These safe work practices offer essential health and safety information to help prevent injuries during daily tasks and assignments. By following these guidelines, you can create a safer work environment for yourself and others in your workplace.
These safe work practices are part of the College of Marins Injury and Illness Prevention Program and are required by Cal/OSHA. Employees shall follow these safe work practices while performing work activities at all times.
You are welcome to share your ideas to enhance or refine these safe work practices.
- Working in the heat of the day might pose major risks if proper precautions are not taken. Heavy work is usually scheduled for the early hours of the day. Please take the following precautions when working outside on hot days:
- During the break, go to a shaded area or an air-conditioned room.
- Drink plenty of water, but in little doses frequently rather than huge amounts at rare intervals.
- Maintenance staff should wear appropriate clothing and equipment. Steel-toe safety shoes, gloves, glasses, goggles, respirator, hard hats, dust masks, hearing protectors, knee pads and coveralls when necessary.
- Observe all traffic laws when driving district owned vehicles. Make sure you have received the proper training prior to driving any district owned vehicles.
- Operate heavy equipment (i.e., aerial lift truck, forklift) with extra caution and care. Make sure you have received the proper training before operating heavy equipment.
- Only certified drivers may operate the forklift. Follow the safety rules. Before operating a forklift, the driver should inspect it. If harmful conditions are discovered, notify your supervisor right away so that they can be repaired. Riders are not authorized on these vehicles.
- All flammable materials of five gallons or over should be stored in flammable storage cabinets.
- Incompatible chemicals should not be stored in the same cabinet or in close vicinity.
- Corrosive materials should be stored properly to ensure the safety of colleagues and college facilities.
- Chemicals should be stored in appropriate non-leaking containers, be labeled clearly and properly.
- When operating equipment that creates a noise level greater than 85dBA, ear protection must be worn. If you are unsure of the noise level contact your manager or the health & safety coordinator to have the sound level looked at. Cal/OSHA regulations require use of hearing protection when using loud noisy equipment (i.e., chain saws, mowers, blowers, tractors, etc.)
- Because of the presence of flammable liquids, extreme care and caution should be used to mitigate likelihood of fires:
- “NO SMOKING” signs should be posted.
- Containers of flammable substances (i.e., gas jugs) should be kept in the flammable storage cabinets at all times when not in use.
- Compressed gas cylinders should be contained in a cart or secured by two solid metal chains installed roughly one-third and two-thirds of the way up on the cylinder so that the cylinder cannot fall or tip over.