HomeMy WebLinkAboutPolicies - BOCCTO: Grant County Commissioners
FROM: Grant County Central Safety Committee
RE: Safety Policies & Procedures
DATE:
Dear Commissioners,
The Central Safety Committee representatives wish to recommend updating the current safety
policies and procedures. The committee feels this will not only benefit the employees of Grant Count.
Y
but contribute to the overall environment at Grant County for employees, customers, vendors visitors
etc.
Grant County Personnel Policy #1104.2.1 refers to the "...adopted and still active Safety Risk
Management Policies & Procedures Manual (drafted) of March 1996". We believe that "still active"
infers that this set of policies are the official safety policies of Grant County. According to the OSHA web
page Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs: Program Evaluation and Improvement
(n.d.), it is advised that a program (policies & procedures) be evaluated initially after drafing/ado tion
,
and then periodically after that, at least annually (para. 1). These evaluations ensure that:
• The system is working as intended, and
• That all policy referrals are current, etc.
The website PowerDMS (2020) states that outdated policies may fail to comply with new laws
and regulations, may not address new technologies, and can leave an organization at risk due to
inconsistent practices (para. 2). Paragraph five of the same webpage informs the reader the
governmental laws and regulations are subject to constant change, and that this change can affect
company policies and procedures.
It was with this in mind that the Safety Committee performed an initial and small-scale review of
the policies in question. In summary, the "still active Safety Risk Management Policies & Procedures
Manual of March 1996" was found to be excessively outdated. The WAC"s that are referred to in the
documents have been moved and updated to the point of rendering the Grant County Safety Risk
Management Policies & Procedures document obsolete. According to the Washington State #.eg sloture
webpage (2020.. June 2), there are many core rules regarding safety have been moved from WAC 296-24
to WAC 296-800.
Grant County Policy ##1104.2,4(a) charges the Central Safety Committee with "review (of) safe
practices and discuss (ion of) potential safety problems", and 1104.2.4(d) charges the Central Safety
Committee to "!'fake recommendations to the EO"s in the area of safety."
It is with this in mind that the Central Safety Committee comes to you now with the
recommendation that the reference to WAC 296-24.045 be stricken and amended to WAC 296-800-130.
and that the Grant County SafetylRlsk Monagement Policies & Procedures Manual of March 1996 be
stricken from Policy 1104.2.1, Groat County Central Safety Committee and Contacts, and replaced with
the updated policies as attached to reflect current workplace needs and state requirements, as well as
to became a living document that will better serve the employees and public of Grant County.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Grant Cool
Com m itte
Com m itte
Secretary