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Minutes 10-12-10 MINUTES OF THE BOYNTON BEACH SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2010 AT 9:00 A.M. IN CITY HALL CONFERENCE ROOM B, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT: Mark Bobich, Chairperson Ray Altman, Vice-Chairperson Catherine Cherry, Secretary Chuck Magazine Bevis Pigott Warren Bazemore Mike Dauta Jody Rivers Jeremy Davis Samantha Powers Safety Administrator Fire Rescue City Clerk Risk Management Utilities Public Works FinancelWarehouse Recreation & Parks Golf Course ITS/GIS ABSENT: Pam Welsh/Carisse Lejeune Michael Rumpf/Chris Mitchell Maibet Rosado/Dorothy Mack Michael Naughton/Karen Abramson Barbara ScottlLt Jeffery Katz City Manager Development Human Resources Library Police/Code Compliance I. Call to Order Chair Bobich called the meeting to order at 9:06 a.m. II. Roll Call Roll call was taken. A quorum was present. III. Acceptance of Minutes of 9/14/2010 regular meeting Motion A motion was made by Mr. Magazine to approve the minutes as written. Mr. Dauta seconded the motion that passed unanimously. IV. Safety Committee Education & Training - tbd Chair Bobich explained he had a few discussions with Departments regarding irate customers, especially with the state of the economy. He had a short excerpt of a video entitled Communicating with Irate Customers, from the Safety Council. He also had the Street Smart video series which encompassed videos on Diffusing the Explosive Customer, Managing Employee Hostility or Responding to Violence at Work. 1 Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Boynton Beach, FL October 12, 2010 The video emphasized it was important to recognize a complaint was an opportunity to save an important customer. It was more expensive to obtain new customers than it was to retain them. When an irate call comes in, turn the situation around. Eleven rules of good business were: )0> A complaint was an opportunity to do a better job )0> We depend on customers )0> Customers are not an interruption of work, they are the purpose of our work )0> A customer does us a favor when they call )0> A customer is part of their business )0> A customer is not a cold statistic )0> A customer is not someone to argue with )0> A customer brings us their wants )0> A customer is deserving of courteous and attentive treatment )0> A customer is the person who makes it possible to pay our salary )0> A customer is our lifeline Mr. Magazine explained years ago they brought in a Human Resource representative from the Ritz Carlton to discuss customer service the Ritz Carlton way. Mr. Magazine explained he was impressed with how the Ritz Carlton handled customer service. It was the premier program in the world and the best customer service program he had ever seen. The videos were available in the Risk Management office to interested departments, v. Old Business A. Fire Drills None. B. Proud to be a Safe Worker Awards None. C. Departmental Inspections & Safety Meetings Chair Bobich announced he was receiving the Departmental Inspections and Safety Meetings and the bulk of the reports were coming in electronically. Submitting them electronically was in keeping with the City's Green Initiatives. It provided less filing for staff and there were only a few departments that needed to issue the reports electronically. 2 Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Boynton Beach, FL October 12, 2010 D. Incident Review Board (IRB) Referrals Chair Bobich reported they have not had any Incident Reports. The number of the IRB meetings has been reduced over the years. E. Electrical Flame Resistant Uniforms & PPE Update - TABLED Chair Bobich explained one more meeting was needed for the uniforms. The item remained on the table. F. Drug Free Policy Statement (HR - Maibet Rosado) - TABLED The Drug Free Policy statement was still being worked on by Human Resources. Accordingly, the item remained on the table. VI. New Business A. Safety Manual - Banning use of hand-held cell phones while driving Chair Bobich discussed banning the use of cell phones while driving, and distributed an article on the practice. The current Safety Manual has a policy outlining City employees should not use cell phones while driving. They should use hands-free devices when operating a vehicle. There was an exception made for Fire and Police. Mr. Magazine announced the Florida Highway Patrol recently instituted a ban on the use of handheld cell phones while driving. Additionally, the Palm Beach and Broward County Sheriff Offices were considering similar bans. Mr. Magazine proposed to delete the section in the Safety Manual allowing the use of handheld cell phones by emergency responders such as the Fire and Police Departments. The Police Department was given a specific invitation to attend the Safety Committee meeting to discuss it, but a representative was not present. Mr. Magazine saw the article on October 5th and by that afternoon, he received a call from the City Manager about the same article. He inquired how many of the members see City employees, including fire and police, using cell phone while driving and asserted it was problematic. Discussion followed whether there was any data regarding accidents which occurred due to the use and it was noted the statewide police report did not include the information. Mr. Magazine would attempt, when there were motor vehicle accidents, to view the diary of the driver's cell phone to see if the City-owned phone was in use at the time of the accident. It was pointed out emergency personnel have radios they could use, but the Police Department still requested the exemption. Mr. Magazine disagreed with the request. 3 Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Boynton Beach, FL October 12, 2010 During emergency situations, the Police use Dispatch. Cell phone usage was distracting while driving. Mr. Magazine was also concerned about the comments made by the Police Chief about using computers while they are driving. Mr. Magazine explained when the laptop computers were first installed in the vehicles, he met with the department and wanted a cutoff so when the vehicle was in motion, the computer would not work. The Police asserted the policy indicated when the vehicle was in motion, they were not supposed to be used. The Police also claimed to use hot buttons to check to see if someone had an outstanding warrant or other issue. Mr. Magazine explained one of the biggest issues with motor vehicle accidents, nationwide, was distracted driving. That was why the Florida Highway Patrol was instituting the policy. Even they could not document the correlation between the cell phones usage when driving and accident rates, but felt it was important enough to develop a policy. The members discussed a hands-free cell phone was a little better. Officers use their radios either via a console in the car or by pushing a button on their radio. Mr. Magazine recommended the Safety Committee remove the exemption from the Safety Manual and initiate a City-wide policy. The FHP was setting the standard for the State and the City needed to adopt it. Other states have the ban and the Transportation Secretary was calling for a nationwide ban on cell-phone use when driving. The cost of a hands- free device for every police officer would be less than the cost of one accident. Discussion followed the Police should be present to discuss the issue. Vice Chair Altman could not think of any reason when a fire truck or ambulance driver would ever be on a cell phone while driving because there was an officer sitting next to him. He commented he could understand a Battalion Chief might not say something on the air which could endanger his crew during a situation and acknowledged there were times the cell phones could be used discreetly. Vice Chair Altman did not know the reason for the exemption in the first place and agreed that giving the Police the chance to respond would be appropriate. It was requested the City Manager direct a Police representative to attend the Safety Meeting and discuss the matter. Mr. Magazine commented he had sent an email to Chief Immler inviting him or any staff to come to the meeting, but they chose not to attend. He emphasized they cannot use the hand-held cell phones - only the hands free which may not be an issue at all. After further discussion there was consensus this item would be tabled until the Police Department attended the next meeting. It was noted cell phone usage can be tracked. It was also noted the FHP has a straight drive on the highway and was not usually involved in City driving. The risk factors were different. 4 Meeting Minutes Safety Committee Boynton Beach, FL October 12, 2010 B. Departmental Safety Issues Mr. Magazine appreciated departments consulting with the Safety Administrator. He expressed for a long time, the City did not have the safety component in Risk Management and the City was benefitting from it. C. Claims Cost Analysis - TABLED Mr. Magazine advised this item would be discussed at the next meeting and he thought the members would be impressed with City's record versus County and State records. D. Other VII. Announcements Chair Bobich advised the meeting would remain at 9 a.m. on Tuesdays. VIII. Next Meeting Date The next meeting would be held on Tuesday, November 9, 2010, at 9:00 a.m. IX. Adjournment There being no further business to discuss the meeting properly adjourned at 9:38 a.m. (JCttkl!Al/)c~ ~ kJJ!J.J" Catherine Cherry - 0 Recording Secretary 110210 5