EH&S Services
Effective environmental health and safety management systems can improve the efficiency of an organization and reduce its operating costs, as well as elevate the health, safety and environmental awareness for faculty, staff and students. The College of Agriculture has many tools at its disposal through its EH&S Office to achieve those objectives, such as the four strategic performance perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard.
Here are some examples of how the EH&S Office can assist your department improve your performance and achieve your targeted goals of reducing accidents and environmental incidents by integrating sound EH&S practices into your daily activities.
Training for Faculty, Staff and Students
Examples:
Empower employees and students to take charge and own their EH&S performance through training in:
- Health - hazard communication, respirators/personal protective equipment, bloodborne pathogens
- Safety - back-injury prevention, office ergonomics, first aid, defensive driving, chemical safety, confined spaces (entering silos, manure pits, etc.), lockout/tagout (safe maintenance procedures for equipment with moving parts, hydraulics, electricity, and other hazards), farm machinery safety, scaffold safety, ladder safety, laboratory safety, forklifts, compressed gases, electrical safety, pesticide safety, fire protection
- Environmental - waste management, SPCC inspections, air program compliance
Benefits:
- Reduce the number of accidents and environmental incidents
- Reduce costs due to injuries and property damage, improve efficiency
- Reduce injury-related absenteeism
- Reduce our impact on the environment
- Demonstrate that we care about our employees and their families and
- Reduce the likelihood of legal penalties for noncompliance.
Lab, Shop, Greenhouse and Field Inspections and Consultations
Examples:
- Assess and determine health and safety hazards throughout the College of Agriculture
- Identify hazards and environmental impacts
- Prioritize the risks and
- Manage the risks based on the latest concepts of engineering controls, personal safety and environmental protection.
Benefits:
- Create a safer and more efficient workplace
- Improve the organizational image
- Reduce pain and suffering from injuries
- Reduce our environmental footprint and
- Comply with applicable regulations.
Assistance for Departmental EH&S Coordinators and Committees
Examples:
- Collaborate with and
- Assist EH&S Coordinators, staff and students achieve the desired EH&S outcomes for the Department and the College of Agriculture.
Benefits:
- Create employee ownership and grass-roots support for EH&S
- Provide opportunities for leadership among employees and students
- Respond to local conditions and needs
- Give employees a chance to contribute to the success of the organization
- Handle opportunities for improvement at the local level without involving enforcement agencies
- Help employees develop a sense of accomplishment and
- Build pride in the organization.
Technical Assistance and Industrial Hygiene Services
Examples:
- Identify and recommend ergonomic solutions
- Identify and recommend improvement to indoor air quality
- Consult about safety concerns
- Analyze injury and incident data, and recommend program(s) for improvement
- Develop EH&S Standards of Practice
- Measure and recommend controls for employee exposure to noise and hazardous substances,
- Investigate accidents to prevent their recurrence and
- Manage medical surveillance programs
Benefits:
- Remove hazards and distractions from the workplace so that employees and students can concentrate on their primary mission
- Reduce injuries and employee turnover
- Reduce opportunities for bad publicity and ill-will and
- Verify legal compliance.
Environmental Management Systems
Examples:
- Assess and determine environmental aspects throughout the College of Agriculture
- Develop Standards of Practice
- Secure permits
- Develop management plans
- Investigate incidents
- Assist with hazardous waste disposal
Benefits:
- Reduce the College of Agriculture of Agriculture's environmental footprint
- Reduce environmental incidents and
- Reduce opportunities for poor publicity, ill-will and
- Foster legal compliance
Review of Plans for New Facilities, Modifications to Existing Facilities, Equipment, Processes and Programs
Examples:
- Identify risks
- Participate in lifecycle analysis, as requested and
- Recommend mitigation options in the planning and design phase (before items are purchased, before facilities are constructed and before programs are initiated).
Benefits:
- Know the total cost of product ownership
- Eliminate problems and
- Reduce the risks before they occur (during the planning stage, when changes are most economical and least disruptive).
