Safety Committee Meeting: February 17

Niagara's first Safety Committee meeting of the new year took place on 2/17/22 and opened with a presentation from a Saf-Gard representative, the vendor contracted by the agency to provide our safety boots. Among the topics she covered were the 5 covered brands, the different categories of protection and the company key to identify these various classifications in their catalog, the 3 methods of purchase, the company's comfort guarantee, and return policy. Snapshots of this presentation can be found on our Safety Standards page by clicking the Safety Committee link to navigate to all past and present Safety Committee Meeting minutes and available PowerPoints.

The agency portion of the safety meeting kicked off with an overview of safety initiatives that have commenced so far this year, including facility inspections conducted by Andy and Kassidy at all park work locations; lifeguard recruitment; annual injury and illness reports; Stop-The-Bleed training; and the ongoing safety surveys to assess regional needs.

Some of the resulting data from the safety surveys completed and returned to Andy to date included the safety of park equipment, the wear and tear on joints and connections; adherence to safety procedures and practices including proper PPE and substance exposure prevention; personal acts presenting unsafe/unauthorized activity; Sufficiency of light, air, temperature and humidity levels; noise pollution, ergonomics, and the presence of slip/trip/fall hazards; as well as building conditions, structural safety, housekeeping, unobstructed exits, fire protection and electrical safety.

Niagara Region Safety is asking for volunteers to the following safety sub-committees: Fire Extinguisher Inspector Committee; CPR Committee; Playground Inspector Committee; and Equipment Operator Committee. For explanations on the descriptions and expectations of these committees and the training provided please refer to the Meeting PowerPoint on the Safety Standards: Safety Committee page on our CSEA Local 104 website.

The Following trainings will be rolling out this year, many necessary for the operation of equipment and performance of operationally required and job specific tasks: forklift operation (required every 3 yrs); respirator & fit training (required annually); arc flash NFPA 70E (required for electricians); skid steer (conducted by CMI); front-end loader (conducted by CMI); Mower; log splitter; fire extinguisher; CPR & Stop-The-Bleed.

Of the more common violations cited throughout Andy & Kassidy's site inspections were Safety Data Sheets (SDS). An SDS binder must be readily available at a central location within your work site. Inventory Sheets must be kept up to date as a cover sheet in your SDS binder and include summaries of all chemicals; quantities; and hazards, and all SDS sheets must be archived on site for any chemical used for at least 30 years.

Lastly the agency Safety Bureau is rolling out a Work Zone Training Committee for trainers in each OPRHP region. All staff who perform work along a roadside MUST have this training- dates will be announced very soon. Please contact Andy if you are interested in being a trainer for this or any of the training sub-committee's aforementioned.

Again, please visit our Safety Standards: Safety Committee page for more details on this installment and past Safety Committee meetings back to October 2020. Clicking the linked button below will take you there now!

Safety Committee Meetings

In Solidarity,

Jamie N. Hart

President- CSEA Local 104

(716) 990-7415

Jamiehart104@gmail.com