Occupational Safety & Health

Occupational Safety & Health includes providing safe and healthful working conditions for employees and the USG community by providing support regarding occupational standards, training, and resources.

Workplace Safety

Employee safety in the workplace is generally covered by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Standard’s requirements as well as national consensus and best management practices. Occupational Safety and Health training to promote safe and healthful work practices is administered through the Workday enterprise management platform. OSHA worker safety standards that apply to campus are covered in the programs and plans listed below:

• Confined Space Program - To protect employees from the dangers associated with hazards related to entering confined spaces. As part of this program, campus maintains an inventory, which identifies all spaces that meet the definition of a confined space, and further clarifies each space as permit-required or non-permit-required confined space.
• Control of Hazardous Energy  Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) Program - Directs the creation of procedures to ensure that hazardous energy sources are properly controlled during service, maintenance, and repair activities.
• Hazard Communication Program - Designed to reduce or eliminate the potential for exposures to chemical-related substances through information, education, and training.
• Fall Protection Program - Protects employees from hazards related to working at elevated heights.
• Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure Control Plan - Protects personnel against occupational exposure to human blood or other potentially infectious materials. The Bloodborne Pathogen Exposure Control Fact Sheet summarizes some campus requirements.
• Personal Protective Equipment Program - Directs the selection, use and care of personal protective equipment (PPE) on campus. Other protective measures are used first in conjunction with PPE to control workplace hazards such as engineering and administrative controls. Examples of controls other than PPE include machine guards, shields, ventilation, arrest systems, training, and job rotation.

Each of these programs, plans, inventories and fact sheets have a corresponding document that is required due to regulations and in support of campus health and safety. If you would like to view any of these documents, or need more information, reach out to EHS.

Makerspaces

USG hosts a Fabrication Shop and associated workspaces on the ground floor of Building IV (BSE). There are a variety of large makerspace equipment and many hand tools for student projects. Training needs to be completed to gain access to these resources, including General Safety Training, Equipment-Specific Operational Training, and Job Hazard Analysis Training. The goal of training is to inform on how to use equipment correctly and control hazardous tasks by identifying the safeguards, work practices, and personal protective equipment to reduce the risk of injury.

Ergonomics

The applied science which emphasizes the importance of having the correct posture or body positioning and designing workstations so they fit the individual worker in an effort to reduce musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The objective is to maintain a body position that requires the least physical effort, and to design out as many equipment ergonomic risk factors as possible.

Indoor Air Quality

The qualities of good IAQ include an environment where the temperature and humidity are within acceptable ranges, adequate fresh outdoor air is supplied, and pollutants from inside and outside of the building are controlled.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recommends:

• Assuming normal indoor air movement, humidity, and solar radiant effects, the operative temperature for thermal comfort should range from 67°F to 76.5°F in the winter, and from 71.5°F to 80°F in the summer (the difference in temperature ranges between the seasons is largely due to clothing selection).
• Indoor relative humidity maintained between 30-60%.

If you would like assistance regarding either ergonomics or IAQ, please use the Report a Concern form.