Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A)
Kent state university is committed to achieving
excellence in providing a safe and healthy working environment, and to
supporting environmentally sound practices in the conduct of university
activities. The implementation of this policy will ensure systematic
integration of safety and environmental considerations into all university
activities. This policy on safety management applies to all members of the
university community. This policy also applies to contractors whose work is
directed on a day-to-day basis by university employees.
(B)
To meet this
standard of excellence, the university will implement management initiatives
and best practices to include safety and environmental considerations in
university activities.
(1)
Kent state will comply with applicable safety and
environmental protection laws, regulations and requirements. University
activities are to be conducted in a manner that ensures the protection of
students, faculty, staff, visitors, the public, property and the
environment.
(2)
The university will maintain a safety and health
program to prevent injuries and illnesses, environmental incidents, property
losses and damages. The program will incorporate training, hazard assessments,
inspections, corrective actions, record keeping, committee establishment and
communication, and enforcement of work practices and rules. Achieving this goal
is the responsibility of every member of the university community. Supervisors
have particular responsibility for the activities of those employees who report
to them.
(C)
This policy must be clearly communicated to members of
the university community and university contractors. University expectations
and commitments are expressed through this and other policies, procedures,
guidelines, and notices, and in contract specifications. The format for
communicating specific expectations may vary from activity to activity, based
on the nature and severity of the hazards of the operations being performed.
Safety management relies on establishing objectives and on tracking performance
with respect to achieving and maintaining compliance with health, safety, and
environmental requirements. The following safety principles are intended to
provide directions to ensure safe activities from the inception of planning an
activity through the actual performance. The department of environmental health
and safety will publish and maintain information, guidelines, and implementing
instructions online, linked through
https://www.kent.edu/compliance/environmental-health-and-safety,for each set of the specific safety principles outlined in
this policy.
(1)
Safety management is based on individual
responsibility for safety and environmental stewardship. Managers at all levels
must demonstrate commitment to the implementation and sustained execution of
all elements of safety. Faculty, staff, students, and visitors support safety
by understanding and using these principles in their activities at the
university. Each individual is directly responsible for ensuring his or her own
safety and for promoting a safe, healthy, and environmentally sound workplace
and community.
(2)
University employees who direct the activities of
other individuals are responsible for protecting faculty, staff, students,
visitors, the public, and the environment, and for adhering to this policy.
Accountability should be addressed in job descriptions, performance
evaluations, and contracts.
(3)
The university
will establish clear and unambiguous lines of authority and responsibility for
ensuring safety and environmental protection at all organizational levels
within the university, and with university contractors.
(4)
Managers will
ensure that employees possess the experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities
necessary to perform their safety and environmental
responsibilities.
(5)
The university will allocate resources to address
safety and environmental protection in all university activities. Protecting
faculty, staff, students, visitors, the public, and the environment is a
priority whenever activities are planned and performed.
(6)
Before a member
of the university community conducts an activity that has potential adverse
implications for safety or the environment, a responsible party must evaluate
the associated hazards and environmental impacts and identify the appropriate
protective safety and environmental requirements to assure that faculty, staff,
students, visitors, the public, and the environment are protected from adverse
effects. The principal responsibility for such an evaluation resides with
employees, supervisors and managers. The Kent state university environmental
health and safety ("EHS") office is available for consultation and will assist
with the identification of appropriate requirements, controls, and standards,
and with their implementation.
(7)
The university
will implement a program of external communications, public participation, and
stakeholder involvement to obtain safety-related input from interested parties,
including regulatory agencies, funding organizations, local community groups,
students, alumni, and emergency response agencies. The program will institute a
safety communications network to address compliance and emergency
situations.
(8)
The university will adopt engineering and
administrative controls for activities being performed to prevent and mitigate
hazards and environmental impacts. The strategy employed will be to prevent
damage by designing the activities and controls to reduce or eliminate
accidents, injuries, exposure, and unplanned releases of harmful substances to
the environment.
Replaces: 3342-6-22
