1. Purpose

   Ohio University is committed to achieving excellence in providing a healthy and safe working environment, and to supporting environmentally sound practices in the conduct of university activities. The implementation of this policy will ensure systematic integration of safety and environmental considerations into all university activities. This Policy on Safety Management applies to all members of the university community. This policy also applies to contractors whose work is directed on a day-to-day basis by university employees.

2. Plan

   To meet this standard of excellence, the university will implement management initiatives and best practices to include safety and environmental considerations into university activities.

   Ohio University will comply with applicable safety and environmental protection laws, regulations and requirements. University activities are to be conducted in a manner that ensures the protection of students, faculty, staff, visitors, the public, property and the environment.

   The university's goal is to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses, environmental incidents, and property losses or damage. Achieving this goal is the responsibility of every member of the university community. Supervisors have particular responsibility for the activities of those people who report to them.

3. Policies and Procedures

   This policy must be clearly communicated to members of the university community and university contractors. University expectations and commitments are expressed through this and other policies, procedures, guidelines, and notices, and in contract specifications. The format for communicating specific expectations may vary from activity to activity, based on the nature and severity of the hazards of the operations being performed. Safety management relies on establishing objectives and on tracking performance with respect to achieving and maintaining compliance with health, safety, and environmental requirements. The following safety principles are intended to provide directions to ensure safe activities from the inception of planning an activity through the actual performance.

   EHS will publish and maintain information, guidelines, and implementing instructions online, linked through https://www.ohio.edu/ehs/, for each set of the specific safety principles outlined in this policy.

   1. Management Commitment and Individual Involvement

      Safety Management is based on individual responsibility for safety and environmental stewardship. Managers at all levels must demonstrate commitment to the implementation and sustained execution of all elements of safety. Faculty, staff, students, and visitors support safety by understanding and using these principles in their activities at the university. Each individual is directly responsible for ensuring his or her own safety and for promoting a safe, healthy, and environmentally sound workplace and community.

   2. Management Responsibility for Safety and the Environment

      University employees who direct the activities of other individuals are responsible for protecting faculty, staff, students, visitors, the public, and the environment, and for adhering to this policy. Accountability should be addressed in job descriptions, performance evaluations, and contracts.

   3. Establishing Clear Roles and Responsibilities

      The university will establish clear and unambiguous lines of authority and responsibility for ensuring safety and environmental protection at all organizational levels within the university, and with university contractors.

   4. Ensuring Competence Commensurate with Responsibilities

      Managers will ensure that employees possess the experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform their safety and environmental responsibilities.

   5. Balanced Priorities

      Resources will be effectively allocated to address safety and environmental protection in all university activities. Protecting faculty, staff, students, visitors, the public, and the environment is a priority whenever activities are planned and performed.

   6. Safety and Environmental Standards and Requirements

      Before a member of the university community conducts an activity that has potential adverse implications for safety or the environment, a responsible party must evaluate the associated hazards and environmental impacts and identify the appropriate protective safety and environmental requirements to assure that faculty, staff, students, visitors, the public, and the environment are protected from adverse effects. The principal responsibility for such an evaluation resides with employees and supervisors. The Ohio University Environmental Health and Safety ("EHS") office is available for consultation and will assist with the identification of appropriate requirements, controls, and standards, and with their implementation.

   7. Encouraging Stakeholder Participation

      The university will implement a program of external communications, public participation, and stakeholder involvement to obtain safety-related input from interested parties, including regulatory agencies, funding organizations, local community groups, students, alumni, and emergency response agencies. The program will institute a safety communications network to address compliance and emergency situations.

   8. Hazard and Operational Controls for Specific Activities

      The university will adopt administrative and engineering controls for activities being performed to prevent and mitigate hazards and environmental impacts. The strategy employed will be to prevent damage by designing the activities and controls to reduce or eliminate accidents, injuries, exposure, and unplanned releases of harmful substances into the environment.

Reviewers

Proposed revisions of this policy should be reviewed by:

1. President

2. Executive Vice President and Provost

3. Executive Staff

4. Vice President for Finance and Administration

5. Associate Vice President for Facilities Management

6. Assistant Vice President for Finance and Administration for Human Resources

7. Assistant Vice President for Safety and Risk Management

8. Vice President for Research

9. Academic Deans

10. Administrative Senate

11. Classified Senate

12. Faculty Senate

13. Bargaining Units

14. Policy and Procedure Review Committee

Forms, References, and History

1. Forms

   There are no forms that are specific to this policy.

2. References

   The following items are relevant to this policy:

   1. The Environmental Health and Safety web site is http://www.ohio.edu/riskandsafety/ehs/.

3. History

   Draft versions of this policy that were circulated for review, their cover memos, their forms, and Reviewers' comments on them are available on the password-protected Review site.

   Prior versions of this policy were approved on:

   1. March 30, 2009

   2. September 21, 2005

   3. April 21, 1978