Loading...
Minutes 09-14-09 MINUTES OF THE SAFETY COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING HELD ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2009, AT 10:00 A.M. IN THE FIRE/POLICE TRAINING ROOM, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT: Mark Bobich, Chair Ray Altman, Vice-Chair Catherine Cherry, Secretary Chuck Magazine Karen Abramson Jeremy Davis Maibet Rosado Samantha Powers Grace Wilson Bevis Pigott Safety Administrator Fire Rescue City Clerk Risk Management Library Golf Course Human Resources ITS/GIS Public Works Utilities ABSENT: Pam Welsh/Carisse LeJeune Rodney Vicki/Julie Alibrandi Mike Rumpf/Chris Mitchell Barbara Scott Jody Rivers/Tom Balfe City Manager FinancelWarehouse Development Police/Code Compliance Recreation and Parks I. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m. II. RollCall Roll call was taken. A quorum was present. 11/. Acceptance of Minutes of 07/13/2009 regular meeting Motion A motion was made by Vice Chair Altman to approve the minutes as written. Mr. Davis seconded the motion that unanimously passed. IV. Safety Committee Education and Training Program Chair Bobich deferred the training program until the Safety Manual review was complete. 1 Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Boynton Beach, Florida September 14,2009 V. Old Business A. Fire Drills Vice Chair Altman reported Jim Macintyre was retiring in two weeks. Mr. Mcintyre had indicated City Hall was the only area pending fire drills. Now that coordinators have been trained, Mr. Mcintyre wanted to see the departments run their own fire drills and bring the results back to the Safety Committee. A discussion followed at what intervals fire drills should be held. The requirement was, at a minimum, annually for areas with low public traffic. High traffic areas should be quarterly or monthly. Motion Vice Chair Altman moved that in public areas, they hold quarterly fire drills and in administrative areas, they hold them annually. Mr. Magazine seconded the motion that unanimously passed. Mr. Magazine pointed out the fire department needs to be present to monitor the drill. Vice Chair Altman explained that was the idea of training individuals to hold the drills, otherwise it would be too much of a burden to have the fire inspectors at every fire drill. The procedure is in the safety manual. The Safety Coordinators would be held responsible. City Hall would be handled separately. The West Wing would be handled by Development. The Main City Hall and the east wing should be handled as a unit, with the Police handling their own drills. There should be a schedule of accountability. The drills have to be unannounced. It was suggested they be done within the fiscal year, commencing October 1, 2009. In the City Hall Main lobby, the alarm sounds for various reasons. If the alarm sounds, that would count as an unannounced fire drill. It was noted some departments were not represented. Alternates would be asked to assist in fire drills even if it is at an offsite location from their normal work area. There were discussion about notifying dispatch when planning an unannounced fire drill because the fire department must be present to reset the alarm. Vice Chair Altman would get clarification from the Fire Marshall and the item was tabled to the next meeting. B. Proud to be a Safe Worker Awards Mr. Pigott submitted paperwork for Daniel Spooner from Utilities. Mr. Spooner was driving to work. A vehicle about two or three cars ahead of him on Boynton Beach Boulevard flipped. Mr. Spooner stopped and dialed 911. An off-duty paramedic was also present and they were able to extract the driver from the vehicle. It was noted the man was wearing his seatbelt and was unharmed. Mr. Pigott would provide a copy of the paperwork. C. Departmental Inspections & Safety Meetings Chair Bobich thanked the members for emaiJing their departmental inspections and meetings to him. 2 Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Boynton Beach, Florida September 14, 2009 D. Defensive Driver Course Mr. Magazine advised Risk Management was working on a new schedule for the course for the upcoming months. There were two versions of the test. One version was narrated by Mr. Magazine and the other one without narration. Two hundred employees took the course and the feedback has been positive. The schedules have been sent to the department heads. If there was a question regarding whether an employee needed to take the course, Risk Management can advise. The schedule will be posted on the shared drive. E. Incident Review Board Referrals None. It was noted two meetings a month were usually scheduled to review incidents: however, they have had to cancel meetings since there were none. F. Electrical Flame Resistant Uniforms This item remained on the table. G. Safety Manual- 2010 Edition Chair Bobich will distribute the manual when there is a final draft. The safety coordinators were encouraged to update their manuasl. The City has a Cell Phone Policy. Risk Management was working with the Police Department on a no texting policy. The State has a proposal to make it illegal to text while driving or not using hands free equipment. Congress was looking to pass a bill to that effect. State not willing to abide by the regulation will lose 25% of their federal highway funds. The members were requested to submit their updates to Chair Bobich by September 24, 2009. Staff would like to send out a draft version next week. VI. New Business A. Departmental Safety Issues Human Resources advised they received a complaint from an employee who feels her work area is unsafe and too small. The employee wanted to know what procedure the employee should follow. Mr. Magazine explained the employee should bring the matter to the attention of their supervisor. After that, Risk Management could be contacted. An inspection could be conducted and changes recommended. There were several PowerPoint Presentations on the shared drive that may be of assistance. B. H1N1 Virus Chair Bobich encouraged employees that do not feel well to stay home. The City has distributed information about the H1 N1 Virus and will remind the members that flu shots were scheduled by the City. 3 Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Boynton Beach, Florida September 14, 2009 It was noted the City has a policy that if a supervisor feels the employee is sick, they could send the employee home. The employee would use sick time. This aspect was debated by the members as supervisors do not have the medical training to make the determination whether someone may be having an allergy attack as opposed to sneezing because of a flu. It was noted allergies would not cause a fever wherein a flu would. As it pertains to the H1N1 virus, the virus is not predominately transmitted through the air; rather, it is transmitted through touching. Employees were encouraged to use hand antiseptic and soap and water frequently. The length of time needed for hand washing to be effective in preventing transmission of pathogens is equivalent to the time it takes to sing one stanza of the song Happy Birthday. The authority of the supervisors to send ill employees home was discussed further and it was noted supervisors would need to use the authority intelligently. This policy allowing the supervisor to send employees home was a new policy issued in August, 2009. C. Other None. VII. Announcements VIII. Next Meeting Date: Monday, October 12,2009, 10:00 a.m. The next meeting would be held at the Civic Center on Monday, October 12, 2009. IX. Adjournment There being no further business to discuss the meeting properly adjourned at 10:47 a.m. ~rltI.ti~ L/UJL ~u~ I L Catherine Cherry ~-O Recording Secretary 4