Read the latest version of the OSD COVID-19 Pandemic Return to Work Safety Plan 3.0. The plan is posted on the staff intranet, so be sure to sign into Google to access the file, which is located under Departments, Safety & Risk Management.

The latest version of the plan contains updated information, including COVID-19 response flow charts recently released by Thurston County Public Health and Social Services.

Please remember to follow all safety and health protocols outlined in the plan.

The latest version of the COVID-19 Pandemic Return to Work Safety Plan 2.2 is posted on the staff intranet on the Safety & Risk Management page. As you may recall, we emailed employees a copy of earlier versions of the plan last month. Since then, the plan has been updated to reflect the latest guidance from local and/or state health, education and government officials.

Please reference the staff intranet for the latest version of the plan. To access the staff intranet from the Olympia School District website, you must be signed into Google. Go to the Home page of the district website and click Login, then click the large red rectangle “Sign in with Google.”

View the COVID-19 Pandemic Return to Work Safety Plan 2.2

It is the Olympia School District’s goal to reduce and eliminate all work-related injuries, but in the unfortunate event that an employee is injured and needs to report an on-the-job injury, there is now a more direct process available.

In partnership with the ESD 113 Workers’ Compensation Trust, the Olympia School District is implementing an online Employee Incident Reporting Form that makes reporting a work-related injury simple.

Instead of filling out the large injury packet, an employee may report an injury directly to the ESD 113 Employee Incident Report webpage or from the OSD staff intranet:

1. Log in to the Olympia School District staff intranet.
2. Click the “Departments” page.
3. Click the “Safety and Risk” page.
4. Click the “Employee Incident Report” link.
5. Follow the step through the form and click submit.

That’s it! Quick, easy and direct. By using this format, the ESD and the district will be able to provide better service to the injured worker. This will help speed up the reporting process and reduce the amount of time it takes for the injured worker to report their injury.

In addition to this online format, we will continue to have paper forms available to all employees at the site where they work.

This week as we look forward to the summer, Safety and Risk Reduction Manager Wendy Couture shares information to make sure we are familiar with the hazards of heat-related illness. It is important to be aware of the potential hazards that summer brings. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has provided these tips to help us stay safe!

Stay Cool

Wear Appropriate Clothing: Choose lightweight, light-colored, loose-fitting clothing.

Stay Cool Indoors: Stay in an air-conditioned place as much as possible. If your home does not have air conditioning, go to the shopping mall or public library—even a few hours spent in air-conditioning can help your body stay cooler when you go back into the heat. Call your local health department to see if there are any heat-relief shelters in your area.

• Keep in mind: Electric fans may provide comfort, but when the temperature is in the high 90s, they will not prevent heat-related illness. Taking a cool shower or bath or moving to an air-conditioned place is a much better way to cool off. Use your stove and oven less to maintain a cooler temperature in your home.

Schedule Outdoor Activities Carefully: Try to limit your outdoor activity to when it’s coolest, such as morning and evening hours. Rest often in shady areas so that your body has a chance to recover.

Pace Yourself: Cut down on exercise during the heat. If you’re not accustomed to working or exercising in a hot environment, start slowly and pick up the pace gradually. If exertion in the heat makes your heart pound and leaves you gasping for breath, STOP all activity. Get into a cool area or into the shade, and rest, especially if you become lightheaded, confused, weak or faint.

Wear Sunscreen: Sunburn affects your body’s ability to cool down and can make you dehydrated. If you must go outdoors, protect yourself from the sun by wearing a wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses, and by putting on sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher 30 minutes prior to going out. Continue to reapply it according to the package directions.

• Tip: Look for sunscreens that say “broad spectrum” or “UVA/UVB protection” on their labels.

Do Not Leave Children in Cars: Cars can quickly heat up to dangerous temperatures, even with a window cracked open. While anyone left in a parked car is at risk, children are especially at risk of getting a heat stroke or dying. When traveling with children, remember to do the following:

• Never leave infants, children or pets in a parked car, even if the windows are cracked open.
• To remind yourself that a child is in the car, keep a stuffed animal in the car seat. When the child is buckled in, place the stuffed animal in the front with the driver.
• When leaving your car, check to be sure everyone is out of the car. Do not overlook any children who have fallen asleep in the car.

Stay Hydrated

Drink Plenty of Fluids: Drink more fluids, regardless of how active you are. Don’t wait until you’re thirsty to drink.

• Warning: If your doctor limits the amount you drink or has you on water pills, ask how much you should drink while the weather is hot.
• Stay away from very sugary or alcoholic drinks—these actually cause you to lose more body fluid. Also avoid very cold drinks, because they can cause stomach cramps.

Replace Salt and Minerals: Heavy sweating removes salt and minerals from the body that need to be replaced. A sports drink can replace the salt and minerals you lose in sweat.

• If you are on a low-salt diet, have diabetes, high blood pressure, or other chronic conditions, talk with your doctor before drinking a sports beverage or taking salt tablets.

Keep Your Pets Hydrated: Provide plenty of fresh water for your pets, and leave the water in a shady area.

Stay Informed

Check for Updates: Check your local news for extreme heat alerts and safety tips and to learn about any cooling shelters in your area.

Know the Signs: Learn the signs and symptoms of heat-related illnesses and how to treat them.

Use a Buddy System: When working in the heat, monitor the condition of your co-workers and have someone do the same for you. Heat-induced illness can cause a person to become confused or lose consciousness. If you are 65 years of age or older, have a friend or relative call to check on you twice a day during a heat wave. If you know someone in this age group, check on them at least twice a day.

Monitor Those at High Risk: Although anyone at any time can suffer from heat-related illness, some people are at greater risk than others:

• Infants and young children
• People 65 years of age or older
• People who are overweight
• People who overexert during work or exercise
• People who are physically ill, especially with heart disease or high blood pressure, or who take certain medications, such as for depression, insomnia, or poor circulation

Visit adults at risk at least twice a day and closely watch them for signs of heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Infants and young children, of course, need much more frequent watching.

This week, Wendy Couture, the district’s safety and risk reduction manager, shares information about coffee maker safety.

Brookhaven National Laboratory Fire Safety Engineering Group reports that there have been several coffee pot “meltdowns” over the years. All were due to the coffee maker being left plugged in, the coffee evaporating out, and the over-temperature sensor failing to limit the hotplate’s temperature. Fortunately, none of these meltdowns has resulted in significant fires. It is important that if we have a coffee maker in our workspace that we check it often.

Here is a summary of rules for safe electric coffee maker operation:

1. Electric coffee makers should be UL listed. If it is an older pot, check the
   Consumer Product Safety Commission website to see if it has a recall. When purchasing a new coffeemaker, choose a model with an automatic shutoff feature. It is very important for the safety of students and staff that all coffee makers have this shutoff feature to reduce the potential for fire, injury and property loss.
2. Place the coffee maker on a noncombustible surface, and keep combustibles away from it (ex. draper, paper towels).
3. Ensure coffee makers are turned off at the end of the work day (even those with automatic shutoffs). Assigning a person to unplug it from the electrical outlet is the best method of ensuring that it is off. Use of timers is not a guaranteed safety improvement. It is important to know that timers can turn equipment on after-hours, they do not adjust for holidays, and they are affected by power outages.
4. Now is a good time to check the GFCI receptacle to ensure it works. If coffee makers cause the circuit breaker to trip, disconnect power loads on the circuit immediately. Have the power circuits examined by the maintenance department prior to using again.
5. Many staff enjoy a cup of coffee periodically throughout the day. We need to all take responsibility for using this convenient piece of equipment by making sure it is in good working order and has the safety features identified above. In addition, it is a good work practice to unplug your coffee maker during the weekends and over holidays to reduce the potential for a fire hazard.

This week, Wendy Couture, the district’s safety and risk reduction manager, shares information about how to create a safe classroom, even with limited space.

One of the biggest hazards to safety is clutter. You may find you need many items in your classrooms for activities and lessons but are not sure what to do with it all. Like last week’s blog on organizing your storage or workspace closet your room or workspace needs to be just as organized. Not only does clutter put a stop to the efficient flow of lessons and activities, but also it adds new opportunity for danger to any task. Having clutter could very easily hurt an employee or student. Having floors strewn with backpacks or binders can lead to injuries. Anything you can do to minimize this hazard and keep these areas clear will improve the overall safety, quality and efficiency of anyone working or learning in these areas.

Backpacks and binders

I know you have heard this before but utilizing bins and containers can transform a space from a cluttered mess into a streamlined learning area. Loose items such as backpacks, binders, coats and extra clothes can be put into bins or hung up in designated areas. This is not just good organization, but a good safety practice as well. Uncontained items can easily move into walking paths that may block things like safety equipment or exits.

This allows you and your students to move freely around the room without the potential from falling over items left on the floor or which have been kicked out into the aisle way.

Coats and clothing

Coats and extra clothing like umbrellas and extra P.E. clothes can also add to the clutter. Is there a place for students to safely place their items during class? Do they have to put them under their desk or beside their desk? Can they be stored on hangers on the wall nearby? It is important to think about how these items can affect the safety of the people in the room when planning storage options. Another thing to think about is if the OSD warehouse has storage closets or bins that are available to help store these items in your class.

Desks and chairs

Are desks and chairs arranged in the classroom so that you and your students can move freely between them without having to “squeeze” by? It is important that the chairs and tables are arranged in a fashion that best utilizes the space safely. Making sure the students tuck in their chairs when they leave the classroom helps create a safer space.

Let’s share!

Being organized is never easy and getting organized with 20 plus students can be even harder. Let’s help each other out! Do you have something organizational that has worked for you in your classroom or work space? If you have ideas that you can share with other staff please forward them to wcouture@osd.wednet.edu so that your organizational ideas can get out to others who may find them useful. I will compile shared ideas and send them out to all staff. This can help everyone find a way to organize his or her space for safety and efficiency.