Employees
ELM REVISION
Occupational Safety and Health Programs
Effective June 1, 2006, the Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM), 810, 820, 850, and the Appendix are
revised to reflect changes in Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) regulations and Postal
ServiceTM policies. Many of the revisions are not significant:
these include changes in section titles and organization
names as well as improvements in grammar or style. Other
changes are due to new or revised federal requirements.
Many changes incorporate new technology, such as the
Safety Toolkit, an online resource used to manage safety
programs.
Because these parts of the ELM are completely revised,
we are publishing a summary of the revisions in this article.
We will incorporate the complete text of these revisions
to the ELM into the next printed version and into the online
version, available on the Postal Service PolicyNet Web
site:
• Go to http://blue.usps.gov.
• Under "Essential Links" in the left-hand column, click
on References.
• Under "References" in the right-hand column, under
"Policies," click on PolicyNet.
• Click on Manuals for the ELM.
(The direct URL for the Postal Service PolicyNet Web
site is http://blue.usps.gov/cpim.)
The ELM is also available on the Internet:
• Go to www.usps.com.
• Click on About USPS and News, then Forms and
Publications, then Postal Periodicals and Publications, and then Manuals for the Employee and Labor
Relations Manual.
Summary of Changes to the Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM)
810, Occupational Safety and Health Program, is revised to add (1) the Voluntary Protection Program process
and other innovative safety activities; (2) Accident
Reduction Plan (ARP) responsibilities; (3) district support
for Facility Safety Coordinators (FSCs); (4) FSC use of the
Safety Toolkit; (5) reference to PS 8214, Certificate of
OSHA, Safety, and Environmental Records Transfer; and
(6) revised safety training, including Aviation Mail Security
training.
820, Reports and Investigations, Program Evaluations,
and Inspections, is revised to (1) remove language related
to "overlapping Postal Service and OSHA requirements"
and Human Resources Information System (HRIS) accident reporting; (2) include new language on OSHA reporting requirements and postal accident reporting systems;
(3) update accident analysis requirements; (4) clarify procedures for reporting serious accidents and reporting to
OSHA; (5) clarify procedures for cooperation with OSHA
investigations; (6) discuss how to use the Safety Toolkit to
prepare ARPs and Hazard Abatement Plans and conduct
inspections and other activities; (7) add labor-agreement
language on "regular staff meetings" in smaller facilities;
and (8) clarify language on OSHA inspections and
citations.
850, Emergency Action Plans and Fire Prevention and
Control, is revised to add information about (1) revised
OSHA emergency standards; (2) land Security requirements; (3) the Office of Emergency Preparedness;
(4) "incidental releases" of hazardous materials; (5) shelter-
in-place planning; (6) using volunteers in emergency evacuation teams; and (7) alarm requirements for audible and
visible signals.
Appendix, Records Control Schedules, Introduction and
Safety (32-43), are revised to reflect changes in records
management and retention requirements and to correct
references.
— Safety and Environmental Performance Management,
Employee Resource Management, 5-25-06
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