An Occupational Safety and Health Policy is a commitment by management to provide a safe and healthy work environment for City employees and is authorized by Executive Order No. 65.  Every department and agency within the City is to maintain a workplace that is free from recognized hazards and to properly train their employees on safe work practices.  While the Risk Management Office provides citywide oversight, each department and agency is to provide management support and employ qualified safety representatives within their organization for the implementation of an effective Safety and Health Management System.

 

 

This Safety and Health Inspection Policy will assist in the identification of workplace hazards and establish responsibilities for their abatement.  Identification and removal of physical hazards and correction of unsafe work practices are vital components of the City and County of Denver’s Occupation Safety and Health Management System.  In accordance with Executive Order No. 65, the City is committed to maintaining a safe and healthy work environment that minimizes hazards that are likely to cause death or harm to employees or the public.  

In order to provide a safe and healthy work environment for City employees and to ensure that employees are properly trained to safely perform the level of work to which they are assigned, the City is to provide the necessary safety and health training.  The training is coordinated by the Risk Management Office, Career Service Authority and City Departments / Agencies.

"Risks" are sources of potential danger.  They are usually in the form of physical, chemical or biological contact.  Examples of safety-related risks include falls from elevated heights, electrical work and operating mobile equipment.   Health-related risks include exposure to noise, hazardous materials and bloodborne pathogens. This policy can be used to ensure that risks and hazards associated with work activities are identified so that control measures can be established to protect workers.  Risk assessments will be performed for all City operations which are considered hazardous and which could cause serious harm to employees if safe work practices are not followed.

The Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) is used to describe task specific hazards and to identify control measures that can be used to minimize exposure potentials to hazardous conditions.  JHAs are conducted for all work activities in which there is a risk of injury because of a potential exposure to a hazardous condition or a hazardous substance.  JHAs are revised whenever there is a change or a new risk is identified and maintained / reviewed periodically by the appropriate supervisor.

This policy has been developed to ensure employees are trained to recognize confined space and take the necessary precautions before entering a confined space.

The City and County of Denver’s Lockout/Tagout/Verify Policy has been developed to ensure that all equipment is de-energized and physically removed and isolated from external and internal power sources prior to servicing and maintenance activities in which the accidental start-up or the release of energy could cause injury or death. The primary purpose of this document is to protect personnel from injury or death. A secondary purpose is to protect equipment from damage.

The purpose of this policy is to establish safe work practices that are intended to prevent electric shock or other injuries resulting from either direct or indirect electrical contacts when work is performed near or on equipment or circuits which are or may be energized. Because of the diversity in job assignments throughout the City, employees are at varying levels of potential exposure to energized components of electrical systems.

This policy has been developed to establish minimum fall control practices for City and County employees who perform work in areas where they are exposed to heights of six feet or more and at lower heights where potentially hazardous conditions exist.

This policy has been developed to ensure contractors at the City and County of Denver have the appropriate programs developed and implemented to work safely at its facilities. The City is also committed to injury/illness prevention to all City employees and to the prevention of property damage or other loss caused by the action or inaction of outside contractors.

The City and County of Denver recognizes the hazards associated with the operation of heavy equipment/mobile equipment. This policy has been developed to establish guidelines to eliminate injuries or fatalities related to this type of equipment.

The City and County of Denver recognizes the hazards associated with the operation of hoisting and rigging/crane operations. This policy has been developed to establish guidelines to eliminate injuries from those operations.

Lacerations to hands, fractured fingers, amputated fingers and hands are just a few of the more common types of injuries associated with the failure to recognize, heed or protect against machinery and equipment hazards.

This policy has been developed to promote fire safety and awareness, and is aimed at reducing the risk of fire-related incidents and injuries. With this in mind we will utilize the resources of FM Global, the City's property insurance provider, to protect City assets. 

This policy has been developed to protect all City and County of Denver employees and contractors from the danger of fire or explosion from compressed gases. It is also intended to prevent property damage associated with fire peril.

Ensuring fire safety in the performance of hot-work (welding, cutting, and brazing) operations during demolition, construction, renovation, or maintenance activities is a critical component of fire prevention. This policy is designed to prevent injury and loss of property from fire or explosion as a result of hot work in City and County buildings and activities such as welding, brazing, soldering, heat treating, grinding and other similar application producing a spark, flame or heat. With this in mind we will utilize the resources of FM Global, the City’s property insurance provider, to protect City assets.

It is the purpose of this policy to establish the criteria for specified Emergency Response Procedures that are to be maintained by all City and County Departments / Agencies. The National Safety Council recommends that all facilities have a written response procedure for all emergencies which are most likely to occur at the worksite. Emergencies covered by this policy include, lightning, fire, tornado, suspicious person/intruder, hazardous materials release, bomb threat, explosion/gunfire, and a person with a weapon.

This policy has been developed to ensure employees at the City and County of Denver are provided the information needed to work safely with hazardous materials.  This will be  accomplished by departments / agencies creating and maintaining an inventory of all hazardous materials used in the workplace; labeling these materials with appropriate warnings; making material safety data sheets (MSDS) accessible to all employees; and educating employees in the hazards and the proper precautionary and emergency procedures related to the materials in their workplace.

The City and County of Denver has developed the Hearing Conservation Policy to ensure safe practices are designed to protect each employee from exposure to high sound levels while they perform their duties. Although individual susceptibility, personal hobbies, medical conditions and age affect individual hearing loss, it is a priority of the City to protect employees from occupational exposures.

This policy has been developed to provide adequate methodology for the proper application, selection, use and maintenance of personal protective equipment for the protection of the eyes, face, head, feet, hands and arms, torso, respiratory system and hearing for the City and County of Denver employees.

This policy has been developed to minimize the risk of occupational related respiratory injury / illness to the employees of the City and County of Denver. It provides guidance to city departments / agencies for applicable compliance with regulations pertaining to respiratory personal protective equipment (PPE). In theory, work activities and condition should be engineered and administratively controlled in such a manner that respiratory PPE would not be necessary. However, because of the unique nature of tasks and associated hazards faced by employees working within the various city departments, often in remote locations within diverse hazardous or potentially hazardous environments, it is not possible to engineer or administratively control all hazardous atmospheric conditions expected to be encountered.

This procedure has been developed to ensure that employees are provided a work environment that is ergonomically correct and minimizes the risk of developing work-related musculoskeletal disorders.  On-the-job injuries and illnesses associated with poor ergonomics can result in both acute and long-term medical conditions that can be debilitating for employees and costly for employers.  As it is the goal of the City & County of Denver to provide a workplace that is free from recognized hazards that could cause injury or illness, this procedure incorporates many of the guidelines established by industrial best practices to address ergonomic concerns.

This policy has been developed using recognized standards and is designed to protect the City and County of Denver's workers, particularly health care workers, from exposure to the Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), and other bloodborne pathogens. Of the diseases caused by these viruses, Hepatitis B is the most common, with 8,700 cases per year among workers in the health care profession. Hepatitis B infection may result in serious illness, potential long-term disability and death. HIV causes AIDS, for which there currently is no cure and which eventually results in death. These viruses, as well as other organisms that cause bloodborne diseases, are found in human blood and certain other human body fluids. Therefore, the City and County of Denver has adopted this policy to reduce or eliminate the risk of its workers coming into direct contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials while performing their jobs.

An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is a medical device used to treat a victim who suddenly becomes unresponsive, pulseless, and is experiencing sudden cardiac arrest. Use of AEDs has been scientifically proven to save lives when combined with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and early advanced medical care. The AED analyzes the heart rhythm and advises the operator if a shockable rhythm is detected.  If a shockable rhythm is detected, the AED will charge to the appropriate energy level and deliver a shock. According to the American Heart Association, the use of CPR and an AED within the first 3-5 minutes of cardiac arrest, followed by advanced medical care within 8-10 minutes, can result in greater than 50 percent long-term survival rates for witnessed cardiac arrest victims.

The City and County of Denver (CCD) is dedicated to environmental public health stewardship and leadership. CCD commits to environmental public health policies, actions and programs.

Denver Recycles is one of the city's most successful environmental programs. City workers collect more than 18,000 tons of recyclable materials each year, which generates an average of $800,000 in annual revenue. Reducing landfill waste by increasing participation in the free, easy-to-use program is a key goal of Greenprint Denver. Credit: Denver Recycles.

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that all accidents and incidents that result in a workplace injury or illness are thoroughly investigated to identify causal factors, and to ensure that corrective actions are taken to prevent a reoccurrence.  The procedure is this policy provides guidance to supervisors for completing the investigation and the Supervisor's Report of Accident or Incident.