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Off-Campus Site Assessment

The mission of Auburn University to improve the lives of the people of Alabama, the nation, and the world through forward-thinking education, life-enhancing research and scholarship, and selfless service, extends beyond the physical campus itself. Auburn University has off-campus instructional sites located at various locations and in order to keep these locations safe, instruction-focused, and forward-thinking, Risk Management and Safety conducts off-campus site assessments to mitigate and identify risks and issues. The process is outlined below.

Defining Off-Campus Sites

Risk Management and Safety is responsible for promoting safe instructional sites both on and off campus where university students, faculty, staff, and visitors are present. Routine site assessments are conducted at all instructional facilities and locations where activities are performed to identify any present hazards, provide corrective actions, and establish an ongoing site visit schedule.

Determining Offsite Visit Criteria

Offsite locations are instructional or research sites not on the main Auburn University campus. These locations contain Auburn University faculty, staff, and students. The housing may be either owned or leased. High hazard environments are visited upon request.

Prior to Visit

To ensure that all facilities and operations are evaluated thoroughly, the below items include, but are not limited to, site-specific information that will be obtained for each facility before the site visit:

  • Address of all facilities
  • Ownership of each property (leased or AU owned)
  • Building construction components
  • Occupancy classifications
  • Square footage
  • Property Maintenance
  • Fire and Life Safety Equipment Management
  • List of any equipment used for instruction (tractor, hand tools, band saw, etc.)

This information may be obtained before the site visit, verified upon physical assessment and evaluation, and maintained by the Site Assessment Coordinator. This information will aid in correct facility identification and determine Risk Management and Safety (RMS) resources for site visits.

Job Activities and Hazard Identification

Hazard data will be collected on activities performed by students, faculty, and staff and the facilities in which these activities occur. Job Activities are broken down into the following categories:

  • Animal Care
  • Biological Exposures
  • Chemical Use and Exposures
  • General Safety Operations
  • Radiological Equipment and Exposures
  • Regulated Activities (ex. Pesticides, Regulated Waste, Hazardous Building Materials)
  • Respiratory Hazards
  • Tools, Machinery, and Equipment
  • Vehicle Usage

Following the initial site visit, RMS Program involvement will be identified and potential actions outlined which could include data collection initiatives, physical site visits, and follow-up visits as needed.

The Site Assessment Coordinator or other selected RMS representative will be selected as the team leader to coordinate and organize data collection, site visit schedule, and follow-up items.

Pre-Visit Document Review

Based on information collected from the job activities and associated hazard data, the site assessment coordinator will begin to consolidate available data including:

  • Previous RMS site visit documentation
  • Previously identified procedures, programs, and policies associated with the site and site activities.
  • Training records
  • On-the-job injuries, near misses, and incident records and investigations

If data is not available, the coordinator will collaborate with the site contact to collect and distribute any available documents to include in the initial visit assessment.

Initial Site Visit

When all relevant information has been collected, the Site Assessment Coordinator will work with the site contact to schedule a site visit. The length of time appointed to conduct the site visit is determined by the scale of the activities that are being performed. Along with the RMS representatives, members of the instructional site’s leadership and operations team are to be present and/or available to answer questions.

The site visit will include a physical evaluation of the following:

  • All facilities associated with the instructional programs.
  • All equipment used by students, faculty, staff, and employees (ex. Machinery, vehicles, powered industrial equipment, etc.).
  • If applicable, living quarters that are managed by Auburn University.

Any item identified as a concern outside the scope of RMS’s responsibility will be forwarded to the appropriate department as part of the final report.

Any item identified that is of immediate danger to life or health will be addressed before RMS leaves the site. Corrective actions may include an immediate suspension of activities.

Corrective Actions

Each identified hazard that requires corrective action will utilize the hierarchy of controls to lower and or eliminate hazard exposure and reduce the risk of illness or injury. The hierarchy of controls is used to determine which actions will best control exposures. There are five levels of action. These are listed below in the preferred order of action based on effectiveness:

  1. Elimination
  2. Substitution
  3. Engineering Controls
  4. Administration Controls
  5. Personal Protective Equipment

Elimination

Elimination removes the hazard at the source. This is the preferred solution for protection because no exposure can occur.

Substitution

Substitution is the use of a safer alternative to the source of the hazard. Any substitution must be assessed to ensure its effectiveness and for any potential harmful effects. It must not create new risks.

Engineering Controls

Engineering controls reduce or prevent contact with the hazard. This can include equipment modification, protective barriers, and ventilation.

Administrative Controls

Administrative controls establish practices that reduce the duration, frequency, or intensity of exposure to a hazard(s). This includes process training, activity rotation, breaks, adjusting speeds, etc.

Personal Protective Equipment

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is equipment worn to minimize exposure to hazards. Examples include gloves, safety glasses, hearing protection, hard hats, and respirators. The recommendation of PPE is only used when the other control methods are unable to reduce the hazardous exposure to safe levels.

Evaluation Reports

Upon completion of the site visit by the designated RMS programs, the RMS Site Assessment Coordinator will facilitate the collection of data obtained during the visit and organize it into the Off-Campus Instructional Site Assessment Report.

The report will include the following:

  • Location of any observed hazard.
  • Safety and health concerns specific to hazard.
  • Existing controls present to mitigate hazard exposure.
  • Corrective actions needed to effectively mitigate hazards including regulatory-specific requirements regarding concern.
  • Personnel responsible for corrective action completions.
  • Risk Rating and Matrix.
  • Supporting photos and documentation.
  • Executive Summary.

The RMS working group will complete the report and send it to the site visit contact.

Each item and/or hazard identified receives a color rating that has a corresponding corrective action. The corrective actions range from “monitoring” to “immediate corrective action needed.” The ratings identified for each item will be used to identify the priority in which corrective actions are to occur.

Based on the assessment and anticipated work on site, a follow-up visit will be scheduled. If a task or procedure change warrants an earlier visit then it will addressed promptly.

If any changes to the program is made that would impact the rating or assessment schedule, the site coordinator should notify Risk Management and Safety.

As a reminder, safety is the responsibility of all faculty, staff, and students. Any items identified as a hazard must be prioritized for remediation.

Sits will receive a report detailing the findings, corrective actions, and corresponding photos. Risk Management and Safety welcomes the opportunity to work collaboratively with programs to help remediate each finding.

Evaluation

All assessments, hazards, and/or incidents, will be evaluated based on the risk identification process illustrated below.

Upon completion of the site visit, the Site Assessment Coordinator will begin working with RMS representatives to organize evaluation data, assess hazard ratings, and recommend corrective actions.

The ratings identified for each item will be used to identify the priority at which corrective actions are to occur.

These corrective action ratings will also aid in determining the site visit follow-up schedule.