From: Paul Harrison <pharriso**At_Symbol_Here**UNIVMAIL.CIS.MCMASTER.CA>
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Safety Committees
Date: February 11, 2013 11:33:34 PM EST
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: <63F26DAA9C675243B727EB2A8CBEA3CC017A3882**At_Symbol_Here**SN2PRD0410MB383.namprd04.prod.outlook.com>

I don't know if you're interested in Canadian institutions, but we broadly face the same issues so a quick response, more if you're interested. We basically have a hieracrchical system, which was historically built from the bottom up, but now incidents, minutes, etc. work their way through from the bottom and recieve oversight from the top.

We have a series of departmental safety committees.
The chairs of these go to Faculty level committees.
There is one University-wide central joint health and safety committee (which includes faculty level committee members)
We have a separate safety structure for our nuclear reactor, with a member on the central committee.
We have a separate Presidential Biosafety committee, with members on the central safety committee.
EOHSS sends staff members to everything, serving an advisory role, and in their remaining free time creates Risk Management Manual procedures for everything.

Somewhere there is a structural chart for all of this, if you're interested I'll try to find it amongst all the RMMs.

I have been involved in just about every aspect of this structure including its creation over 20+ years, but as I look back at it now, I don't doubt its value, but I still wonder if we're missing the point. Anyone else out there similarly worried about whether everyone is really safer?

Best,
Paul

On Mon, 11 Feb 2013 18:01:04 +0000
Keane Leitch wrote:
Does anyone have department based safety committees (Chemistry, Physics, Biology) at their institution? If so, what is the role of the safety committee and how does it interface with Environmental Health & Safety. Do charters exist for each committee and would anyone mind sharing an example?

Thanks
Keane

Keane Leitch
Safety Manager
Physical Sciences Facilities Management
121 baker Lab
Ithaca, NY 14850
607-255-8773 (Office)
607-255-4137 (Fax)
607-592-7079 (Mobile)
Keane.Leitch**At_Symbol_Here**cornell.edu/ kjl44**At_Symbol_Here**cornell.edu


Paul Harrison
Associate Professor of Chemistry
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology
McMaster University
1280 Main St. W., Hamilton, ON, L8S 4M1, Canada
Phone: (905)525-9140 ext. 27290; FAX: (905)522-2509

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