Report 2017-119 Recommendations

To ensure that it receives feedback from employee representatives on conditions associated with their work environments and that it develops appropriate interventions, Channel Islands should ensure that its joint committee meets and fulfills its responsibilities in accordance with the bargaining agreement. If such committee does not exist, it should work with the union to form it by September 2018.

To ensure that it receives feedback from employee representatives on conditions associated with their work environments and that it develops appropriate interventions, Channel Islands should ensure that its joint committee records meeting minutes and provides copies of the minutes and other information to the systemwide joint committee, as requested.

To more effectively provide oversight of its chemical plan, Channel Islands should annually evaluate its chemical plan for effectiveness and document the results of that evaluation, including its discussions of any recommended revisions.

To ensure the health and safety of employees working with hazardous materials, Channel Islands should, by June 2018, review the training records of all employees who are required to take trainings related to laboratory safety, hazardous waste, hazard communication, or bloodborne pathogens and identify those who have not taken these trainings.

To ensure the health and safety of employees working with hazardous materials, Channel Islands should, by December 2018, make the required trainings available to employees and establish procedures for ensuring that the employees have received all required trainings.

To ensure the health and safety of employees working with hazardous materials, Channel Islands should, going forward, regularly monitor employee training records to ensure that all employees have received the required trainings.

To ensure that employees working in a laboratory setting receive current information regarding laboratory safety, Channel Islands should provide periodic refresher laboratory safety training to these employees beginning in the Fall 2018 semester.

To ensure the health and safety of students in a laboratory setting, Channel Islands should work with appropriate faculty to develop student safety training acknowledgement forms by June 2018.

To ensure the health and safety of students in a laboratory setting, beginning in the Fall 2018 semester, Channel Islands should require departments to have those students required to wear PPE sign the student safety training acknowledgement forms to demonstrate that they have received proper laboratory safety training.

Channel Islands should immediately begin following its policies to conduct departmental self-audits to identify and address safety concerns in its laboratories. Further, Channel Islands should amend its chemical plan to include specific expectations about how often departments and its EH&S office will conduct self-audits.

To ensure that it receives feedback from employee representatives on conditions associated with their work environments and that it develops appropriate interventions, Sacramento should ensure that its joint committee meets and fulfills its responsibilities in accordance with the bargaining agreement. If such committee does not exist, it should work with the union to form it by September 2018.

To ensure that it receives feedback from employee representatives on conditions associated with their work environments and that it develops appropriate interventions, Sacramento should ensure that its joint committee records meeting minutes and provides copies of the minutes and other information to the systemwide joint committee, as requested.

To increase its oversight of chemical safety, Sacramento should establish a chemical committee consistent with its chemical plan requirements.

To increase its oversight of chemical safety, Sacramento should, by June 2018, specify how often the new chemical committee should meet and then ensure that it meets as frequently as required and that it proactively addresses issues related to chemical hygiene and safety on campus.

To increase its oversight of chemical safety, Sacramento should ensure that the new chemical committee records its meeting minutes and makes those minutes available to all employees.

To more effectively provide oversight of its chemical plan, Sacramento should annually evaluate its chemical plan for effectiveness and document the results of that evaluation, including its discussions of any recommended revisions.

To ensure that it has a chemical plan that is up to date and reflects current campus practices, Sacramento should develop and implement a revised chemical plan by January 2019.

To ensure the health and safety of employees working with hazardous materials, Sacramento should, by June 2018, review the training records of all employees who are required to take trainings related to laboratory safety, hazardous waste, hazard communication, or bloodborne pathogens and identify those who have not taken these trainings.

To ensure the health and safety of employees working with hazardous materials, Sacramento should, by December 2018, make the required trainings available to employees and establish procedures for ensuring that the employees have received all required trainings.

To ensure the health and safety of employees working with hazardous materials, Sacramento should, going forward, regularly monitor employee training records to ensure that all employees have received the required trainings.

To ensure the health and safety of students in a laboratory setting, Sacramento should, by June 2018, develop campuswide policies to ensure that its departments are accountable for providing student training on laboratory safety.

To ensure the health and safety of students in a laboratory setting, Sacramento should work with appropriate faculty to develop student safety training acknowledgement forms by June 2018.

To ensure the health and safety of students in a laboratory setting, beginning in the Fall 2018 semester, Sacramento should require departments to have those students required to wear PPE sign the student safety training acknowledgement forms to demonstrate that they have received proper laboratory safety training.

To ensure the health and safety of students in a laboratory setting, by May 2018, Sacramento should remind all departments to retain student training acknowledgment forms for at least three years after the end of classes.

To ensure the health and safety of students in a laboratory setting, beginning in the Fall 2018 semester, Sacramento should perform reviews at least annually to ensure that all departments are using the student training acknowledgement forms and are complying with the retention requirement.

Sacramento should monitor the implementation of its new processes for inspecting safeguards to ensure that it completes monthly flushes of eyewashes and showers as state regulations require.

Sacramento should immediately assess the health and safety risks in its art sculpture lab and take action to ensure that safeguards are readily accessible as state regulations require.

Sacramento should immediately begin following its policies to conduct departmental self-audits to identify and address safety concerns in its laboratories. Further, Sacramento should ensure that its self-audits review whether timely flushes of eyewashes and showers have occurred.

Sacramento should immediately ensure that the entrances to all mechanical rooms with asbestos or material presumed to contain asbestos have signage to inform employees about the presence of the hazardous substance.

To ensure that it receives feedback from employee representatives on conditions associated with their work environments and that it develops appropriate interventions, San Diego should ensure that its joint committee meets and fulfills its responsibilities in accordance with the bargaining agreement. If such committee does not exist, it should work with the union to form it by September 2018.

To ensure that it receives feedback from employee representatives on conditions associated with their work environments and that it develops appropriate interventions, San Diego should ensure that its joint committee records meeting minutes and provides copies of the minutes and other information to the systemwide joint committee, as requested.

To more effectively provide oversight of its chemical plan, San Diego should annually evaluate its chemical plan for effectiveness and document the results of that evaluation, including its discussions of any recommended revisions.

San Diego should ensure that its chemical plan clearly defines the campus entity or individual who is responsible for reviewing and evaluating the effectiveness of its chemical plan at least annually.

To ensure the health and safety of employees working with hazardous materials, San Diego should, by June 2018, review the training records of all employees who are required to take trainings related to laboratory safety, hazardous waste, hazard communication, or bloodborne pathogens and identify those who have not taken these trainings.

To ensure the health and safety of employees working with hazardous materials, San Diego should, by December 2018, make the required trainings available to employees and establish procedures for ensuring that the employees have received all required trainings.

To ensure the health and safety of employees working with hazardous materials, San Diego should, going forward, regularly monitor employee training records to ensure that all employees have received the required trainings.

To ensure the health and safety of students in a laboratory setting, beginning in the Fall 2018 semester, San Diego should require departments to have those students required to wear PPE sign the student safety training acknowledgement forms to demonstrate that they have received proper laboratory safety training.

To ensure the health and safety of students in a laboratory setting, by May 2018, San Diego should remind all departments to retain student training acknowledgment forms for at least three years after the end of classes.

To ensure the health and safety of students in a laboratory setting, beginning in the Fall 2018 semester, San Diego should perform reviews at least annually to ensure that all departments are using the student training acknowledgement forms and are complying with the retention requirement.

San Diego should immediately develop and implement a plan to ensure that it consistently completes its flushes of eyewashes and showers monthly as state regulations require.

San Diego should continue to implement its new policy to regularly review open work orders to ensure that it closes work orders in a timely fashion.

San Diego should immediately develop and implement a plan to ensure that it consistently completes its inspections of air handler units at least annually.

San Diego should ensure that it documents all self-audits it conducts, including when it does not identify any violations during the audit. Further, San Diego should continue to implement and follow its new process to include reviews of safeguard inspections as a part of its self-audits.

San Diego should immediately ensure that the entrances to all mechanical rooms with asbestos or material presumed to contain asbestos have signage to inform employees about the presence of the hazardous substance.

To ensure that it receives feedback from employee representatives on conditions associated with their work environments and that it develops appropriate interventions, Sonoma should ensure that its joint committee meets and fulfills its responsibilities in accordance with the bargaining agreement. If such committee does not exist, it should work with the union to form it by September 2018.

To ensure that it receives feedback from employee representatives on conditions associated with their work environments and that it develops appropriate interventions, Sonoma should ensure that its joint committee records meeting minutes and provides copies of the minutes and other information to the systemwide joint committee, as requested.

To increase oversight of chemical safety, Sonoma should, by June 2018, specify in its chemical plan how often its chemical committee should meet.

To increase oversight of chemical safety, Sonoma should ensure that its chemical committee meets as frequently as required and that it proactively addresses issues related to chemical hygiene and safety on campus.

To increase oversight of chemical safety, Sonoma should ensure that its chemical committee records its meeting minutes and makes those minutes available to all employees.

To more effectively provide oversight of its chemical plan, Sonoma should annually evaluate its chemical plan for effectiveness and document the results of that evaluation, including its discussions of any recommended revisions.

To ensure that its chemical plan is updated to reflect current practices and changes to how the campus may have evolved, Sonoma should immediately update its chemical plan.

To ensure the health and safety of employees working with hazardous materials, Sonoma should, by June 2018, review the training records of all employees who are required to take trainings related to laboratory safety, hazardous waste, hazard communication, or bloodborne pathogens and identify those who have not taken these trainings.

To ensure the health and safety of employees working with hazardous materials, Sonoma should, by December 2018, make the required trainings available to employees and establish procedures for ensuring that the employees have received all required trainings.

To ensure the health and safety of employees working with hazardous materials, Sonoma should, going forward, regularly monitor employee training records to ensure that all employees have received the required trainings.

To ensure the health and safety of students in a laboratory setting, Sonoma should work with appropriate faculty to develop student safety training acknowledgement forms by June 2018.

To ensure the health and safety of students in a laboratory setting, beginning in the Fall 2018 semester, Sonoma should require departments to have those students required to wear PPE sign the student safety training acknowledgement forms to demonstrate that they have received proper laboratory safety training.

To ensure the health and safety of students in a laboratory setting, beginning in the Fall 2018 semester, Sonoma should perform reviews at least annually to ensure that all departments are using the student training acknowledgement forms and are complying with the retention requirement.

Sonoma should continue to implement and adhere to its plan to ensure that it flushes showers and eyewashes and that it inspects fire extinguishers monthly as state regulations require.

Sonoma should add preventative maintenance work orders to its work order system by September 2018 to ensure that it completes fume hood and biosafety cabinet inspections annually as state regulations require.

By September 2018, Sonoma should begin using its work order management system to track and ensure preventative maintenance inspections of air handler units are completed at least annually.

Sonoma should immediately begin following its policies to conduct departmental self-audits to identify and address safety concerns in its laboratories. Further, Sonoma should ensure that its self-audits review whether timely flushes of eyewashes and showers have occurred. As part of self-audits, Sonoma's departments should ensure that fume hoods have received annual inspections. Finally, Sonoma's EH&S department should regularly review whether departments are conducting self-audits.

To ensure that it provides effective oversight of health and safety issues on the campuses, the Chancellor's Office should, by September 2018, review and identify all recommendations issued to the Chancellor's Office and the campuses from the University Auditor's systemwide audits of campus health and safety practices since 1994.

To ensure that it provides effective oversight of health and safety issues on the campuses, the Chancellor's Office should, using the information from recommendation 1, develop and implement a plan by January 2019 to ensure that the campuses have taken appropriate actions to comply with health and safety requirements.

To ensure that it provides effective oversight of health and safety issues on the campuses, the Chancellor's Office should, by November 2018, develop a uniform health and safety reporting template and require the campuses to use it to annually report information related to campus health and safety, including data regarding employee and student training and any other areas the Chancellor's Office considers critical to its oversight of health and safety compliance. In developing this reporting template, the Chancellor's Office should consider the information from its own health and safety-related audits as well as the findings and recommendations of this audit.

Once it has developed the health and safety reporting template and campuses have used it to submit their reports, the Chancellor's Office should assess the data and information in the reports to identify trends, risks, and best practices.

Once it has developed the health and safety reporting template and campuses have used it to submit their reports, the Chancellor's Office should develop recommendations for improving campus health and safety and follow up on the campuses' implementation of any corrective actions related to these recommendations.

Once it has developed the health and safety reporting template and campuses have used it to submit their reports, the Chancellor's Office should incorporate the risks identified in its assessments into the University Auditor's audit plan to ensure that the University Auditor evaluates problem areas related to campus health and safety.

Once it has developed the health and safety reporting template and campuses have used it to submit their reports, the Chancellor's Office should follow up with campuses that fail to submit the required annual health and safety reports and take appropriate steps to ensure compliance with this requirement.

To ensure that it identifies systemwide trends and makes appropriate recommendations to address health and safety issues, the Chancellor's Office should work with the appropriate union to form a systemwide joint committee, as agreed upon in its bargaining agreement with the union, by September 2018.

To ensure that it identifies systemwide trends and makes appropriate recommendations to address health and safety issues, the Chancellor's Office should ensure that the systemwide joint committee meets and fulfills its responsibilities in accordance with the bargaining agreement by actively working with the union on an ongoing basis.

To ensure the health and safety of employees working with hazardous materials, the Chancellor's Office should prescribe the frequency for which the campuses provide refresher laboratory safety training to employees.

As part of the uniform health and safety-reporting template that we recommend that it develop, the Chancellor's Office should require campuses to annually report on the timeliness of their inspections of safeguards, engineering controls, and ventilation systems and identify the reasons for any delays.

Based on campuses annual reports on the timeliness of their inspections of safeguards, engineering controls, and ventilation systems, the Chancellor's Office should follow up with campuses that report untimely inspections and should require that the campuses develop action plans to ensure that they complete inspections as often as state regulations require.

To ensure compliance with state requirements to notify employees about the presence of asbestos, the Chancellor's Office should immediately remind all of its campuses that state regulations require posting signage at the entrances to mechanical rooms that contain asbestos.

To ensure compliance with state requirements to notify employees about the presence of asbestos, the Chancellor's Office should, by September 2018, ensure that campuses are compliant with the requirement to post warning signage at the entrances to mechanical rooms that contain asbestos.