THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE EMPLOYEE HEALTH & SAFETY REPRESENTATIVE MEETING. MEETING NO 4/ th November 2017

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1 THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE EMPLOYEE HEALTH & SAFETY REPRESENTATIVE MEETING MEETING NO 4/ 29 th ember A meeting of Employee Health & Safety Representatives was held on Wednesday 29 th of ember in the 5 th floor meeting room, Melbourne Dental School, University of Melbourne at am. PRESENT: Catmull (Melbourne Dental School) Chair/Minutes Heather Daykin (Pharmacology and Therapeutics) Paula Mitchell (FMDHS Microbiology and Immunology) Sioe See Volaric (Chemistry) David Belton (Earth Sciences) Mark Friedlander (VCA) Ashley Cross (VCA) Lynn Tran (Biochemistry) Imran Zaveer (Academic Services-757 Swanston St) Anton Cozijnsen (Biosciences 1, 2 and 3) Andrew Everett (University Services visitor) Brendan Chaplin (University Services) 1. FORMAL MATTERS 1.1 Welcome/Apologies Apologies were received from: Paulo Vaz-Serra (Architecture), Matthew Grazia (RIC- Parkville), Geoff Duke (Mechanical Engineering) and Cheryle Augustine (MMS-St Vincents). 1.2 Introductions All members of the committee introduced themselves and signed the attendance roll call. 2. Election of two HSRs to the Occupational Health and Safety Committee (OHSC) An election of two Health and Safety Representatives was undertaken, in accordance with the University s Occupational Health and Safety Committee s Standing Resolution 02/ The election was conducted in the presence of Mr Andrew Everett (Observer/Scrutineer, University Services). Two nominations were received for the positions Miss Catmull (Melbourne Dental School) and Mr David Belton (Earth Sciences). Both individuals were elected unanimously for the period of 3 years from the next University OHSC meeting. Two volunteer nominations were received for the position of OHSC alternate: Mr Anton Cozijnsen (Biosciences 1, 2 and 3) and Miss Lynn Tran (Biochemistry). 1

2 3. Confirm minutes of the last meeting Meeting minutes from Meeting 2/ were unavailable for confirmation at the last meeting due to s absence. These minutes were circulated at a later date for HSRs to read prior to the meeting. These meeting minutes were confirmed at this meeting unchanged. Meeting minutes for Meeting 3 were available as a hard copy at the meeting for HSRs to read. agreed to give HSR committee members a week to read over the minutes and send any changes to: dcatmull@unimelb.edu.au. If no responses were received by Wed 6 th December, the meeting minutes will be deemed confirmed via and circulated to the HSR list. If changes are received, they will be incorporated into the current minutes and circulated with the changes at COB on the 6 th of December. 4. Occupational Health and Safety Committee 4.1 What s happening at the OHSC The last OHSC meeting was held on Friday the 25 th of August. was absent at the meeting but provided a report to the committee based upon the minutes received from the meeting. Mr Colin Reiter noted that campus services is reviewing the University s traffic management plan and has engaged a company to review the Parkville campus and make recommendations. Campus Services is currently in the middle of completing a survey of all external façades to ensure they are all safe and structurally sound. Campus Services are also focusing on Lift Maintenance and Management on campus Mr Colin Reiter also noted that there was a new proposed project that would see dangerous goods cabinets be managed centrally by University Services to ensure correct maintenance. Mr Reiter will provide further information in due course. The Director of Wellbeing Services Mr Daniel Persaud gave a verbal report announcing preparations for Are you OK which was aiming to involve more Schools and Faculties this year. New Train Me e-training modules have been released: Plant safety, Warden training, Casual employee compliance and Laboratory safety. The following training modules are in development: Health and Safety Induction (Live as at 29), Ionising Radiation Safety and Laser Safety (still in development as at 29). Student feed is now live and functional in ERMS. They will now receive the same notification as staff receive when lodging an incident. notifications now contain instructions of how to provide an Incident Report to local HSRs. notifications will also soon contain information on how to lodge a maintenance request to Campus Services. New person types have been added to the injury field of the Incident reporting module. Work is beginning to utilise the audit module component of ERMS. 4.2 Progress of items previously raised at the OHSC Ms Mitchell noted that there are many DWGs that do not have an elected HSR. Mr noted that information confirming when a call out for nominations are made is now recorded on the pdf list of HSRs and DWGs online. HSRs are also notified of pending expiration via . He further noted that information about the opportunity for HSR 2

3 representation is included in health and safety training at each health and safety committee. Ultimately it was up to the DWG to elect their HSRs. Assembly point evacuation information for Lecture theatres has been updated and posted in all Lecture theatres on campus. Missing Planter boxes have been removed and new barriers have been placed in their place. 4.3 Items to be raised at the OHSC is concerned about the Health and Safety culture and the understanding of HSR roles and rights in some areas at the University. It has been brought to her attention recently that a HSR has been told they do not have to attend HSR meetings and they should remove themselves from all correspondence lists. Other HSRs have also been questioned when performing duties they are entitled to perform under the Act such as attend meetings and Health and Safety discussions. This needs to be addressed at a higher level. sought clarification from the committee regarding the definition of a Management Representation in the context of membership on divisional Occupational Health and Safety Committees. would like to know if the Biohazard Laboratory training course was moving to Train ME anytime soon. Ms Sioe See Volaric mentioned that many technical staff in Chemistry are having issues with the Health and Safety Risk Assessment module in the ERMS. She noted that several risk assessments that had been completed were lost and she flagged several issues with the system that her and her colleagues have experienced. Currently, Service Now is unable to assist with these requests for help. Mr Imran Saveer advised the committee he was interested in understanding the mental health risks within his designated workgroup (DWG). One option being considered was a survey of DWG members. He would like to know how he can gain assistance with this or implement it to the wider community. He is planning to meet with representatives from the Wellness Unit but this has not yet occurred. 5. OTHER BUSINESS 5.1 ERMS update from ground level- HSR opinions asked if any HSRs were receiving Incident Reports since the new system has been implemented and how that compares to the old system in THEMIS. Only a few were able to answer in this meeting and most were saying it was too early to gauge. Hence, this will be re-visited in the New Year. 5.2 Meeting Dates for 2018 tried to mix up the days the meetings were held in to accommodate more of the HSRs who couldn t make it on a Thursday. Recent feedback this year has suggested that afternoons may be more suitable in the future. will be posting a Doodle Poll in the next couple of weeks to ask for feedback. The most popular responses will be chosen to set the meeting dates for

4 5.3 Summary of Victorian HSR Conference was pleased to note a better turn out of University HSRs at this year s HSR Conference vs last year. Attendees fully enjoyed the day and the content delivered and discussed. Brendan has a summary of the key points which he will circulate to for inclusion as supplementary information with these meeting minutes. will also provide notes from last year s conference for new HSRs and other interested HSRs to show the value of attending these conferences. It is all great material that you can take back and utilise in your own DWGs to enhance your role as a HSR. 5.4 Any other business informed the committee that due to increasing demands in the Laboratory next year she will have to step down from some of her responsibilities on the committee. has asked for someone to help co-convene the meetings and take up various tasks she performs in preparation for the meetings to help lessen her workload (like a roster system). If cannot find people to complete enough tasks for the meetings, the meetings will be cancelled. Stay tuned for these instructions. will make them very simple to understand and execute. All templates and instructions will be provided to make the transition as easy as possible. HSRs questioned why we have systems that don t work efficiently. Examples were ERMS modules (as mentioned in 4.3) Chemwatch and some aspects of Train Me. Chemwatch errors seems to be due to the sheer size of what is managed through the system. The Inventory System was also mentioned noting that it was difficult to locate chemicals when a person may not necessarily know their storage requirements (e.g cold room or freezer storage?) It is not easily editable. In Train Me only 3 reminder s are sent to staff to complete modules. If they are not attended to in that time, they essentially fall off the radar. Mr Andrew Everett mentioned that HR representatives can track and follow up on these noncompletions. 4

5 Action item table: Date Aug Item Action Person Responsible Safety data claims and reports from OHSC MDF use Committee members (including HSRs) have requested that data from bullying/psychological/h arassment complaints be included in these documents A Casual staff member has raised concerns about the use of MDF particle boards and laser cutters that produce formaldehyde vapours and dust particles. Whilst there are extractors present in the room to clear the fumes, the extractors are known to fail at times. In addition, the Extractors over the cutting machine are not hooded to catch the dust. C&C Milling (Computer controlled drill) releases particles when the boards are cut spreading dust everywhere which is not in one isolated place. Linus Tan Mark Friedlander Status Completed Information from Worksafe has confirmed that the only standard breakdowns under Safety Data claims and reports are: Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), other reactions to stress and other mental disorders not yet classified. HSRs still feel as though Worksafe is not capturing the data we are interested in. Update: If the student cannot be located, this will be removed from the list next meeting. stressed the importance of following issues brought to the committee right through to completion to instil a sense of confidence in HSRs and employees in a DWG. Linus Tan has left the University. 5

6 Mark Friedlander provided an update. In Mark s area they cannot control the dust generated from the MDF so the MDF is substituted for other material. The extraction system in Linus area is not sufficient but there is a contact at RMIT with a proper extraction system where dust is collected externally into a container of some sort and the waste is taken away. MDF is banned in the US. Investigate? Areas can also order MDF with decreased amount of formaldehyde. The data Steve G. obtained from Linus area was deemed inconclusive. Can this be repeated? Paulo Vaz-Serra (Architecture) will see if he can discover which Fab Lab staff member raised this issue. Mark F may know the student. Emergency Management Response Emergency Management Response Team issue. Procedures are not transparent and who to contact in emergency is unclear Brendan Chaplin Catmull Brendan is still awaiting feedback from. Who does the operations and who is responsible for 6

7 strategies? No clarifications have been provided to date. Bring forth to the OHSC. Brendan Chaplin provided minutes from the US OHS committee meeting to. It stated that will meet with a local rep to try and clarify who is responsible for developing the Building emergency response manuals An increase in the number of Students presenting with anxiety and depression Requires a proactive approach Mental health focus in strategic plan of the University. This is happening although this is not being noticed at a local level. There is insufficient exposure to this information. It is published at higher level but staff not getting information. Completed HSRs have confirmed that information has been provided and raised over this issue at their local committees (Great work!) HR HSRs were reminded at all staff can complete Mental Health Training Units which can be requested through your local HR Rep. This course will assist in identifying people struggling at work and to refer them to counselling services. In addition staff can refer to their local HR business partner for assistance. Plans for HSR committee meeting to look at rescheduling meetings to avoid school holidays Catmull Almost completed 7

8 etc. Try to encourage more HSRs to attend meetings. has rotated the days the committee meets. The timing is still not appropriate for some who teach. Suggest moving 2018 meetings (half) to an afternoon timeslot. to send out a Doodle Poll and a survey to encourage higher attendance in Review of afterhours processes Engineering have called to review their afterhours procedures and processes as they have been deemed unworkable. Engineering were to arrange a meeting with central OHS. Are there wider problems across campus? Would a phone app improve things? Engineering and Almost Completed The new Working in Isolation Policy is really good. This policy will address after hours processes. Has this been integrated into the area? Does it cover the concerns in Engineering? Earth Sciences Health and Safety roles Concerns that an OHS officer in Earth Sciences who is leaving the position will have their roles distributed amongst several other staff. How will the dilution of this role affect Health and Safety change within that DWG. There are changes in the way the Health and Safety team communicates with staff causing issues.?? David Belton?? Ongoing discussions are being had in this area. The new system is working to a point. Still no key person to go to for various matters. Needs clarity. informed David to take this to their next OHS meeting and to define who does what so that all staff can be made aware. 8

9 OHS communication The university webpage has great information but requires that employees regularly log onto the page to check for updates which they may not do. Need improvement in the way we are notified about Health and Safety information to increase awareness and improve communication and importance. All HSRs Completed stressed the importance of passing committee meeting minutes and information to local areas to ensure areas are kept well informed. Aug Assembly point information in lecture theatres Is assembly point information being updated in lecture theatres? Who is responsible for this? Completed. See item 4.2 Aug Library HSR representation The number of HSRs across Parkville and Southbank libraries has reduced from 5 to zero. Is there any way to increase the number of DWGs to encourage HSRs to volunteer? Paula Completed has provided information on more than one occasion to generate discussion and action on renegotiating DWGs in the Library. No action can be taken without these steps being undertaken by members of the DWG. ERMS and HSR notification Are HSRs being notified of incidents under the new system? How does this compare to the old system? asked if any HSRs were receiving Incident Reports since the new system has been implemented and how that 9

10 compares to the old system in THEMIS. Only a few were able to answer in this meeting and most were saying it was too early to gauge. Hence, this will be revisited in the New Year. Health and Safety Culture Understanding HSRs rights and responsibilities (right to attend meetings and perform duties they are entitled to perform when required under the Act). Catmull Sally Eastoe is concerned about the Health and Safety culture and the understanding of HSR roles and rights in some areas at the University. It has been brought to her attention recently that a HSR has been told they do not have to attend HSR meetings and they should remove themselves from all correspondence lists. Other HSRs have also been questioned when performing duties they are entitled to perform under the Act such as attend meetings and Health and Safety 10

11 discussions. This needs to be addressed at a higher level. Membership on divisional Occupational Health and Safety Committees. Clarification regarding the definition of a Management Representation in Academic areas where there are high % "Management reps because they supervise students. Catmull sought clarification from the committee regarding the definition of a Management Representation in the context of membership on divisional Occupational Health and Safety Committees. Progress on Lab based Train me course When will the Biohazard Laboratory Practice course be available on Train me? Catmull would like to know if the Biohazard Laboratory training course was moving to Train ME anytime soon. ERMS Issues with Risk Assessment Module Sioe See Volaric Ms Sioe See Volaric mentioned that she was having issues with the Health and Safety Risk Assessment module in the ERMS. She noted that several risk assessments were lost and she flagged several issues with the system. Currently, Service Now is unable to 11

12 assist with these requests for help. Mental Health survey Mr Imran Saveer wants to introduce a mental health survey within his DWG Imran Saveer Sally Eastoe Dani Norman?? Mr Imran Saveer advised the committee he was interested in understanding the mental health risks within his designated workgroup (DWG). One option being considered was a survey of DWG members. He would like to know how he can gain assistance with this or implement it to the wider community. He is planning to meet with representatives from the Wellness Unit but this has not yet occurred. 7. NEXT MEETING: TBC in Dec/Jan. 12