Purpose
To
define the policy of The University of North Carolina
at Charlotte concerning the personal safety and health
of all staff, faculty, students and visitors on the
University campus; and to delegate responsibilities
for assuring compliance with appropriate standards for
safety and health.
Policy
The
University shall engage in a program of voluntary compliance
with the Occupational Safety and Health Act of North
Carolina and with all applicable federal, state and
local regulations and codes. To be effective, this program
must be proactive instead of reactive and must embody
the proper attitudes toward injury, illness and property
damage prevention on the part of all members of and
visitors to the University community.
The
program shall be designed to provide not only a safe
and healthy working, teaching and learning environment,
but also an atmosphere of safety and health awareness
through training and employee and student involvement.
The participation and earnest cooperation of all faculty,
staff, students and visitors shall be actively encouraged.
Procedures
All
members of and visitors to the University Community
share the responsibility to provide and maintain a safe
and healthful working, teaching and learning environment
and to reduce or eliminate known hazards. Each individual
is expected to exercise appropriate care in the conduct
of his or her activities to preserve the safety and
health of self and others.
Certain
areas of University activity have been identified as
requiring special attention to safety and health considerations.
Such areas and activities have unique policies or rules,
and may have specialized tools, equipment, or training
programs. Each of these special features is designed
to increase safety and reduce the risk of injury to
persons or property.
All
members and visitors to the University community are
expected to observe these requirements. The supervisor
of the area is responsible for enforcing safety and
health standards and supplying appropriate equipment
and training. Questions related to safety and health
matters should be directed initially to the supervisor
in charge of the particular area.
Responsibilities
A. Executive
Authority and Responsibility
An
important part of any successful safety program is the
individual workplace supervisor, be it the faculty member
in the classroom, laboratory or shop, the maintenance
foreman on the job or the administrative department
head in an office. Supervisors must exhibit proper attitudes
towards safety and health as models to those they supervise
or instruct.
It
is expected that each department will furnish such equipment
as deemed necessary to provide the mandatory protection
of employees and students. It is also expected that
each department will require the use of all such equipment
whenever needed, and will invoke disciplinary action
or administrative sanction in cases of failure to do
so. Departments are encouraged to appoint their own
Safety Committee and Safety Representative to deal with
area safety on a regular basis. The University Safety
and Health Committee shall provide for effective communication
with all Unit Safety Committees operating throughout
the campus.
D. Planning
and Financing
While
it is recognized that the individual department is largely
responsible for developing proper attitudes toward safety,
it is also important that each department plan for and
develop safe procedures and safe working areas for all
those under supervision.
Safety
considerations must become a vital part of budget planning
for all new and existing programs. Responsibility for
planning and development of budget requests for Departmental
Safety Programs shall rest with the individual department.
The Safety and Health Director shall serve as a resource
person to departments in the interpretation of standards
as they affect each of the workplaces on campus, making
recommendations for the most expeditious and economical
means to bring the areas into compliance.
With
recommendations from the Safety and Health Director,
the Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities Management,
and the University Safety and Health Committee, final
prioritization of funding for safety compliance rests
with the Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs.
