Metropolitan Community College
PA-12: Workplace Health and Safety

2012 was adopted as the baseline as that was the first year we had complete safety data including all incidents and claims. Additionally, it was a standard weather year without any uncommon weather patterns that would have caused an increase or decrease in the average number of incidents.

Workplace Health and Safety initiatives enacted in 2015 and continuing for the foreseeable future include:
-Coordinated the hazardous materials inspection and abatement activities associated with the Kessler property demolition effort under the Fort Omaha Campus expansion project.
-Coordinated underground piping asbestos testing and abatement activities under the Fort Omaha Campus expansion project.
-Coordinated Skid Steer, Scissor Lift, and Aerial Lift Train-the-Trainer Training for future employee as well as potential student training purposes.
-Developed an injury prevention plan based upon a historical injury trend data evaluation.
-Developed and disseminated an Employee Identification Questionnaire for the purpose of understanding current practices and gauging our employee perception of implementing a process requiring a visible means of identification with electronic access control. This is expected to be beneficial during emergency situations as well as access control/monitoring and within interpersonal communication.
-Participated on the Best Practices subgroup of the Student Success Committee and HLC Persistence & Completion Super Group. Our subgroup developed a process for piloting and recording new efforts. This will enable the College to track the details and effectiveness of efforts for future reference.
-Updated our Workplace Safety Training videos to include closed captioning.
-Worked closely with the Applied Technology Center on preparation for the safety aspect of the certification through the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF) associated with the Auto Collision Program area.
-Coordinated the annual hazardous chemical waste purge.
-Based off of a hazardous chemical waste assessment, the College has been working with the Horticulture Program at the Fort Omaha Campus to comply with regulatory measures under the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard.
-Implemented measures to remove special characterized biohazardous waste from the Medical Programs at the South Omaha Campus.
-Customized and tested a process for chemical inventory tracking and labeling.
-Conducted frequent safety walkthroughs of the construction site at the Fort Omaha Campus associated with the expansion project.
-Enhanced safety signage within multiple program areas across the College.
-Expanded the internal forklift training for the community under several different grants. 210 students were certified through 37 training sessions.
-Purchased and installed applicable safety equipment and signage for new locations (e.g., Central Stores and Mastercraft Fab Lab).
-Increased AED coverage throughout the College.
-Became a certified facilitator under the DACUM Process (i.e., Developing a Curriculum). This enables a more thorough job analysis that helps to determine employee needs, such as training.
-Implemented a monthly departmental vehicle inspection process.
-Continued internal ergonomic assessments, new hire safety orientations, ongoing safety training, and inspection/corrective measure efforts.