CY 23 was a challenging year for the University in responding to lower enrollments and reduced funding. For EH&S, it was a similarly challenging time. We struggled to provide full service with a reduced staff while EH&S regulatory requirements increased and new buildings were coming online.
Our OSHA case incidence rate remained below the CSU average.
Despite our staffing and budget challenges, inspections by external regulatory agencies did not result in any citations or penalties for the 6th year in a row.
TRAINING
Full compliance with EH&S regulatory training requirements remains a continuing challenge for the campus. A cabinet level report on EHS training compliance was developed as a tool to improve management accountability.
A new hazard questionnaire-based system of identifying individual training requirements has been proposed. Implementing the new system locally would be made obsolete when HR converts to a systemwide HR MIS, so the concept has been proposed and accepted for a systemwide implementation.
Tracking of required EH&S training in laboratories is difficult because lab managers do not have CSU Learn access to the training records of the members of their lab. EH&S is working with Systemwide L&D and CSU-Learn on a solution.
INSPECTIONS
During the course of a year, EH&S performs, audits, accompanies inspectors performing, or manages contractors to conduct, more than 25,000 inspections. EH&S uses trained student aides to conduct many of the required internal safety and environmental regulatory inspections. Budget as well as EH&S Staff and student reductions have taken a toll on our ability to complete inspections on time.
PROGRAM MAINTENANCE & DEVELOPMENT
Program development continues on several fronts most notably in preparation of a Facilities employee and contractor safety handbook. The handbook contains rules for the safe performance of various kinds of work and describes a set of hazardous work permits to ensure proper precautions are in place before particularly hazardous work can take place. When work on the handbook is completed, in 2024, internal compliance with the handbook will become mandatory for employees and will be a requirement of contractors working on SFSU premises.