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Minutes 08-11-08 MINUTES OF THE SAFETY COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING HELD ON MONDAY, AUGUST 11, 2008, AT 10:00 A.M. IN THE FIRE/POLICE TRAINING ROOM, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA Present: Ray Altman, Acting Chair Chuck Magazine, Vice Chair Catherine Cherry-Guberman, Secretary Angelena Michael Mike Naughton (arrived at 10:10 a.m.) Maibet Rosado Jody Rivers Mike Rumpf Samantha Sidlower Barbara Scott Bevis Pigott Fire Rescue Risk Management City Clerk Public Works Library Human Resources Recreation and Parks Development ITS/GIS Police/Code Compliance Utilities Absent: Mark Bobich Pam Welsh/Carisse LeJeune Julie Alibrandi/Rodney Vicki Eric Falstad/Jeremy Davis Safety Administrator City Manager Finance Golf Course I. Call to Order Ray Altman, Acting Chair, called the meeting to order at 10:04 a.m. II. Roll Call The Recording Secretary called the roll and determined a quorum was present. III. Acceptance of Minutes of July 14, 2008 regular meeting Mr. Altman made a change to the minutes on page 4 as follows: The wood was supposed to be fire resistant and would be used for a burn exercise; however, the wood they were to burn grew mold. On page 3, the following change was made: By doing so, discounts were offered to municipalities emplovees on their personal policies; however, there would be no further discounts and and the discounts would remain. There tt:\efe were no statistics available 1 Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Boynton Beach, Florida August 11, 2008 to see if there was a correlation between the time the accident occurred from the time the employee took the course. Motion Mr. Magazine moved to approve the minutes as amended. Ms. Rivers seconded the motion that unanimously passed. IV. Safety Committee Education and Training Program - Safety Video A safety video regarding back injury prevention and safe lifting skills was shown. The video explained: ~ 20% of all backaches were caused by inflammation such as arthritis. ~ 10% were due to actual back injuries and other miscellaneous causes. ~ 70% were caused by degeneration of the spinal disc. ~ Aging of the spinal disc material caused the most trouble and could cause extreme pain from routine body movements. The video explained each disc was a pad with a gelatin-like substance between them, which acts as a shock absorber. The spinal cord, which is a protected bundle of nerves, branches out between the vertebrae. This was important because the backbone must bend and flex without any discs moving out of alignment. It was explained it was easy to wear out a disc with normal movement; however, discs could wear out or be damaged by twisting, turning, and bending. The video suggested back pain suffers should pay attention to their posture when they were, standing, sitting, working and sleeping. Regular exercise was encouraged which would promote flexibility of the muscles and overall good health. Muscle strains could still occur and improper overstretching could strain or tear ligaments. When lifting overhead objects, employees should place the object on a table or platform and then take the object from there and put it on the shelf. Arching the back during lifting was noted as being incorrect. The back works on a lever principal and has a 10: 1 ratio. If the object being lifted weighs ten pounds, it takes 100 pounds of pressure on the back to lift the object, which places much pressure on the discs. If the object is incorrectly lifted, the object places even more pressure on the back and ligaments. which is why the legs should be bent and the individual in a squatting position when beginning to lift. Keeping the object close to the body and having a good palm grip on it was suggested, as was lifting the object slowly. Anything that could be used to provide additional support to the back would be helpful. When lifting items in awkward positions, such as an automotive engine part from a vehicle, employees should place their legs against the vehicle fender, thereby reducing 2 Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Boynton Beach, Florida August 11, 2008 the pressure on the back. Twisting the back was pointed out as being dangerous and employees were advised it only takes one wrong movement to cause an injury. Employees were encouraged to practice safe lifting all the time. Back injuries could be prevented, but only the individual could take control over their own well being. Mr. Altman had copies of the DVD for any departments needing information for their employees. V. Old Business A. Fire Drills The Recreation and Parks Department also held numerous fire drills. ./ On June 7 J 2008 and July 1, 2008 a fire drill was held at the Denson Pool. ./ On July 24, 2008, a fire drill was held at the Art Center. ./ On July 18, 2008, a drill was held at the Sims Center. ./ On July 28,2008, a fire drill was held at the Hester Center. ./ The Tennis Center held a fire drill in June. Ms. Rivers advised the only facility that had not conducted a drill was the Civic Center because they had trouble scheduling one. Vice Chair Magazine noted Mr. Bobich attended a drill at the Senior Center and reported there was a problem getting the attendees to leave the restrooms. There had also been a problem previously reported at Intracoastal Park when some attendees did not want to leave their card game. Vice Chair Magazine thanked Recreation and Parks for their efforts in fire drill safety. It was also noted employees at Bethesda Hospital had received instruction in fire extinguisher safety. Mr. Altman read notes prepared by Jim Macintyre, Fire Protection Engineer, which indicated the Recreation and Parks Department fire drills were conducted in an orderly, timely and efficient manner. He further commented it was important to make sure all doors were closed behind staff as they exited the building. He advised, on a personal note, he was in a thrift shop when there was smoke in the store. The Riveria Beach Fire Department arrived, but people continued to shop in spite of the smoke. Vice Chair Magazine reported during a conference, he was at a restaurant in a large office building and just as they were getting ready to eat their food, the alarm sounded. The conference attendees made sure the patrons and staff vacated the premises. Similar to the incidents listed above, when there was a shooting at the mall, people did not want to stop shopping. B. Proud to be a Safe Worker Awards 3 Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Boynton Beach, Florida August 11, 2008 None. C. Departmental Inspections & Safety Meetings Mr. Altman explained all departments had been requested to review the Departmental Inspections and Safety Meetings to ensure the meetings they held matched the records on the Shared Drive. He advised there was a discrepancy with the Fire Department meetings. The Fire Department conducts quarterly safety meetings, which were not reflected. Vice Chair Magazine explained it was important to submit the paperwork for the meetings to receive credit for them. The information was contained on the Shared Drive, under Safety. D. Defensive Driver Course 1. Solid Waste drivers, special class (not yet requested) This item would be removed from the agenda. 2. Frequency from every 3 years to every 2 years (Table) Vice Chair Magazine requested feedback from the departments regarding changing the frequency of taking the course from every three years to every two years. There were no objections to changing the course requirements to two years. Vice Chair Magazine advised he would make a recommendation to the City Manager to make the change. Motion Ms. Rosado moved to change the course requirement frequency to every two years. Vice Chair Magazine seconded the motion that unanimously passed. E. Incident Review Board Referrals None. F. Near Miss Accident Reporting System - Fire (Altman) Mr. Altman explained he discussed this item with Chair Bobich and it was agreed that since the item was on hold due to pending issues with the computer system and confidentiality, this item would be removed from the agenda. G. Fire Alarm System in City Hall Complex - Status (Table) Vice Chair Magazine reported there were meetings scheduled for this month and next month regarding upgrading the alarm system in City buildings. He also advised he 4 Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Boynton Beach, Florida August 11, 2008 would keep Ms. Rivers apprised of the matter as it pertained to the various park facilities. H. Other At the last meeting, Commercial Drivers Licenses (CDL) physicals were discussed and there appeared to be some confusion in different departments regarding whose physicians would conduct the physicals. Vice Chair Magazine explained the physician to perform the exams was a City appointed physician from U.S. HealthWorks. Employees cannot go to their personal physicians for the physicals; they must be done by the City's official doctor. In some instances, if the City doctor had a question, he could contact the employee's personal physician, but the final determination of whether the employee passed the physical was made by the City's doctor. He explained forms were distributed to employees and he urged all department heads to ensure their employees were given correct information. The physicals would be administered every two years, and for new hires - upon inception. The drivers were being tested and it was hoped the physicals would be completed within the next few months. Employees should contact U.S. HealthWorks to schedule an appointment as they were allotting blocks of time to accommodate the exams. Employees were discouraged from showing up unannounced for physicals since it would slow the process. VI. New Business A. Departmental Safety Issues Vice Chair Magazine announced there was a listing of videos available for viewing on the Shared Drive. He requested if a department had specific needs and there were no materials available, to contact him and they would obtain it as they had access to different resources. He explained the City was reviewing specific claim activities and recurring claims. The department would be looking at individual departments, and urged that once needs have been identified, they should contact the Risk Management department. Mr. Altman also explained there were safety materials available on the internet and if a member viewed something that may be useful to others, to contact Risk Management with the information. B. Other None. VII. Announcements None. 5 Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Boynton Beach, Florida August 11, 2008 VIII. Next Meeting Date: Monday, September 8,2008,10:00 a.m. IX. Adjournment Motion Vice Chair Magazine moved to adjourn. Ms. Michael seconded the motion that unanimously passed. The meeting adjourned at 10:36 a.m. ~~rry~ Recording Secretary 08/20/08 6