Incident Review Board Referrals None VI. NEW BUSINESS A. Infection Control Policy Mr. Bobich said he had planned to have some recommendations ready for today's meeting, but had computer problems. He will have some recommendations for next month's meeting. B. Workplace ViolenCe Policy Vice Chair Weise reported that she recently attended a Florida Institute 'of Government seminar and had an opportunity to speak with representatives from other cities. She noted that Delray Beach and Pompano Beach both have zero violence tolerance policies. Vice Chair Weise was advised to contact their Human Resource Departments in order to obtain information on their policies and' she will follow through On this. C. Safety Policies Review Chairman Magazine will diScuss this with Vice Chair Weise. VII. New BuSiness A. Damaged Vehicles Turn in for Repairs Chairman Magazine noted that there are several City vehicles that are being operated after they have been involVed in accidents or were damaged and are now unsafe. It is important that all vehicles be checked before being taken out. 3 Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Meeting October 16, 2000 The League of Cities has a policy that if a municipality reports damage to a vehicle after 60 days have elapsed, they will not cover it. The City is going to look into implementing a program that damage to a vehicle must be reported to Risk Management within 60 days. If it is not reported within this time, the Department will be responsible for the damage. Further, if vehicle maintenance determines that the vehicle is unsafe to operate, the vehicle will be pulled off the road. Mr. Fiege stated that City policy required that damage to all City property must be reported immediately and felt 60 days was too much time. Chairman Magazine said that 60 days was standard in the insurance industry. Members discussed what would be an appropriate amount of time for reporting damage. Vice Chair Weise noted that people have to report accidents immediately. Chairman Magazine would like it stated that it must be reported to Risk Management, which is the supervisor's responsibility, within a specified period of time. The policy would remain that the supervisor must be notified immediately. Mr. Fiege suggested that the policy should be that any accident or damage be reported within two weeks to Risk Management. Mr. Egnaczyk said that it should include the reporting of any damage to vehicles and equipment. Vice Chair Weise inquired if there was a safety checklist within the departments for their vehicles? There is a daily checklist for operators of heavy equipment. Chairman Magazine stated that everyone was provided with a safety checklist for vehicles that was included with the packets for the safety inspections. Vice Chair Weise had not been aware that the Safety Coordinators are responsible for checking the pool cars for their department, which Chairman Magazine agreed was the policy. Hands Free Cell Phone Use Chairman Magazine gave a demonstration of a hands2free cell phone adapter, which is available through the City's ITS Department at a cost of $30.00. Chairman Magazine said that they are available for various cell phones and can be plugged into the jack that hooks into the car lighter. It was also noted that~ these adapters can be purchased in almost any store that deals with cell phones. Flu Shots An inquiry about flu shots being given out this year was made and Mr. Lulkin said they were having difficulty getting the flu shots because there is a big shortage of the vaccine. Chairman Magazine felt that the Senior Center should be eligible because they serve a high-risk sector of the community. Chairman Magazine said he would follow through on this with, Human Resources because they had handled this in the past. 4 Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Meeting October 16, 2000 Chairman Magazine noted that there is a shortage of the flu vaccine, but it is anticipated by the end of November or early December there should be sufficient vaccine available for everyone. Right now, it is being recommended that only the high-risk people receive the shot early in October. High risks are considered to be the elderly and young children. An nouncements The Safety Council of Palm Beach County has the following workshops scheduled: Coaching the Forklift Operator scheduled for October 18, 2000 at 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Safety Council in West Palm Beach. Managing Workers' Compensation scheduled for October 25, 2000 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Piccadilly Cafeteria. Chairman Magazine reported that the Palm Beach County Safety Council is breaking away from the National Safety Council, which is happening with other local State Safety Councils as well. However, all the same training and videos will still be available. Assistant Fire Marshal Borden thanked Pam Webb for the flow charts on the incident reporting. Vice Chair Weise brought to the attention of the members that there is safety catalog, which has a CPR Pack for sale that includes information and accessories, suCh as a rescue breather and rescue gloves. Assistant Fire Marshal Borden noted that the City has these available through the warehouse. Many employees don't know that they are available and it was suggested that Assistant Fire Marshal Borden send out e-mail to the departments advising them of the availability of rescue breathers and gloves. Mr. Bobich suggested putting this in the newsletter and Chairman Magazine asked Assistant Fire Marshal Borden to prepare something on this and send it to him for inclusion in the next newsletter. Chairman Magazine noted that the Risk Manager for Palm Beach Gardens sponsors a "bagel-be-safe breakfast" for city employees on a monthly basis. A speaker is brought in every month to discuss a different topic and all department employees are invited. Palm Beach Gardens is smaller than Boynton Beach so that this is possible, but Chairman Magazine suggested this could be done quarterly on a departmental basis within the department itself. Also, it has to be determined that the supervisors will give their staff time off to attend. Chairman Magazine will look into 'this further. 5 Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Meeting October 16, 2000 VIII. Next Meeting Date: Monday, November 13, 2000 at '10:00 a.m. IX. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting properly adjourned at 10:50 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (two tapes) 6