Appalachian State University
PA-12: Workplace Health and Safety

Appalachian State has chosen 2010 for its workplace health and safety baseline year. This year was chosen because it is first year of implementation for the current accounting method. Although this change is minor and only relates to the method of filing (storing data on a spreadsheet) it provides a nature break and leans toward a consistency of data methodology seams logical.

Appalachian State has an Office of Environmental Health, Safety & Emergency Management whose mission is to promote healthy, safe, and resilient operations on campus, to protect students, faculty, staff and visitors, and to protect the environment.

The office is staffed by five fulltime employees holding the following job titles:
• Director of Environmental Health, Safety, and Emergency Management
• Occupational Health Manager & University Industrial Hygienist
• Fire and Life Safety Manager
• Occupational Safety Manager
• EHS&EM Program Manager

Among Appalachian's workplace health and safety initiatives is the Appalachian State University Occupational Safety & Health Committee. Its purpose is to encourage involvement of all faculty, staff and students both at the non-management and management level in the ongoing responsibility of providing a safe work and learning environment. Meetings are monthly.

Also available to students, faculty, staff and visitors is the Environmental Health, Safety& Emergency Management (EHS&EM) Office’s “Safety or Health Concerns Form” that can be used to help identify safety and health concerns on campus. This submission form is accessed through the EHS&EM website (safety.appstate.edu).

Additional services provided by the Office of Environmental Health, Safety & Emergency Management include:
• Biological Safety
• Campus Security and Fire Safety Annual Report and Policy
• Chemical Safety
• Confined Space Entry
• Emergency Preparedness
• Ergonomics
• Fire and Life Safety
• Forms
• Indoor Air Quality
• Noise / Hearing
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Policies and Procedures
• Product Recalls
• Transportation Safety

The office’s Workplace Safety website offers a fully resource list including, but not limited to, maps, policies, procedures, and information pertaining to the following topic:
• Automated External Defibrillator Materials
• Bucket Truck Safety Equipment
• "Caught in the Act" Safety and Health Recognition
• Combustible Dust
• Emergency Eye Wash Devices
• Emergency Shower Devices
• Employee Safety Shoes
• Eye Protection In The Workplace
• Fall Protection Plan (University Policy)
• Fall Protection Safety Practices
• First Aid Kit Supplies (Recommended)
• Forklift Safety Practices
• Hard Hats in the Workplace
• Hexavalent Chromium
• Ladder Safety Practice
• Lockout/Tagout
• NC State Employee's Safety & Health Handbook
• Personal Protective Equipment (University Policy)
• Replacing Prescription Safety Glasses
• Safety Dos and Don'ts for Faculty and Staff
• Safety Requirement - Hearing Test and Safety Shoes for New Employees
• Safety Shoe Information
• Scaffolding
• Silica, Crystalline
• Trenching and Excavation Safety Practices

Additionally, in 2012 the Appalachian State Physical Plant created a Safety Committee charged with creating, training and maintaining a culture of safety focused specifically on Physical Plant operational staff. Each professional trade in the organization is represented on the committee. Membership is rotational to provide maximum exposure to safety awareness, and accident avoidance through active service. The committee convenes monthly. Part of the committee’s work involves physical inspection of one or more of the trade shop areas as a “live training ground” to recognize occupational hazards. All reported accidents within the Physical Plant are reviewed by the committee for educational and preventative purposes.