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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 2008-01-01 f.o.,,r- DISPOSITION DATE • Ytar ° TOWN OF ITHACA SAFETY COMMITTEE Friday,January 4, 2008, 8:00 a.m. Public Works Facility 1. Approval of November 30, 2007, Minutes. 2. Review Any Incidents or Accidents. 3. Planning How to Proceed on the Dangerous Intersections Project. ghk DISPOSITION DATE 140p nVi TOWN OF ITHACA Safety Committee January 4, 2008, 8:00 a.m. Present: Fred Noteboom,Judy Drake,Creig Hebdon, and Kristie Rice The meeting started at 8:10 a.m. The November 30, 2007, minutes were approved. Incidents and Accidents There are no incidents or accidents since the last meeting. Dangerous Intersections Creig Hebdon gave the members a spread sheet with the poor site distance intersections that are under the ASHTO recommendations. There may be others, so the Committee asked Jon Munson and Dave Boyes to look at the list and let the Committee know if there are others. The Committee agreed that we need to prioritize these and then make a recommendation to the Public Works Committee. Creig said this findings are based on a car's view that has stopped at the stop bar. Fred Noteboom said he would like to see the spread sheet sorted by Town/Town roads,Town/County roads, and Town/State roads. This would better serve the Committee when prioritizing the work. We would like to put together a letter to the County and the State and asked them to work with us to take care of the intersections that they own. The Committee discussed that traffic counts might also help when recommending the roads to be worked on. There was a discussion regarding how traffic counts get done. Fred said that we have a schedule and the Public Works Department does the counts and the Planning Department keeps the data. This is not working so well after one of the Planning Department staff members left. .. n � 1 The Committee agreed that Creig and Fred would talk to Dan Walker and Kristen Taylor and see what can be done to get the traffic counts useable. Creig will see what traffic counts are available for the roads on his list. The goal will be to get as much data as possible and send it to the Public Works Committee. The Committee will also recommend a way of keeping the dangerous intersection spread sheet updated. Next Meeting: Review Dangerous Intersections and start reviewing the Safety Manual. The safety manual is located on Town Hall's public drive. The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 a.m. DISPOSITION DATE 4/4/ TOWN OF ITHACA SAFETY COMMITTEE Friday, February 1, 2008, 8:00 a.m. Public Works Facility 1. Approval of January 4, 2008, Minutes. 2. Review Any Incidents or Accidents. 3. Discussion on After Hours Security (Door Lock) 4. Review the Dangerous Intersections Project. 5. Begin Review of Chapter 1 of the Safety Manual. ghk DISPOSITION DATE Fi4, TOWN OF ITHACA Safety Committee March 7, 2008, 8:00 a.m. Present: Fred Noteboom,Judy Drake,Jon Munson, Creig Hebdon, and Kristie Rice The meeting started at 8:10 a.m. The January 4, 2008, minutes were approved and there was no meeting in February. Incidents and Accidents One of the Crossing Guards slipped on the ice and fell. He hurt his knee. It was pointed out that the school district shovels and salts the walkway (from Warren Road to Winthrop Drive). The Committee then discussed the Town's policy on snow and ice remove and that the Town's policy is for clear roads. There was a discussion regarding salting versus sanding the roads. After Hours Security—Doors Locked There are two issues here. Staff have concerns regarding the back door (at Town Hall) being unlocked and the door in the hall by the Aurora Room being left open after 4:00 p.m. The door should be closed after 4:00 p.m. Creig Hebdon said that he would start closing it before he goes home at 3:30 p.m. The Committee agreed that the back door should be locked at all times. It was felt that if a meeting was to be held in the Aurora Room during work hours, participants should be using the front doors. The Committee discussed having a door bell at the back door. This did not seem feasible as someone would be constantly interrupted. It was suggested that security cameras be installed in the Court Room and at the doors. There was a suggestion that a buzzer be installed to indicate if the back door was not locked. This topic will be discussed at PEZ and SAC. Y V .b,1 3 4 aI'd Dangerous Intersections Creig rearranged the dangerous intersections spreadsheet into Town/Town roads, Town/County roads,Town/State roads. Fred Noteboom will write a letter to the County and State regarding the intersections that are theirs and share this information with them. Fred will also talk to Henry Eighmey regarding fixing the site distances at intersection that just need brush cut, etc. Miscellaneous Recommendations for the Violence in the Workplace survey include locking the front door (at Town Hall) and lighting the parking lots (Public Works has been done). We will see if Dave Boyes wants to go to the PERMA Conference. Gail Kroll will go to the PERMA regional meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 a.m. DISPOSITION DATE . . -17 TOWN OF ITHACA SAFETY COMMITTEE Friday, April 4, 2008, 8:00 a.m. Public Works Facility 1. Approval of March 7,2008, Minutes. 2. Review Any Incidents or Accidents. 3. Begin Review of Chapter 1 of the Safety Manual. ghk 9.°1k 11) Don't forget to bring your manual!!!! TOWN OF ITHACA Safety Committee April 4, 2008,.8:00 a.m. Present: Fred Noteboom,Judy Drake,Jon Munson, Creig Hebdon, and Kristie Rice The meeting started at 8:10 a.m. The March 7, 2008,minutes were approved. Incidents There was a back injury to report this month. This incident resulted in the employee going to the doctors two times. No further problems. The Committee discussed what happens if an employee gets hurt while on"off" time but in a Town vehicle. This seems to be a gray area: not just for the Town. Updates After meeting with PEZ and SAC, the door near the Aurora Room is now closed. Judy Drake said that it makes a clicking noise when it latches. We will have the maintenance worker look at it. Talking about the security issues at those two meeting has made people much more aware of safety. • Fred said that he has a letter for the City, County, and State regarding the dangerous intersections they should look at. He has decided he would rather meeting with each instead of sending a letter. We have had workers looking at the Town's intersections and taking care of the brush, etc. The Town's PERMA rating if 615 out of 630. C. There was a discussion regarding the safety training that is provided by the Town to new employees and temporary employees. We would like to start having new hires and temps come in the Friday before they start and work from 6:30 a.m. until noon. We will come up with an outline for this training. We will also look into buying some safety training videos. We can also get videos from Cornell Local Roads. The Committee discussed having incentives for no injuries. Chapter 1 of the Safety Manual The Committee discussed the changes and updates that need to be made to the manual. Gail Kroll will make the changes. Judy informed the Committee that although the Town wasn't selected for the 2007 Wellness Award, we did received Honorable Mention. This will be presented at the PERMA Conference on May 22, 2008. The meeting was adjourned at 10:15 a.m. ghk uwr w i lull v� Pi/VA Safety Committee Notes. June 6, 2008 Present: Fred, Judy, Dave, Jon, Kristie Absent: Creig and Gail 1. April minutes -add Dave to minutes for attendance. Type o-The Town's PERMA rating "is" not"if". 4. Staff raised concern of residents walking into work zones and difficulties of controlling public. A member of the public was walking on the road and entered the work zone where equipment was digging and moving. 5. Reschedule July meeting already cancelled due to holiday. August meeting falls on all Town training. Meeting will be Thursday 7/31 at 1:00. Setup for picnic after meeting ends. 6. All Town training to be held before picnic. Training on effective communication. Town Board will be invited. All Town staff to attend. 2. Review incidents - 2 back injuries due to twisting -will continue awareness training. No specific recommendations were made. 7. Judy discussed incentive programs with personnel committee. Seasonal workers program for no injuries. Cannot do monetary incentive under Town law. Another program for public works related to end of year mod rating. Need to create program so can be advertised with employees. That will give them a goal to work for. Need to make sure people don't stop turning in reports to receive incentive. One suggestion is no lost time. This would encourage people to use light duty instead of time out. Use of time cards to track work types has helped keep mod rating down. Mod rating comes out in June. Celebrate in June annually. Seasonal worker emphasis needs to include regular employees as they need to watch out for the seasonal workers. The safety committee recommends the following safety incentive program for Public Works: For seasonal, do a rating on a scale. Tell them about program during orientation so there is a goal to work for. Rating makes it so reporting incidents is not discouraged but encouraged as part of following the safety program. 2 levels of reward -T-shirt plus $15, and T-shirt plus $25 gift cards. For full time employees, this year's goal could be no lost days. This year will give incentive, explain new program and announce goal for next year. Will do range so that incentive can be based on different levels of safety. Better job will equal bigger incentive. Good job will still get incentive. Range will be based on performance level for that year. Supervision and training of seasonal workers will be a component of the performance criteria. Youth will get T-shirts based on rating similar to seasonal. Working supervisors will do rating a few days before end of employment for each youth and seasonal so appropriate incentive can be purchased. Review of rating and explanations will be gone over with seasonal/youth when incentive is given. 8. New seasonal orientation program is going well and seems to be big improvement from past programs. Will evaluate at end of season for reassessment before next year. (add to agenda for discussion in February) 9. Gail went to PERMA conference. Will report next meeting. 10. Judy passed around flyer for T-shirts for accident free job. This might be an idea for future incentive. 11. PW working on catching up on safety training that was missed. Have three topics left to cover. Fred likes doing the training in smaller pieces instead of one long day. It is less boring and more focused. 12. Toolbox training program that was recommended is still not going. Need to figure out how to get that up and running. 2. Review incident-small fire in basement at Town hall involving electronic equipment. Recommend fire extinguishes be added to computer rooms at both buildings. One at TH has been installed. Fred will follow up on one at PW. 13. Post Office fire alarm went off last week. Alarm does not trip the TH alarm. 14. Kristie will schedule fire drill for TH. Fred will schedule for PW. Report at next meeting. 3. Chapter 2 review to be on July agenda. DISPOSITION DATE /4a/wi Q.¢.. 1iA 4 TOWN OF ITHACA SAFETY COMMITTEE Thursday,July 31,2008, 1:00 p.m. Public Works Facility 1. Approval of June 6, 2008, Minutes. 2. Review Any Incidents or Accidents. 3. Review PESH Inspection 4. Report on PERMA Conference 5. Continue Working on Chapter 1 of the Safety Manual. ghk DISPOSITION DATE I TOWN OF ITHACA Safety Committee July 31, 2008, 1:00 p.m. Present: Fred Noteboom,Judy Drake,Jon Munson, and Kristie Rice The June 6, 2008, minutes were approved. Judy Drake said that the Committee needs to spend more time on the incentive programs. She felt that a program for Public Works Department employees should be different from the Town Hall program. This will be put on the next agenda. PERMA Conference Gail Kroll attended this year's conference. One of the things that was discussed at the conference was a relatively new law (2006) regarding employers supplying sun screen to employees who work in the sun more than 5 (five) hours a week. The Committee decided to put up signs regarding the new law and supply at least one bottle of sun screen lotion. This needs to be added to the new hire/seasonal orientation. PESH Inspection The Town had a PESH (Public Employee Safety and Health) inspection recently. Fred Noteboom reviewed the citations we received. The Committee agreed that the Town needs to find another fire extinguisher (inspection) company. Fred said that he would like to put an article in the employee newsletter regarding the inspection and the internal inspections we do. Judy suggested putting this in a board report and put which ones were abated and/or in progress. Chapter 1 (of the Safety Manual) Changes have been made to Chapter 1, so Committee needs to read it over. The section on"Violence in the Work Place" needs to be written. Judy will do this using the description for the Personnel manual and coming up with procedures. The Meeting was adjourned at 2:40 p.m. ghk DIS;'DSITION DATE PP/ TOWN OF ITHACA SAFETY COMMITTEE Friday, September 5,2008, 8:00 a.m. Public Works Facility 1. Approval of July 31, 2008, Minutes. 2. Review Any Incidents or Accidents. 3. Review"Violence in the Workplace" section of Chapter 1. 4. Make Changes to Chapter 1, as necessary. 5. Discussion on Incentive Programs for the Town. 6. Discussion on Budget for Incentive Programs. ghk 411/1 TOWN OF ITHACA Safety Committee September 5, 2008, 8:00 a.m. Present: Fred Noteboom,Judy Drake,Jon Munson, Dave Boyes, and Kristie Rice The meeting began at 8:10 a.m. The July 31, 2008, minutes were approved. PPE Sheet Gail Kroll explained that one of the PESH violations was not having a "Personal Protective Equipment(PPE) Requirements for in the Field" sheet. There was actually one started in 2007 but never expanded on. It has been updated and will be added to the safety manual as an appendix to the PPE section. The Committee discussed having a separate one for the employees down at Town Hall. Kristie Rice will work on one for Town Hall. Incidents and Accidents There were none. Violence in the Work Place Section of Manual There were some spelling errors; other than that it looked good. There was a discussion regarding adding that people should call 911 if they feel they are being threatened. It was felt that some people might feel like they should call a supervisor first. Changes to Chapter 1 There are no other changes. We will start reviewing Chapter 2. Gail handed out copies of Chapter 2 to members. Judy informed the Committee that the Town had its annual Workers Comp. audit and it looks as thought we might get an$8,000 credit. Incentive Programs First, the Committee talked about where to budget for incentive rewards. The places that Judy Drake felt could be appropriate were: Workers Comp., Risk Retention, and Personal Protective Equipment. The Committee felt that PPE was not the place to take it out of because it would not related to personal protective equipment. Fred Noteboom asked how it would be related to Risk Retention. Judy said that it could be related to wellness and some of the workers comp payments come from here. Also the goal is to reduce accidents. Judy thought that having a "line item" under the Risk Retention account would be appropriate. She will talk to Al Carvill about this. We could have a line item P for Conference/Training and one for Incentives. Judy will put together a policy. The Committee felt that we should have separate incentives for youth, seasonal, and permanent employees. The Committee decided that the youth would receive a t-shirt. The Committee felt that the seasonal employees should receive a gift card. They also felt that the card should be in monetary increments according to how long they were with the Town. The Committee was not sure what to do for the permanent employees. One idea was to have extra incentive if an employee comes up with an idea for better safety in the work place. We also felt that maybe a gift card or gas card might be good. We will review this and Judy's written policy at the next meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 9:35 a.m. ghk