Environmental Health & Safety

Policy

• It is OSU policy that supervisors will pursue every reasonable effort to provide a safe and healthful work environment for employees and students
• Recognition and correction of unsafe conditions is an important part of the safety effort

General

• EH&S has established a Notice of Unsafe Condition form on which hazardous conditions or unsafe procedures can be reported to responsible supervisors
• The form has been reviewed and endorsed by the University Safety Committee. A copy of the form is reproduced below
• Notices will typically be sent to department heads
• Notices may be directed to building managers or supervisors if more appropriate

Program Specifics

• Primary purpose of the notice is to inform
• Timely correction is important, since most of the items identified will describe non-compliance with safety, fire, or health regulations
• To assist in this compliance effort a priority rating is given for each item. This priority system is as follows:
  1. Priority A: Item is serious and requires immediate corrective action. These items are usually fire or life-safety in nature, such as blocked exits, obstructed access to safety equipment or conditions that are immediately hazardous to health. In some cases correction may not be a simple matter and may take time for completion. However, work toward completion should begin as soon as possible.
  2. Priority B: Item is moderately serious and should be completed within one month. These are unsafe conditions such as unguarded equipment, material stored in hallways obstructing egress, excessive storage of flammable liquids, and so forth. Correction usually requires repairs or obtaining additional equipment.
  3. Priority C Item is minor and corrective action is recommended. These items are not violations of specific State, fire, safety and health codes, or University safety policy.
• To help with monitoring safety compliance, the notice should be returned to EH&S with an explanation or the date of correction indicated for each item
• Contact EH&S if there are questions about the items

The following safety problems were noted during an inspection on the above date. Correction of these items should be based on the following priority.

• Priority A - Item is serious and requires immediate corrective action
• Priority B - Item is moderately serious and correction should be completed within one (1) month
• Priority C - Item is minor and corrective action is recommended.

• Indicate the date that all priority A & B items were corrected and return to EH&S within one month from the date of issuance
• For those items that have not been corrected, give an explanation of what corrective action is in process or planned and give the expected date of completion
• If there are any questions or if you wish to discuss these items, contact the Inspector at ext. 7- 2273