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Safety and OSHA Compliance Programs (SOCP) assists the vice president of Employee Resource Management in administration and evaluation of the safety and health program by monitoring and improving the program and related safety and health policies, procedures, and standards.
In conjunction with the General Counsel and other functional organizations, SOCP establishes policies and procedures to manage OSHA compliance activity, including citations, penalties, abatement, negotiated settlements, and judicial procedures.
The Ergonomics Program works with SOCP and OHS to identify ergonomic issues and propose solutions to reduce or eliminate injury risks, ensuring that ergonomic safety is integrated into all Postal Service operations.
SOCP does the following:
- Provides expertise and staff support to other Headquarters functional areas and area offices as necessary;
- Provides comments on proposed OSHA regulations to Government Relations; and
- Coordinates with other federal agencies, private sector employers, and professional groups on matters of safety and health.
The area Human Resources manager:
- Assists the area vice president in the implementation of national safety and health policies, programs, and directives. This includes responsibility for long-term planning and monitoring activities.
- In conjunction with field legal counsels, provides oversight and advice on OSHA compliance activities.
- Supports the districts in the administration of their safety and health programs and monitors status of the OSHA Log and Summary of Injuries and Illnesses.
- Responsibilities include budgeting for and scheduling safety and health resources, including professional development of the safety and health staff.
- Additionally, the area Human Resource function provides technical support for district safety personnel.
Safety personnel are responsible for developing and monitoring a comprehensive safety and health program for facilities within their geographic boundaries. While the responsibilities of safety personnel will vary depending on the size of the organization, the number of locations, and the type of operation, their major function is to serve as technical advisors and consultants to line management. To support line management, they contribute their experience, knowledge, and judgment to the formation of decisions that affect safety and health. Other safety personnel functions include:
- Tracking and reviewing accidents in the Employee Health and Safety (EHS) system.
- Monitoring the status of the OSHA Log and Summary, and advising management of deficiencies.
- Collaborating with management to prepare and administer OSHA-mandated written programs.
- Assisting line managers, in conjunction with injury compensation and medical personnel, to:
- Resolve safety and health problems,
- Interpret policies, standards, and regulations, and
- Provide detailed action plans for management implementation.
- Analyzing accident, injury, and illness statistics, hazardous condition reports, inspection results, and related data in order to advise management on corrective actions.
- Identifying and assessing accident- and loss-producing conditions, practices, and trends.
- Advising management on incorporating effective countermeasures into District and facility-specific ARPs.
- Conducting safety and health inspections and program evaluations.
In addition, full-time safety personnel assist collateral duty facility safety coordinators with technical advice, OSHA reporting, training, and related issues.
In facilities in which there are no full-time safety positions, the installation head or designee is the collateral duty facility safety coordinator (FSC) and performs safety-related duties appropriate to the size and function of the facility. The FSC must be an EAS employee and his or her responsibilities include the following:
- If there are fewer than 100 work years of employment (see 824.33) in the facility, conducting the annual safety and health inspection. He or she performs the inspection under the guidance of the servicing safety office.
- Maintaining the hazard log PS Form 1767, Report of Hazard, Unsafe Condition, or Practice (see 824.634).
- Using the Safety Toolkit in the performance of their duties. At a minimum, they must record:
- Safety and health inspection deficiencies and abatements,
- Program evaluation findings and corrective actions, and
- Employee reports of hazards and corrective actions.
- Advising the installation head/manager with development, implementation, and monitoring of countermeasures in the facility ARP.
- Coordinating with supervisors and the district on Human Resources Management issues.
- Completing training for their duties using Postal Service-approved courses. At a minimum, all FSCs must complete the online FSC training course (see http://nced.usps.gov/safety/course.htm).
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