Medford School District 549C
Safety
Safety
Safety is integrated into all aspects of the MSD’s operations. In doing so, the district has established an area wide safety network.
The MSD frequently references Oregon OSHA’s Quick Guide To SafetyCommittees and Safety Meetings for General Industry and Construction Employers.
The MSD strives to cultivate a genuine safety culture and in doing so utilizes the following mission statement and intent as a framework for action.
Mission:The Executive Safety Solutions Team will establish and foster an effective and consistent safety culture throughout the Medford School District in order to provide the District with a safe and healthy working environment for the education process to flourish.
Intent:
- Establish a written policy that codifies and clearly articulates the District’s safety priorities and procedures.
- Communicate and disseminate the plan so that all 19 school sites can implement it successfully.
- Streamline the process and empower every employee so that they feel comfortable and know how to address safety concerns.
- Inform leaders with knowledge that they can leverage in their organizations to establish a safety culture and continually improve safety performance.
- Track performance trends by site/organization with metrics that drive action to improve performance across the District.
- Cross-pollinate best practices and lessons learned throughout the Medford School District so that we are continually learning from mistakes, proactively addressing concerns, and anticipating needs.
The MSD has established an Executive Safety Solutions Team that convenes quarterly to discuss strategic-level objectives and concerns and work on strategy, messaging, and training to affect necessary change across the decentralized school district environment.
The MSD has established local Safety Solution Teams at every site.
Safety Solution Team Members Must:
- Agree on a chair person.
- Members must serve a minimum of one year, when possible (good to rotate).
- Be compensated at regular pay rates.
- Be trained in Accident and Incident Investigation principles and know how to apply them.
- Be trained in Hazard Identification
- Be trained in Safety Committees – Safety Meeting Rules
- Receive Safety Committee minutes.
- Represent the major activities of the company.
- Hold a monthly meeting.
- Be scheduled at a time when all members of the organization can attend.
- Must take and maintain minutes for 3 years.
- Once per quarter a safety inspection must occur. *
*Safety meetings do not need to occur during a month when quarterly work place inspections occur.
The site safety meeting minutes are submitted to the Facilities Department on a monthly basis. Incident reports are submitted to the Human Resources office. The Facilities Department and the Human Resources department work hand-in-hand to empower and support the site Safety Solution Teams. All staff and students are encouraged to be a part of the safety effort and to take ownership at their sites.
Safety issues, concerns, and mitigation can occur at any time. Staff does not have to wait until the next meeting to voice and/or address a concern. We encourage all teams to discuss and capture lessons learned and to codify them into the site’s standard operating procedures (SOPs).
Helpful Links:
Oregon OSHA's Guide to Safety Committees and Meetings