Crisis Management Plan Workbook

A TECHNICAL PUBLICATION OF ASSES
PUBLIC SECTOR PRACTICE SPECIALTY
Perspectives
VOLUME 9 NUMBER 1
PAGE 4
JORDAN
BARAB
Todays OSHA
Crisis Management
Plan Workbook
A crisis management plan begins with determining
the detail needed. A management plan organizational workbook can be used as a companion to the more
detailed corporate or local crisis management plans.
PAGE 9
BEES
Africanized
Bee
Awareness
PAGE 13
ICE
Emergency
Cell Phone
Contact
PAGE 22
TREE CARE
Work-Related
Fatalities
BY LARRY G. HOLLOWAY, CSP, MEP
risis management began

in the U.S. when the
Department of Labor was
established on March 4,
1913. The departments
stated purpose was to foster, promote
and develop the welfare of working
people, to improve their working conditions and to enhance their opportunity for profitable employment. Since
this beginning, many boards, organizations and acts have been formed to
help fulfill this purpose.
A crisis management plan organizational

workbook can be
adapted to a
wide variety of
industrial/
business settings.
On Dec. 29, 1970, the OSH Act

was signed into law to protect workers and workplace safety. OSHA was
formed as part of this act on the
same day. Since its inception, many
positive changes have taken place
under the mandated regulations.
On Feb. 24, 1992, OSHA promulgated the process safety management
(PSM) regulation to prevent disasters
such as the 1984 Bhopal disaster.
This regulation is intended to prevent
continued on page 28
1
Perspectives www.asse.org
For a complete
Table of Contents,
see page 3
ADMINISTRATORS MESSAGE
GREETINGS
TO ALL!
t is my pleasure to serve as Public Sector Practice Specialty (PSPS)

administrator for the next 2 years. As a career safety professional with
several years experience in the public sector, I look forward to working
with each of you to make this the best practice specialty among ASSEs
Council on Practice and Standards. Along the way, we will get to know each
other and will achieve success for our public sector safety colleagues to
carry on into the future.
The publication editor position is open for the 2009-11 term. PSPS
Assistant Administrator Fred Fanning has volunteered to act as editor
until a replacement is found. Do not be surprised if you hear from him,
as he will contact many of you for articles. Whatever you can do to
support Perspectives will benefit PSPS and will be greatly appreciated.
I want to thank Fred for his outstanding leadership as PSPS administrator these last 2 years. Through his professional leadership and
vision, a standard operating procedure and strategic plan were developed that have helped PSPS grow and have brought in a variety of
expertise and members. Additionally, he has left a thriving membership for the next administrator.
We are drafting a new strategic plan for Fred to review before submitting it to the PSPS Advisory Committee for approval. This will
STEPHEN M. DIMOND pave the way for our activities in the coming year. Please send any
suggestions you may have to Fred (fanning@netscape.com) or me
(stephen.dimond@us.army.mil).
I anticipate an educational, exciting and demanding ride these next
2 years. I hope you will come with us. I need to hear from you throughout
this whole process. What are your priorities and what can we do to support
them? What can we do better and what should we stop doing? Two years
from now, we will look back with pride at what we have accomplished and
know that by making public sector safety professionals stronger, smarter and
more adaptable, accidents can and will be prevented. As we say in the Army,
hooah!
Perspectives
PUBLIC SECTOR PRACTICE SPECIALTY
OFFICERS
Administrator
STEPHEN M. DIMOND
(256) 450-9330
stephen.dimond@us.army.mil
Assistant Administrator
FRED FANNING
(202) 482-1200
fanning@netscape.com
Publication Editor
OPEN
COMMITTEES
Awards & Honors
JAMES HIGGINS
lobordr@msn.com
Conference & Seminars

DANIEL DELLA-GIUSTINA
daniel.dellagiustina@mail.wvu.edu
Membership Development
MARY BETH OCONNELL
moconnell@brsrisk.com
Nominations
JAMES MASON
jemason@ci.berkeley.ca.us
Website Development
ERIKE YOUNG
eyoung@brsrisk.com
ASSE STAFF
Staff Liaison
RENNIE HEATH
(847) 768-3436
rheath@asse.org
Publication Design
SUSAN CARLSON
scarlson@asse.org
Perspectives is a publication of ASSEs Public
Sector Practice Specialty, 1800 East Oakton St.,
Des Plaines, IL 60018, and is distributed free
of charge to members of the Public Sector
Practice Specialty. The opinions expressed in
articles herein are those of the author(s) and
are not necessarily those of ASSE. Technical
accuracy is the responsibility of the author(s).
Send address changes to he address above;
fax (847) 768-3434; or send via e-mail to
customerservice@asse.org.
2
C O N T E N T S
VOLUME 9 NUMBER 1
PAGE
4 PLENTY
IN THE
PLENARY
OSHAs Jordan Barab participated in the plenary session at Safety

2009.
PAGE
7 CONTINUITY
OF OPERATIONS
PLANNING FOR PUBLIC
ORGANIZATIONS
9 BEE AWARE: COMING SOON

LOCATION
NEAR YOU
PAGE
21
ROUNDTABLE ON
SCHOOL SAFETY:
RECAP
By Chris Bradshaw
Africanized bees are migrating into the U.S.
PAGE
MEDICAL
EMERGENCIES
IN SCHOOLS
Developing an emergency response plan
to address life-threatening medical emergencies is of utmost importance.
A COOP plan will allow a public organization to continue its

work with little or no disruption in service.
TO A
20
By Daniel Mahoney
By Fred Fanning
PAGE
PAGE
11 Should the Public Sector
The Public Sector Practice Specialty held

a roundtable discussion during Safety
2009 to address school safety.
Participate in VPP?
By Robert Bob Sander
This article outlines basic information about VPP.
PAGE
13 ICE: In Case of Emergency
22
WORK-RELATED
FATALITIES IN TREE
CARE OPERATIONS
IN THE U.S.:
1992-2007
By Amy Stewart
Using ICE will help emergency responders reach your emergency contact person.
PAGE
PAGE
14 LIQUOR LIABILITY
& SPECIAL EVENTS
NIOSH reports on tree care operations.
By Rob Roscoe
Understanding the liability emergency service organizations face
when serving alcoholic beverages at events.
PAGE
16 TRANSPORTING STUDENTS SAFELY

This article addresses the requirements for safety in public
school loading and offloading zones.
18 CHAPERONES CAN
AFFECT SAFETY
ON
Influenza pandemic poses a serious

threat to global public health and leadership focus on pandemic preparedness
is vital.
TRIPS
By Joann Robertson
Chaperones serve a vital role in the supervision of students.
CONNECTION KEY
Click on these icons for immediate access or bonus information
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25
GAO REPORT ON
INFLUENZA PANDEMIC
PLANNING: AN
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
By Gayle T. Carson
PAGE
PAGE
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WORKPLACE SAFETY
Plenty in the Plenary

Editors Note: Jordan Barab, deputy assistant secretary and
acting assistant secretary for OSHA, presented this speech during
a plenary session at Safety 2009.
know that you are eager to hear about the future of

OSHA, the new leadership in the Department of Labor
and how this will affect you in your workplaces.
We will get to that in a moment, but here and now, I
want to focus on an important but possibly underappreciated factor in workplace safety. Leadership in Washington
and in state labor departments is necessary, standards and guidance documents
are essential and enforcement is critical,
but I want to recognize the other factor
in the safety equation.
What makes workplace safety a reality in the offices and factories, hospitals
and schools, warehouses and shipping
docks, at the top of electrical towers and
in the trenches of construction sites is
the quiet hero on the ground, the onsite
safety and health professional who suits
Jordan Barab at Safety 2009. up, shows up and speaks up every day
to help protect fellow workers.
Many of your employers and fellow workers may
appreciate what you do, but many others do not completely understand how grateful they should be when you call a
safety meeting, pass around OSHA QuickCards and other
information, respond to close calls and complaints and talk
to upper-level management about steps that must be taken
to increase workplace safety.
Your employers have shown admirable foresight and
responsible management by hiring yougranted. Giving
you a position of responsibility to protect the workers
around you as well as the integrity of their business
makes sound business sense; so, good for them and good
for you. I just wonder whether your job titles truly capture the enormous benefit you provide.
You are the guardians at the gate of tragedy and disaster, yet you rarely get the recognition you deserve for
performing your job perfectly. You get no credit when
your worksite has a normal daywhen nothing blows
up or burns down, when no one on your watch gets hurt
or killed. While your vigilance and expertise ensure that
your co-workers go home at the end of the workday with
all their fingers, toes and limbs intact, you probably get
no mention in the prayers at their dinner tables. As the
family breadwinner, safe and sound, doles out the
dessert, you almost never see a slice of that cake or pie,
but you should.
Heroes that you are, you take silent pride at the end of
the workday and return home to your own families and
friends with hardly a word said about how well you did
your job today.
Well, I know what you do, and so does Labor
Secretary Hilda Solis, and on behalf of the Department
of Labor and OSHA, from the bottom of our hearts, we
thank you for your invaluable daily contribution to workplace safety and health.
It is not every organization that gets both the
Secretary of Labor and the (acting) head of OSHA in the
same day. But we so much appreciate your work that we
both came here to join you in San Antonio to tell you in
person. Thank you. Great job. Well done!
We also came here to ASSEs Safety 2009
Conference to tell you that you are not alone. We have
got your back. Your fight is our fight.
I hope you all heard Labor Secretary Hilda Solis at
this mornings opening general session. I was so pleased
when President Obama appointed this great Secretary of
Labor. She is the proud daughter of union members, a
woman who understands workplace health and a former
Congresswoman with constituents who suffered from
popcorn lung. She understands the hopes and dreams of
workers, she understands the struggles they face every
day on the job and she understands that every worker has
a right to a safe workplace.
On Workers Memorial Day, I traveled with her to the
National Labor College in Silver Spring, MD where she
announced that OSHA is back in the enforcement business and back in the standard-setting business.
Secretary Solis asked me to fill in as head of OSHA
until we have a confirmed Assistant Secretary who will
carry this fight forward. It was an honor to say to her,
Yes, I will, and I am here to tell you that it is a new
day at the Department of Labor.
On this day, health and safety professionals like you
will have a voice, workers will have a voice and their
unions will have a seat at the table because this administration understands that workers know plenty about making workplaces safe.
On this day, employers can no longer blame workers
who get hurt on the job. The law says that employers are
responsible for workplace safety and health, and there is
a new sheriff in town to enforce the law.
On this day, business owners can no longer excuse
themselves from training their workers or providing protective equipment by complaining that it takes too long
or costs too much to save a life.
Understand this. OSHA offers a helping hand to those
companies and associations that will commit to working
with us constructively. Together, we can transform workplaces for the benefit of everyone on the job. However,
to those whose only response to every OSHA regulatory
4
or enforcement initiative is no, I also have a message.

Take off the blinders, take on some responsibility and
stop wasting our time and the peoples tax dollars.
Secretary Solis has said that we will turn our energies
from voluntary programs to enforcement. However, we
are not eliminating the Voluntary Protection Programs.
We are not saying companies that truly excel in health
and safety do not deserve recognition. They do. Nor are
we saying that strong partnerships with employers cannot benefit workers, companies and OSHA. They can.
But the days of signing companies into VPP programs
or alliances just to fill arbitrary goals and the days of
promoting alliances as a replacement for standards are
over. And the days of delaying rulemaking are over. And
the days of starving OSHAs budget are over.
President Obama has just asked for the biggest
increase in OSHAs budget in anyones memorymore
than 10%. That will allow us to hire 200+ new staff,
including 130 new inspectors. It will not be easy to hire
all of those people, but the Secretary has challenged us
to succeed and to improve OSHAs diversity so that
OSHA in the 21st century looks like, speaks like and
understands the U.S. in the 21st century.
There is no doubt about where the Department of Labor
and OSHA are going. Secretary Solis and I believe in vigorous enforcement of laws that protect the safety and
health of workers. We are committed to a strong federal
role in protecting workplace safety and health, as mandated in the OSH Act that created the agency.
To underscore this point, OSHA recently formed a
taskforce to design a new enforcement initiative. Under
the Severe Violators Enforcement Program, OSHA will
conduct an intensive examination of an employers
inspection history. Any systematic problems that we
identify with an employers safety and health program
Jordan Barab Biography

Jordan Barab joined OSHA as Deputy Assistant
Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and
Health as well as Acting Assistant Secretary on
April 13, 2009. He previously served as special
assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Labor for
OSHA from 1998 to 2001, when he helped the
agency to promulgate the ergonomics workplace
safety and health standard that was repealed by
Congress in March 2001.
Barab worked on workplace safety issues for the
U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation
Board from 2002 to 2007.
He holds a master's degree from The Johns
Hopkins University and an undergraduate degree
from Claremont McKenna College.
would trigger additional mandatory inspections to ensure

compliance with workplace safety and health standards.
And we are not waiting any longer to address a critical problem with construction injuries and fatalities right
here in Texas.
Under the new OSHA, we will react swiftly and
decidedly when we see a problematic trend. This is why this morning
We are in this
Secretary Solis announced that in
just one week, OSHA will launch a
fight together,
major new construction safety focus
and together
throughout the state of Texas. For
the next several weeks, a SWAT
we can make
team of OSHA compliance officers
from around the country will fan out our workplaces
across the state to inspect construcsafer and more
tion sites. We will use computer
analyses of industry data to target
healthful for our
the most likely cities and worksites
that need our immediate attention to family members,
prevent construction injuries and
neighbors and
fatalities.
friends. That is
In addition, in the next few
weeks, we will announce details of a
a lasting legacy
new national emphasis program
(NEP) to address hazards in chemithat we can work
cal plants.
on every day
We are also preparing an NEP to
confront recordkeeping problems.
and every day
Congressional hearings, studies and
media reports have all described seri- take pride in our
ous accounts of underreporting
injuries and illnesses, as well as poli- accomplishments.
cies that discourage workers from
reporting when they are sick or hurt. To address this problem, OSHA received $1 million for Fiscal Year 2009,
which we are putting to work. Ensuring the accuracy of
injury and illness numbers is critically important to
OSHAs ability to accurately target enforcement and to
evaluate our effectiveness.
We will also take a close look at programs that have the
effect of discouraging workers from reporting injuries and
illnesses. These include programs that discipline workers
who are injured or safety competitions that penalize individual workers or groups of workers when someone
reports an injury or illness.
Getting the OSHA regulatory process moving again
after 8 years will not be easy. A long list of difficult but
critical issues must be addressed. The good news is we
are moving ahead.
In the last few months, we announced new rulemaking for combustible dust and a new round of 2-year
Susan Harwood training grants, and we moved forward
on standards addressing diacetyl, silica, cranes and
derricks, confined spaces in construction and the
Globally Harmonized System of Classification and
Labeling of Chemicals.
5
ASSE Update
In the last few weeks, we issued several new fact
sheets and other informational documents to supplement
our guidance on how to prepare every workplace for a
flu pandemic.
In response to a Government Accountability Office
report, we will conduct a thorough review of OSHAs
cooperative programs, assessing where the program
belongs in the context of OSHAs resources and mission,
to ensure that these programs are effective in pursuing
OSHAs mission.
And we are telling our state partners who operate
their own occupational safety and health plans to be sure
that federal and state OSHA offices speak with one
voice. We will strengthen our oversight of state plans to
ensure better program performance and consistency.
With all of this, we also need to confront the 60,000pound elephant in the room: ergonomics. Lets acknowledge some obvious things about ergo. First, it is a huge
health and safety problem recognized by reliable science.
Second, it is a huge political football that some very big
players do not want to see on the field. Well, we will
pick up that football, and we will look to team up with
people who genuinely want to move beyond destructive
politics and focus on the goal of worker safety and
health. People are getting hurt by unnecessary muscle
strains, repetitive motion injuries and backbreaking
behavior that can be reduced or eliminated with proven
remedies. We can fix this.
This is why I want to encourage everyone here to
become more active in workplace safety and health in two
particular ways. First, you are the safety and health authority in your workplaces, so I want you to talk to your managers and CEOs. As bills are introduced in Congress that
may affect workplace safety and health, your CEOs and
their professional associations will deliberate on whether
to take a position. Ensure that you weigh in on the debates
within your organization with your unique authority and
experience. Whatever side you take in these debates, do
not cede your leadership position to outside organizations
that act only on ideological preconceptions rather than on
what actually makes workplaces safer.
Second, in the weeks and months ahead, as OSHA
moves forward with proposed rulemaking, you must participate. Take part in regulatory hearings, send us your
thoughts during comment periods, voice your concerns
and share your experience and expertise.
First and foremost, we need strong standards that protect workers, but we also need standards that make sense
in the workplace. This is where you can make a difference: When OSHA does something right, support us by
speaking up. When we miss the mark, I know you will
be there to say so, too.
We are in this fight together, and together we can
make our workplaces safer and more healthful for our
family members, neighbors and friends. That is a lasting
legacy that we can work on every dayand every day
take pride in our accomplishments.
ASSE Supports Approach

to Standard in Health Care
Ergonomics Legislation
SSE in a letter to Representative John Conyers

supported the general approach of a standard
proposed in his legislation (HR 2381) requiring lifting
equipment to protect direct care nurses and healthcare workers from ergonomic risks. ASSE said it supported this specific approach because it is the same
approach to ergonomics its members used in protecting health care workers. But ASSE urged various
changes to the bill to ensure the best patient care,
including allowing manual lifting if needed, ensuring
continuity of care when employees refuse assignment. ASSE also urged caution in including home
health care without resolving issues of reimbursement and OSHA oversight of work in the home.
ASSE Urges Coverage

of Public Sector Workers
in OSHA Reform
n a letter to Representative Lynn Woolsey, sponsor of

the Protecting Americas Workers Act (HR 2067), the
key OSHA reform bill in Congress, ASSE urged inclusion
of provisions to provide coverage to the more than 8
million state and municipal workers now without federal-level safety and health protections. Such coverage is
required only in states with federally-approved state
OSH plans.
New Virtual Symposium

Solutions in Safety Training
January 26-28, 2010 Everytown
s safety professionals, we know, its one of the

most powerful tools we have to engage our
workforce. But how can we turn it into something
our employees want to
engage in? Once we grab
their attention, how do we
sustain it with training that
that will stick with them
back on the floor? And, perhaps most importantly, where
can we learn to do all of this in an
environment of limited resources?
At ASSEs all new Virtual SymposiumSolutions in
Safety Training! Hear from experts in the field of
safety training and explore real-world solutions for
developing training that delivers results. All in a collaborative networking environment and all without
ever having to leave your desk. View sessions live or
take up to 30 days to watch the recordings of sessions online. Click here for more information.
6
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
BY FRED FANNING, M.ED., CSP
Continuity of Operations
Planning for Public Organizations
very public organization should have a comprehensive, effective program in place to ensure
continuity of essential functions under all circumstances. As a baseline of preparedness for
the full range of potential emergencies, all public sector
organizations shall have in place a viable continuity of
operations (COOP) capability, which ensures the performance of their essential functions during any emergency or situation that may disrupt normal operations.
Given such an overarching challenge, COOP planning
is a must for public sector organizations to ensure that
they can provide needed services for the citizens who
depend on them in an emergency. COOP plan objectives
include:
1) Test the alert, notification and activation systems.
2) Initiate operations to perform selected essential
functions from an alternate site.
3) Access vital files and databases necessary to
respond to tasks.
4) Communicate effectively from alternate sites to
accomplish mission.
5) Receive, process, analyze and disseminate
information.
6) Validate support systems to ensure 24-hour operations capability.
Planning will also be required with private sector

organizations because the private sector owns the vast
majority of the nations infrastructure. We have a nation
that is a system of systems that is incredibly integrated
(GCN, 2008). With respect to information technology,
Networks must connect. Applications must be streamed.
Computer screens must look familiar. Security must be
maintained at all costs. Government business must continue (GCN).
Guidance from the federal government can be used in
the planning process. Federal Protection Circular Number
65 (FPC65) includes plans and procedures that delineate
essential functions; specify succession
of office and an emergency delegation Security concerns are
of authority; provide for the safe
always involved in
keeping of vital records and databases; identify alternate operating faciliresponding to an
ties; provide for interoperable
communications and validate the
emergency by movcapability through tests, training and
exercise (GCN, 2008). This requires ing an organization
the following:
to an alternate site.
1) Identify succession for senior
Public administrators
members of organization.
2) Ensure that full authority is
are concerned about
delegated in order of succession.
PLANNING
3) Identify alternate facility or
the security of inforGovernment Computer News (GCN, 2008) states that
facilities
for
critical
personnel.
COOP planning is the disciplined planning you do in
4) Employees demonstrate a gen- mation technology
advance to respond to a natural or manmade emergency.
eral level of understanding of the
If your agency/office needs to relocate, your COOP is
equipment and
COOP process.
your coordinated, efficient action to keep operating.
transmissions.
5) Employees are trained in the
Some tasks that public sector organizations will need to
role(s)
of
the
organization
and
their
provide to allow them to operate and assist the public
individual roles (if any) regardless of the organizations
include:
1) providing for the safety and well-being of employees; level of involvement during a COOP activity.
6) Employees will, as directed, involve themselves
2) providing administrative, facilities management
and
support COOP activities to the fullest extent possiand support services;
ble,
to even include training scenarios.
3) providing travel and transportation services;
7)
Vital records and databases required to meet opera4) identifying all affected real and personal property;
tional
responsibilities following the activation of a
5) providing mail and courier delivery services;
COOP
are maintained in electronic form at a backup
6) coordinating facility repair and operations;
location.
7) acquiring space and facilities.
Federal Continuity Directive Number 1 (FCD1) proThis plan allows a public organization to continue its
vides direction to the federal executive branch for develwork with little or no disruption in service; however, it
takes much work to do well. For example, at the national oping continuity plans and programs. What FCD1 says
is that it is just not good practice to plan to have continulevel, continuity planning also requires coordination
with state, local, tribal and territorial governments as
ity planning; it is mandatory practice (GCN, 2008).
well as with the private sector (GCN, 2008).
Federal Continuity Directive Number 2 (FCD2)
7
FEMA
COOP
Programs
W
implements the requirements of FDC 1 and provides
guidance and direction for identification of their mission
essential functions and potential primary mission essential functions (PMEFs). It includes guidance and checklists to assist department and agencies in assessing their
essential functions through a risk management process
and in identifying potential primary mission essential
functions that support the national essential functions (GCN, 2008).
TELEWORKING
Teleworking (employees work from an alternate site or home using a telephone and computer)
must be considered in planning. Teleworking can
allow public sector employees to work from home
when a public sector facility is damaged, cannot be
reached or is in the path of an impending disaster.
To do this, standards and guidance must be in place
before any emergency to ensure that employees have the
equipment necessary to perform their work. This means
that to support the technology components critical for
telework translates into spending precious dollars in areas
such as web-based applications, BlackBerry devices, laptops and remote email access, which allow for increased
telework at low incremental cost (GCN, 2008).
Walker (2008) notes that telework for the most part
means creating the capability for employees to work
from home or other remote locations and having an
information technology infrastructure that is robust
enough to support remote access to vital agency computer systems. Walker also notes that the nexus between
COOP and telework has become increasingly important
in recent years, underscored and reinforced by high-magnitude events such as the 2001 terrorist attacks and
Hurricane Katrina.
The office of personnel management is the proponent
for policy for the federal government. In its publication
Federal Managers/Decision Makers Emergency Guide,
key steps to facilitate telework include:
1) Develop a cadre of regularly scheduled core
teleworkers.
2) Permit teleworkers to experience working offsite
and learn to communicate electronically with colleagues
and clients by doing it regularly.
3) Permit supervisors and managers to experience
managing employees without face to face contact.
SECURITY
Security concerns are always involved in responding
to an emergency by moving an organization to an alternate site. Public administrators are concerned about the
security of information technology equipment and transmissions. Joch (2008) says that The right mix is not
purely technical. With the right selection of hardware
and software, agencies can ensure that established security policies remain in effect during an emergency. He
recommends using a class of technology known as net-
work access controllers to vet remote machines, two-factor authentications for access, data encryption technologies and virtual private networks.
In addition to information security, planners must consider the physical security of any alternate site. Planners should conduct
risk assessments of possible
alternate sites so that risks can
be considered along with
other criteria to determine
the best fit. These risk
assessments should identify
a facilitys potential security
weaknesses. Effort can then be
put forth to offset some of the
risks for selected facilities.
For example, many public buildings
now use standoff to reduce a blasts impact on the building. A second example is the installation of blast windows that can withstand the shock wave of an explosive
blast. When selecting an alternate site, planning officials
must ensure that any alternate facility includes standoff
and blast protective windows.
CONCLUSION
To ensure that public organizations can respond in
an emergency, all aspects of the response must be
planned for. Without this planning, it will be difficult, if
not impossible, for a public organization to respond. If
the response is weak, voters can and should bring new
public servants in to do a better job. This means that
career public servants can be affected as can political
appointees.
REFERENCES
Government Computer News. (2008, Mar. 31).
National continuity. Falls Church, VA: Author.
Government Computer News. (2008, Mar. 31).
Telework is taking off. Falls Church, VA: Author.
Joch, A. (2008, June 23). How secure is your COOP?
Federal Computer Week.
Walker, R.W. (2008, June 16). COOP: The telework
connection. Federal Computer Week.
Walker, R.W. (2008, June 16). OPMs best practices
for COOP. Federal Computer Week.
Fred Fanning, M.Ed., CSP, a veteran safety professional, is the
author of Basic Safety Administration: A Handbook for the New
Safety Specialist published by ASSE. His chapter Safety Training
and Documentation Principles was published in The Safety
Professionals Handbook. His article Public Sector Safety
Professionals: Focused on Activity or Results? received the ASSE
Council on Practices and Standards Best Newsletter Article
Award for 2006-07. Fanning is profiled in Marquis Whos Who in
Science and Engineering and in the International Biographical
Centres 2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century. A
professional member of ASSE, Fanning is Assistant Administrator
of the Public Sector Practice Specialty and a member of ASSEs
Finance Committee.
8
WORKER SAFETY
BY CHRIS W. BRADSHAW, M.S., MT

(ASCP), CEA, CPEA
Bee Aware: Coming Soon

to a Location NearYou!
or outdoor workers, risks and hazards due to
stinging insects are often overlooked and underestimated. Many opportunities exist for outdoor
workers to experience the unexpected exposure of
the newest pest that is migrating into the U.S.
AHBs were
imported in an
effort to improve
honey production
and the viability
of honeybees in
STATISTICS
the tropical
Injuries and fatalities caused by stinging insects have forests of South
been recorded and reported by various newspapers
America. In
nationwide. Reported fatalities and attacks include the
1956, Warwick
following:
Kerr, a Brazilian
Mexico (1988 to 1995)175 fatalities reported.
geneticist,
Harlingen, TX (July 1993)first fatality reported in
imported AHBs
Texas and U.S.
to crossbreed
Apache Junction, AZ (October 1995)first fatality
with existing
reported in Arizona.
European honeyBeasley, TX (1997)Two road workers attacked and bees (Apis m. mellifera). Originally, 48 AHB queens were
stung more than 200 times.
imported, but after one year and natural attrition, only 29
Mesa, AZ (1999)Construction worker stung more queens remained. In October 1957, 26 of the remaining
than 100 times.
queens were accidentally released with small swarms. It
Long Beach, CA (September 1999)first fatality
was thought that the released AHBs would either perish or
reported in California.
mate with other European honeybees thereby losing the
Tucson, AZ (2000)Seven workers attacked and
characteristics associated with AHBs (Oklahoma State
stung.
University, 2007).
Galveston, TX (2003)Farmer plowing field
However, a few years later, AHBs were discovered
attacked and stung about 150 times.
throughout Brazil and Argentina and into Central
Sierra Vista, AZ (2007)Border patrol and illegal
America. The expansion is a result of AHBs ability to
immigrants attacked and stung.
travel 60 miles or more when swarming as compared to
Graham County, AZ (2007)Railroad workers
European bees that only travel a few miles. By 2002,
attacked with one fatality reported.
AHBs had spread into the West Indies, Mexico, Texas,
Niland, CA (2008)Two firefighters hospitalized
New Mexico, Arizona, Southern California and Florida.
and one dead after being stung.
By 2005, they were reported in Arkansas, Oklahoma and
Roscoe, TX (2008)Backhoe operator stung 280
Louisiana.
times.
AHBS VS. EUROPEAN BEES
Okeechobee County, FL (April 2008)first fatality
While AHBs and European bees are similar phenoreported in Florida.
typically, defend their nests by stinging and sting only
Sealy, TX (2009)City worker stung more than
once, AHBs are 6 to 10 times more defensive of their
100 times.
nests with more bees responding (e.g., 500 to 1,000 or
Irvine, CA (2009)Landscaper stung more than
more bees responding to a threat, compared to their
100 times.
Tivoli, TX (September 2009)one fatality reported. European counterparts of less than 100) (Mulder, 2005).
Additionally, AHBs tend to respond about four times
AFRICANIZED HONEYBEES
faster to a threat compared to European honeybees
(3 seconds as compared to 19 seconds).
What caused these attacks and fatalities? These inciFrom their nest, AHBs can detect threats from
dents are the result of Africanized honeybees (AHBs)
(Apis mellifera scutellata). Since their introduction into the humans or animals up to 50 ft away. AHBs can also
Americas, approximately 1,000 deaths have occurred with detect vibrations from operating equipment from more
than 100 ft away. Once agitated, AHBs can pursue for
26 fatalities in the U.S. alone. AHBs may also impact the
longer than 1 hour while following a victim between
$140 million honey industry (Smithsonian, 2007).
9
Be aware of the
environment.
When outdoors,
listen for the hum
created by bees
when flying, which
is louder closer to
the hive.
VIDEO
Killer Bee
Attack
V
one-quarter to one-half mile in distance. European honeybees usually cool off in 2 or 3 minutes and only pursue a victim for approximately 80 ft.
AHBs build nests in unexpected areas, such as pots, bird
houses, tires and in the ground. European honeybees prefer
clean, dry, aboveground locations. AHBs will also leave if
their nest is threatened, which is uncommon among
European bees (Oklahoma State Entomology, 2007).
behavior before attacking by flying in the face or around

the head of an intruder and even thumbing several times
when the intruder comes to close to the hive. Do not
panic but calmly head away from the nesting area quietly
and quickly. Workers should be especially careful near
public parks, golf courses, swimming facilities, forest
preserves/woods, etc., or while mowing, trimming or
maintaining these properties.
STINGS
The LD50 (lethal dose for 50%) for bee stings is
approximately 8 to 10 stings per pound of body weight
(Mulder, 2005). For a 150-lb person that would be about
1,200 to 1,500 stings. More than likely for European,
although probably not obtainable, but very possible if they
were Africanized.
For example, if 150 European honeybees responded
to a threat by a 150-lb person and each bee stung the victim, that would be equal to one bee sting per pound of
body weight. However, since AHBs can be 10 times
more defensive, it could be as many as 1,500 bees or
10 stings per pound of body weight and possibly death.
WHEN AN ATTACK OCCURS

If attacked:
Cover head and face and run for cover as fast as possible. AHBs have been known to follow intruders for
more than a quarter of a mile so get away from the nest.
Take shelter as soon as possible. A sealed enclosure,
such as a vehicle, tent, house or any other area can afford
some protection.
Do not jump into water. AHBs will hover and wait
for a victim to surface for air.
After escaping, evaluate the situation and take stock
of the number of stings. Fifteen or more stings or a feeling of not being able to catch ones breath (possible anaphylactic shock) requires medical attention. Localized
GROUPS AT RISK
pain and swelling are normal.
Who might be exposed to AHBs and what should
Remove stingers by scraping stingers off with a blunt
they know? Anyone involved in outdoor activities is a
object, such as a dull knife blade or plastic credit card.
potential victim. AHBs do not discriminate toward
Removing the stinger with fingers or tweezers can push
intruders, humans or animals. Therefore, employees,
more venom into the body.
coworkers, friends, family and children must be aware of
If others are in danger and/or being stung, call 9-1-1
AHBs and must be prepared for an encounter. AHBs are (Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food & Forestry,
most prevalent where public sector employees are more
2005).
likely to encounter them throughout the year.
REFERENCES
PROTECTING AGAINST BEE ATTACKS
Mulder, P. (2005). Living with the africanized honeySince foraging bees gather food, they are docile and
bee. Defensive Bee Management.
not a threat. Getting too close to the nest can trigger a
Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and
defensive reaction by bees. To reduce the chance of that, Forestry. (2005, Mar.). Africanized honeybees in
wear light-colored clothing. Dark-colored clothing and
Oklahoma. Retrieved Aug. 15, 2006, from http://www
hair seem to incite more attacks than light colors. Do not .oda.state.ok.us.
to wear floral and/or citrus deodorants, perfumes or
Oklahoma State University. (2007). Entomology and
aftershave.
plant pathology. Oklahoma State Department of EntoBee-proof property by sealing holes in buildings, trees
mology and Plan Pathology. Retrieved May 1, 2007,
and the ground. Remove junk piles, old appliances, tires
from http://www.ento.okstate.edu/ahb.
and any other debris to reduce potential nesting sites.
Smithsonian Institution. (2007). Killer bees. EncycloSanitation workers should be especially careful. Inspect
pedia Smithsonian. Washington, DC: Smithsonian
property monthly for signs of bees. Ensure that sanitation
Institution.
garages, public recycling or compost locations are inspectU.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research
ed. AHBs like to nest, not only in debris, but also in culService (2007, Feb. 6). Honeybee research. Retrieved
verts, water meter boxes, drainage pipes, bird houses,
May 1, 2007, from http://www.ars.usda.gov/Research/
barns, sheds, playground equipment, barbecue cookers and docs.htm?docid=11059&page=5.
woodpiles. If a hive is located, do not attempt to remove it.
Contact a beekeeper or pest control company for removal
Chris W. Bradshaw, M.S., MT(ASCP), CEA, CPEA, is an
assistant professor at Southeastern Oklahoma State University in
(Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, 2005).
Durant. In 1998, he joined the department of occupational safety
Be aware of the environment. When outdoors, listen
and health as an instructor in industrial hygiene, hazardous matefor the hum created by bees when flying, which is louder rials management, noise control and outdoor safety. He also runs
closer to the hive. Watch for bees coming and going and C&C Pest Control and Inspection Services LLC, which serves the
for other flying insects as well. Bees exhibit a defensive southern region of Oklahoma and north Texas.
10
SAFETY MANAGEMENT
BY ROBERT BOB SANDER
Should the Public Sector

Participate in VPP?
emember the public sector implementation of

total quality management, results-oriented
management, management by objective and
the one-minute manager? These management
fads came and went and, at least in the public
sector, were never fully embraced or found to be successful. A voluntary protection program (VPP) is like so
many of those management programs except that it
focuses on accident prevention. Even though it has existed for a while, many in the public sector still consider it
a fad. Others have taken a wait-and-see approach before
committing. This article outlines basic information about
VPP and the authors experience using it within the U.S.
Postal Service.
and health committees. Such committees are also often

required in collective bargaining agreements. These committees are designed to promote safety and health in federal workplaces through the cooperative efforts of its
members. Maintaining a cooperative relationship
requires continuous open communication and action. Once a committee
sees and/or feels that safety has
Investing in the
become an integral part of the business at hand, then it is time to move program has value
to another dimension of ensuring a
for any employer,
safe and healthy workplace.
public or private.
This dimension or second step
brings about improvements to stanEven if an employer
dard operating procedures, which
THE CHALLENGE
include creating new procedures to
hesitates to invite
Public sector safety standards and programs constant- support these new ideas. This is folly change. However, this does not always mean that new lowed by a six-step process to aid in OSHA to its workprocedures or programs must be created. Often, just
creating a safer, healthier workplace. site to perform an
tweaking an established standard or program to fit a
This process consists of:
inspection, applying
changing environment is all that is needed. Unfortuincreased time spent reviewing
nately, SH&E professionals typically face the challenge
accident and incident trends;
the programs prinof not having the sole authority to make the needed
use of that data to support the
changes and must work with others within the organiza- need for improvements;
ciples to daily
tion to bring about changes. Each agency has a protocol
increased inspections of the
or chain of command that must be followed to obtain
workplace to ensure overall coverage operations will, in
approval for changes.
of the work areas on a quarterly
turn, create a safer
Proactive SH&E professionals should look at the
basis, at a minimum;
challenge of making a change as an opportunity. One
review of written programs after workplace.
opportunity in particular is to convince management to
they have been implemented, at least
buy into creating and sustaining a safe, healthful workannually;
place. This can be difficult in todays economy, but it can
providing topic-specific employee training on each
be done.
hazard found;
use of near-hit reporting to train employees on what
THE OPPORTUNITY
it means, but also to encourage the use of this method to
Taking an existing standard or program in a new and
combat the knowns and unknowns of existing hazard
improved direction requires a partnership. This partnerinventory.
ship must consist of those who do the work, those who
supervise the work, those who support the work and
VOLUNTARY PROTECTION PROGRAMS
those who manage the work. Supervision, support and
The VPP process need not be purchased from a local
management of work are normally under the managevendor. A hired expert does not come in and teach it. It is
ment umbrella. This combined group creates the work to available at no cost to employers or employees. VPP probe done, finances the means, controls the support and
motes effective worksite-based safety and health. In VPP,
supervises daily operations. Those who physically permanagement, labor and OSHA establish cooperative
form the work are more commonly known as labor.
relationships at workplaces that have implemented a
Evidence shows that these partnerships work.
comprehensive safety and health management system.
Through 29 CFR Part 1960 (29 Code) and the Postal
Workplaces may participate in VPP in three ways: siteEmployees Safety Enhancement Act, federal sector
based, mobile workforce and corporate. VPP approval is
employers are required to have labor/management safety OSHAs official recognition of the outstanding efforts of
11
OSHA
VPP
Fact Sheet
P
employers and employees who have achieved exemplary
occupational safety and health.
Investing in the program has value for any employer,
public or private. Even if an employer hesitates to invite
OSHA to its worksite to perform an inspection, applying
the programs principles to daily operations will in turn
create a safer workplace. Being in VPP provides the benefit of reaching out and having a volunteer network of
other VPP sites and OSHA assistance.
Sell VPP to management on the basis of improved
productivity, decreased costs and improved employee
moral because all of those benefits will be realized.
According to 2007 National Safety Council data, an incident costs approximately $39,000 on average, so each
accident prevented has the potential of saving that much.
Ask management to contact other public sector agencies
that have taken on the challenge and ask them to explain
the benefits of implementing VPP.
The Department of Energy has created a successful
VPP program. The U.S. Postal Service made VPP part of
its long-range business plan and became the first federal
entity to become a corporate member. The Air Force,
Army and other agencies have also applied VPP in some
fashion within their organizations. If one life is saved,
then value exists in a structured partnership such as this.
SH&E professionals can encourage employers to do the
right thing by implementing VPP in the workplace.
REFERENCES
Government Accountability Office. (2009, May 20).
OSHAs voluntary protection programs: Improved oversight and controls would better ensure program quality
(GAO-09-395). Washington, DC: Author.
OSHA. Basic program elements for federal employee
occupational safety and health programs (29 CFR, Part
1960. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor,
Author. Retrieved Sept. 2, 2009, from http://www.osha
.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=FE
DERAL_REGISTER&p_id=13482.
U.S. Postal Service. (1999, Feb.). Executives and
managers safety compliance guide. Retrieved Sept. 2,
2009, from http://www.npmhul310.org/manuals/EL
_802.pdf.
Robert Bob Sander is a special government employee in VPP
working for the U.S. Postal Service as a district safety specialist in
St. Louis, MO. He routinely conducts on-site evaluations with
OSHA, and he also mentors others about the program. Sander
was named Special Government Employee of the Year in 2009. He
holds advanced safety certificates from National Safety Council
and U.S. Postal Service, and he has been co-instructor of the special government employee program for the last 3 years. A former
union leader, firefighter and emergency medical technician,
Sander has more than 34 years safety experience.
EPA Names Two Northern

California Schools as
Top 20 Green-Powered
or the first time, EPAs Green Power Partnership

announced the 20 primary and secondary schools
nationwide using the most power from renewable
energy sources, including two in Northern California,
Kentfield School District and Santa Clara University.
The top Green Power Partner schools are buying nearly 113 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of
green power annually, equivalent to carbon dioxide emissions produced from the electricity use of
11,000 American homes for one year.
Our green-powered schools are giving kids a
brighter future in more ways than one. They are
leading the way in protecting our health and
environment and moving the country into the
clean energy economy of the 21st century, says
EPA administrator Lisa P. Jackson. This is a great
lesson on how we reduce harmful pollution in our
skies and get America running on clean energy.
Kentfield School District, ranked No. 16 on
EPAs Top 20 K-12 Schools List, generates nearly
600,000 kWh of solar power annually, which is
enough green power to meet 95% of the schools
purchased electricity use.
The districts onsite green power generation of
nearly 600,000 kWh is equivalent to avoiding the
carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of more than 80
passenger vehicles per year, or the equivalent
amount of electricity needed to power more than
60 average American homes annually.
Santa Clara University increased its ranking to
No. 16 on EPAs Top 20 College and University list
of green power purchasers by doubling its green
power usage to nearly 23 million kWh annually,
which is enough green power to meet 74% of the
schools electricity use. Santa Clara Universitys
green power purchase is equivalent to avoiding
the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of nearly 3,000
passenger vehicles per year.
This purchase also qualifies the university for
EPAs Green Power Leadership Club, a distinction
given to organizations that have significantly
exceeded EPAs minimum purchase requirements. Green Power Leadership Club members
must purchase 10 times the partnerships minimum requirement organization-wide.
Green power is generated from renewable
resources, such as solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, biogas and low-impact hydropower. Greenpower electricity generates less pollution than
conventional power and produces no net increase
in greenhouse gas emissions.
12
EMERGENCY CONTACT
BY AMY STEWART, CSP
ICE: In Case of Emergency

his article just might save your life. Now that I
have your attention, let me ask you a few questions. If you were suddenly unconscious, who
would know how to reach your emergency contact person? Do you have this information programmed
into your cellular phone? Would first responders be able
to obtain this information quickly should an emergency
event occur?
WHAT IS ICE?
In case of emergency (ICE) is designed to provide
emergency personnel with contacts in emergency situations. Police, fire and other emergency personnel check
cellular telephones if those injured are incapable of providing necessary medical information. ICE helps emergency
personnel quickly learn medical history by allowing them
to speak to someone who knows you and can tell them
basic information or can give them your doctors phone
number. By using ICE, emergency officials can take minutes instead of hours to contact next of kin.
PROGRAMMING ICE
On your cell phone, enter the letters I-C-E then type
in your contacts name, followed by his/her phone number. For example, to list your brother, John Doe, enter
ICEjohndoe (555) 555-5555. Day and evening numbers
should both be listed, such as ICEjohndoeday (555) 5555555 followed by the second entry ICEjohndoenight
(555) 555-6666. If you add more than one ICE contact,
list them in numerical order, such as ICE1 for the primary contact, ICE2 for the second and so on.
Your ICE contact may be a family member, friend or
neighbor. Provide your ICE contact with an updated list
of your medical conditions, such as allergies, current
Quiz
medication(s), previous medical procedures, phone numbers for family members, primary care physician and
main work contact.
Add ICE to your cellular phone now, then take the
quiz. Be sure to spread the word about ICE to family,
friends and coworkers.
ICE stands for in case of emergency.

False
True
Both day and evening phone numbers for ICE
contacts should be listed.
False
True
Cell phones are a good source for ICE information.
False
True
By using ICE, we can bring safety home.
True
False
(All statements are true.)
On your cell phone, enter the letters I-C-E then type in your contacts name,
followed by his/her phone number.
Amy Stewart, CSP, has more than 20 years experience designing, implementing and conducting safety-training programs.
Specializing in designing fleet safety training and emergency
response, she is a professional member of ASSE. Stewart is a
member of the Society of Ohio Safety Engineers Patterns for
Progress Committee and currently chairs the Ohio Trucking
Safety Council. She received ASSEs Public Sector Practice
Specialty Safety Professional of the Year Award and an ASSE
NAOSH Champion Award in 2008.
13
PUBLIC SAFETY
BY ROB ROSCOE
Liquor Liability & Special Events

mergency service organizations often conduct
social activities, fundraising events, bingo, hall
rentals and carnivals to raise funds to generate
fire department income. These events have been
the driving source of revenue for emergency service
organizations for more than 100
Many fundraising events genThe emergency years.
erate a liquor exposure in which
service organization either the emergency service organization buys alcoholic beverages or
should implement a the leasing/rental party buys its own
beverages and is responsidesignated driver alcoholic
ble for its distribution. In other cases,
program that pro- a caterer buys and distributes alcobeverages at the special event.
vides alternate holic
Understanding the liability as an
transportation to emergency service organization and a
server of alcoholic beverages is
individuals who important. Remember, when you
consume in excess serve alcohol, you can be held
liable/responsible for serving alcohol
of the legal limit of to underage and intoxicated individuThe state in which you reside has
alcoholic beverages. als.
state liquor laws by which you are
required to abide.
As a server of alcoholic beverages, you may be liable
for serving individuals already intoxicated and selling
beverages to underage individuals. Specific laws apply
to servers or establishments serving alcohol. Two laws
may apply:
Common negligence. Specific state laws that set a
minimum standard for actions by a responsible person to
prevent intoxication.
Dram Shop Liability. A specific state law that outlines penalties for third-party lawsuits when alcohol is
involved.
PUBLIC LEGAL CLIMATE

All states have a drinking age of 21 years of age.
Blood alcohol content levels at levels of 0.08 or 0.10.
Check with your liquor control board.
Under Dram Shop Liability, if an establishment sells
alcohol under a state permit, the law may assess penalties for third-party lawsuits when alcohol is involved.
The law requires that the emergency service organization make a reasonable effort to prevent intoxication.
PROBLEMS
The main causes of problems when serving alcohol
are: serving someone under the legal drinking age; serving a visibly intoxicated person; and failure to maintain
control of the event or premise.
An effective department liquor loss control program

will help you:
Identify the problem.
Take steps to prevent a potential problem.
Reduce your liquor liability exposure.
Identify intoxicated individuals.
Identify unacceptable forms of ID.
Intervene if or when an individual shows signs of
intoxication.
Prevent drinking and driving.
Document incidents for future records/legal purpose.
Promote a safe and happy social event with responsible drinking behavior.
With the organizations backing of an effective liquor
loss control program, positive influence can be affected
on the drinking and the behavior of guests.
ALCOHOL RISK REDUCTION RECOMMENDATIONS
FORSOCIAL HALL OR BAR OPERATIONS
The following procedures are recommended to reduce
your liquor liability exposure at your hall or bar.
All members or employees serving alcohol should
attend a server training program (i.e. TIPS, TAM, RAMP).
Post your policy concerning the serving of alcoholic
beverages (see Figure 1, sample policy, on p. 13).
All youthful customers should be required to show two
pieces of identification, with at least one piece having a
photo ID. When in doubt, do not serve alcohol.
Carefully observe patrons to detect signs of intoxication, especially customers who may be under the influ-
Liquor Liability & Training

If you or your employee serve alcohol to a minor or
visibly intoxicated patron, the results could be serious. Not only could you face administrative and
criminal fines and penalties, but you could also be
sued in civil court for damages that person might
cause after leaving your establishment.
Within your alcohol-serving policy, guidelines
should be in place for how employees are to be
trained to serve alcohol. In the U.S., 28 states have
specific requirements for alcohol-server training.
Regardless of what state you operate in, having
server training in place, along with a formal policy,
shows an affirmative attempt on your part to prevent improper or over serving of alcohol. If you are
hiring an outside entity to serve alcoholic beverages, you should ask about their training policies,
and verify that all individuals working at your event
have been trained.
14
W
of identification should
be provided with at least
one piece having a
photo ID. When in
doubt, do not serve.
Separate the area
where alcohol is served
from the rest of the
event.
Do not allow any
customers to take alcoholic beverages out of
the designated area.
Assign one member
to observe the customers. This person
should look for signs of intoxication
ALCOHOL RISK REDUCTION
and underage drinking.
RECOMMENDATION FOR
Do not serve alcoholic beverages
SPECIAL EVENTS
to customers who appear to be
If you sell alcoholic beverages at special events such
intoxicated.
as fairs, block parties, carnivals, crab feasts and picnics,
Do not allow purchasing custhe following procedures are recommended to reduce
tomers to serve alcoholic beverages
your liquor liability exposure:
to other customers/individuals who
Servers of alcohol should attend an alcohol server
appear to be intoxicated or underage.
training program (i.e., TIPS, TAM, RAMP).
Station a member or extra police
The emergency service organization should obtain
patrols
in the parking area. Your
the proper liquor permit/license from the state liquor
members
should observe the cuscontrol board.
tomers
who
intend to drive.
Verify the age of all youthful customers. Two forms
The members
should intervene and
Figure 1 Alcohol Policy Sample
dissuade the individual
from driving. In the
event that the individual gets in the car and
drives away, immediately contact law
enforcement.
MANAGEMENT
Responsible
Alcohol
Management
ence of drugs or alcohol when they arrive. Signs of

intoxication include off-color jokes, slurred speech, poor
coordination, bloodshot eyes and dazed expression.
Do not serve alcoholic beverages to any customers
who show signs of intoxication upon arrival or after they
have consumed alcohol on the fire department premises.
Intervene if patrons show signs of intoxication from driving when they leave. Contact local law enforcement immediately. Alternate transportation should be provided.
Using an incident form designed to collect relevant
information, write down any actions taken concerning a
problem or intoxicated patron.
The emergency service organization should implement a designated driver program that provides alternate
transportation to individuals who consume in excess of
the legal limit of alcoholic beverages.
Carefully observe
patrons to detect
signs of intoxication, especially customers who may be
under the influence
of drugs or alcohol
when they arrive.
Signs of intoxication include offcolor jokes, slurred
speech, poor coordination, bloodshot
eyes and dazed
expression.
Rob Roscoe is an industry

specialist with Glatfelter
Insurance Group, a public
entity specialist providing
risk management services and insurance products
to schools, municipalities, sewer/water authorities
and emergency service organizations. He has more
than 22 years experience in consulting with
municipal entities and emergency service organizations. Roscoe is a certified training for intervention
procedures instructor and an instructor for certified workplace safety committees in Pennsylvania.
He holds an M.S. in Safety Management from West
Virginia University. He may be reached at
rroscoe@glatfelters.com.
This is a sample guideline furnished to you by
Glatfelter Public Practice. Your organization should
review this guideline and make the necessary modifications to meet your organizations needs. The intent
of this guideline is to assist you in reducing exposure
to the risk of injury, harm, or damage to personnel,
property and the general public.
15
SCHOOL BUS SAFETY
BY GAYLE T. CARSON, CSHS
Transporting Students Safely

chool is back in session. How many students will
be injured or even die from being run over by a
school bus or by a parents car dropping another
student off at school? The answer should be none, but
accidents will happen.
Under the Highway Safety Act of 1966 and Highway
Safety Program, Guideline No. 17, each state, in cooperation with its school districts and
Since the number other public subdivisions, should
have a comprehensive pupil transof loading zone portation program that outlines safe
and unloading of students.
incidents has loading
However, National Safety Council
not been reduced, (NSC) published figures from the
Department of Transpordriver training Kansas
tation and other sources indicate that
in proper loading pupil fatalities and injuries in loading and unloading zones continue to
and unloading occur. This article addresses the
for safety in public
procedures may requirements
school loading and offloading zones.
Safety Standard No. 111 and Title 49 CFR Chapter 5,

Part 571.111 so that drivers can see and avoid students.
In addition, each state plan should establish procedures to meet recommendations for maintaining buses
used to carry school children. School buses should be
maintained in safe operating condition through a systematic preventive maintenance program. All school buses
should be inspected at least semiannually. School buses
and school chartered buses subject to the Federal
Highway Administrations (FHA) Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Regulations should be inspected and maintained
in accordance with those regulations (Title 49 CFR, Parts
393 and 396).
SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS

Are the physical aspects of the bus really the problem
or could it be the physical aspects of the bus driver? Bus
drivers should meet all physical, mental and moral
requirements established by the state agency having primary responsibility for pupil transportation, including
requirements for drug and/or alcohol misuse or abuse.
Drivers must also be qualified as a driver under FHAs
be the answer.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and Title 49
SCHOOL BUSES
CFR Part 391.
Over the years, design changes in school buses,
Since the number of loading zone incidents has not
whether mandated or voluntary, as well as the addition
of related safety equipment have led to improved loading been reduced, driver training in proper loading and unloadand unloading zone safety. Specifically how and to what ing procedures may be the answer. This training is
addressed in the Highway Safety Program, Guideline No.
extent is not known, however. A key factor is visibility.
17, which states that each state should develop a plan for
School buses should have a system of mirrors that conselecting, training and supervising persons whose primary
form to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle
duties involve transporting school children. It is recommended that each state adopt appropriate driver
Public sector safety
professionals
training instructions that include such procedures.
should continue to
Each state has situations unique to its locale and
push for annual
conditions,
and special rules might be needed to
review of loading
and offloading
address these situations, according to NSC. Trainzones and the
ing should result in licensing of the bus driver.
abatement of hazEvery person who drives a school bus or schoolards identified durchartered bus occupied by school children should
ing those reviews.
have, as a minimum, a valid state drivers license to
operate such a vehicle. All drivers who operate a
vehicle designed to carry 16 or more persons
(including the driver) are required by FHA commercial drivers license standards, in accordance
with Title 49 CFR Part 383, to have a valid commercial drivers license.
ANNUAL REVIEW OF LOADING
& UNLOADING ZONES
Each state plan should include an annual review
of loading and unloading zones and establish
restricted loading and unloading areas for school
buses and school-chartered buses at or near
16
P
schools. Schools must abate hazards identified from
these annual reviews.
Routes for students must also be developed to minimize their movement in and around buses. This also
must be enforced. According to the Highway Safety
Program Guideline No. 17, at least once during each
school semester, each pupil transported from home to
school in a school bus should be instructed in safe riding
practices, proper loading and unloading techniques,
proper street crossing to and from the school bus stop
and should participate in timed, supervised emergency
evacuation drills. This should be supplemented by notifying parents and guardians about the hazards of unloading zones and the proper procedures to take when
dropping off or picking up students from school.
CONCLUSION
Despite improvements in school bus design and safety
equipment, accidents continue to happen in loading and
unloading zones at or near schools. Although requirements exist to train bus drivers and students, survey loading and unloading zones and inform parents and
guardians of hazards, injuries continue to occur.
Agencies should conduct a complete analysis of how
these requirements are implemented and the results
achieved. Public sector organizations often do not conduct this type of program analysis, so it is unlikely that a
school would undertake the endeavor.
Public sector safety professionals should continue to
push for annual review of loading and offloading zones
and the abatement of hazards identified during those
reviews. They should also ensure that information is provided to students, parents and guardians on the hazards
of those zones. This can be done with flyers or by speaking at parent-teacher association meetings.
REFERENCES
National Highway Traffic Safety Association (2009,
Mar.). Highway safety program guideline no. 17.
Retrieved May 7, 2009, from http://www.nhtsa.gov.
National Safety Council (2008, Apr.). School bus
loading and unloading. Retrieved May 7, 2009, from
http://www.nsc.org/news_resources/Resources/Document
s/School_Bus_Loading_and_Unloading.pdf.
Gayle T. Carson, CSHS, is a safety technician with the U.S.
Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center in Fort Rucker, AL. She
currently conducts research, analyses and studies of aviation accident reports and forwards recommendations and findings to higher headquarters for implementation. Before her current position,
Carson served as a safety technician with the U.S. Army at Fort
Leonard Wood, MO, where she focused on family and childcare
safety. She also served as a fire inspector at that location. Carson
is a certified child passenger safety technician with the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a member of ASSEs
Wiregrass Chapter and a Public Sector Practice Specialty (PSPS)
Advisory Committee Member. She received the PSPS 2009 Safety
Professional of the Year Award.
NIOSH Seeks to Improve

Protective Clothing for
Firefighters & Emergency
Responders
rotective clothing, including apparel such as fireresistant coats and chemical-resistant suits, serves
as essential gear for firefighters and other emergency responders. These garments provide a critical
barrier against heat and flames, toxic materials and
other hazards frequently encountered by firefighters. Although the benefits of these ensembles have
been documented, challenges and opportunities for
further improvements remain.
For example, what can be done to alleviate or
minimize physical stress and heat stress from firefighters turnout ensembleswhich weigh, on
average, 48.5 lbwithout compromising the protection they offer against heat and flame exposure? Can scientists devise better benchmarks for
assessing the performance of chemical-resistant
suits against a variety of hazardous chemicals
and performance after repeated use?
NIOSH is addressing these and other challenges and opportunities through research at the
NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology
Laboratory in Pittsburgh, PA. The studies reflect
priorities that have been identified by firefighters, fire departments, fire safety experts, equipment manufacturers and other partners and
stakeholders.
In the inherently dangerous occupations of
firefighting and emergency response, protective
ensembles are a critical part of good safety strategy, says NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D.
NIOSH is proud to have a role in the partnerships
that are moving the design, performance and use
of these ensembles into the 21st century.
NIOSH research areas include the following.
COOL IT!
A cooling suit is a tight-fitting bodysuit worn
under a firefighters turnout gear. Water or air is
circulated throughout the suit to cool the body
and to prevent heat stressa serious occupational hazard in the hot, hectic physical activity of
firefighting. Some types of cooling suits cover
most of the body, and others cover certain parts
of the body.
NIOSH is conducting studies to help stimulate
the next generation of cooling suits by generating data that will answer current uncertainties
that impede innovation. For example, in what
conditions might a partial cooling suit provide as
17
continued on page 27
NHTSA
Student
Transportation
Safety
STUDENT SAFETY
BY JOANN ROBERTSON, CSP, CPCU, ARM
Chaperones Can
Affect Safety on Trips
hoosing the right chaperones is key to successful
planning, from trips to the circus or a safe overseas
trip with school children. Chaperones serve a vital
role in supervision, which varies greatly depending on
the trips length, distance and complexity.
crucial at this time. Chaperones should be prepared to

provide direction and alternative activities. Chaperones
should also know about the ramifications for those who
break the rules. Chaperoning is a full-time job and cannot be taken lightly.
CHAPERONE SELECTION
Chaperones can be staff, volunteers or a mix. When
possible, choose staff members to escort students, since
they are used to fulfilling the role of
Chaperones should supervisor and are familiar with an
entitys policies and procedures. If
be prepared to an emergency arises, the children
be more at ease with familiar
provide direction will
staff. If a mix of chaperones is choand alternative sen, match seasoned individuals with
newcomers.
activities. Chaper- anyBefore
the trip begins, ensure that
chaperones
have satisfied all of the
ones should also
needed requirements for volunteers:
know about Did they complete the volunteer
the ramifications application?
Were references checked?
for those who Was a background check perif needed?
break the rules. formed,
Chaperones should know that
Chaperoning is they cannot be focused on their own
child or a select group and must be
a full-time job responsible to handle the entire
Chaperones should be willing
and cannot be group.
to help the trip leader and to follow
taken lightly. directions as needed. They should
learn students names and constantly
take attendance to ensure that no one is left behind.
COMMUNICATION & PLANNING

When traveling, chaperones will need to communicate and make timely decisions. Unexpected issues can
arise while traveling, including schedule changes, weather problems, power failures or fire alarms.
Before overnight trips occur, plan to have a mandatory pretrip meeting for children, parents, guardians and
chaperones to discuss the rules and travel itineraries
(containing a detailed summary for each day).
Chaperones should be instructed about overnight procedures, sleeping arrangements, curfews and related topics.
Children must be told to report to their assigned
rooms before curfew. Co-ed trips pose unique challenges
that must be addressed. Chaperones should know to be
alert for unpredictable events that may occur when traveling with children. For example, breaking curfew,
changing room assignments, using alcohol and/or drugs,
and general horseplay in the hotel should be prohibited.
When trips involve both males and females, chaperones of each sex should be available to ensure effective
and safe supervision. This is essential even on local trips
in case some one needs to enter a bathroom or locker
room in an emergency or to search for a student.
Before the trip, it is essential to discuss what if scenarioswhat if a child is ill, what if a child loses his/her
passport, what if a child goes missing, what if luggage is
delayed, etc.
Other issues to discuss include the following:
Communication. Instruct chaperones to preprogram
CHAPERONE BEHAVIOR
emergency
numbers into their phones before the trip. If
While on the trip, chaperones should be aware that
the
trip
is
to
be overseas, consider obtaining international
they are role models and should follow the same rules
cell
phones
or
temporarily upgrading the cell service.
that apply to children (e.g., no smoking or drinking).
Hotel.
Information
on safe evacuations and a copy of
Chaperones should remember to be polite, wear their
the
floor
plan
can
be
distributed
in advance. Identify a
seatbelts, etc. If activities (e.g., bicycle riding, rafting,
meeting
point
for
assembly
when
the group arrives at the
rock climbing, skiing) are planned during the trip that
hotel
in
case
an
evacuation
is
needed.
require protective gear (such as helmets), it should be
Overseas. Consider providing a foreign dictionary
used by all children and chaperones. The chaperones
with
emergency phrases to the chaperones before the
behavior directly reflects on the organization.
trip.
Select
chaperones who are profeiceint with the lanChaperones should be advised about excess downtime
guage
spoken
at the destination when possible.
or free time. When delays occur, waiting children may
Charter buses. Charter buses should be evacuated
partake in pranks and horseplay or begin engaging in
from the back to the front, since the chance of fire is
inappropriate activities. The chaperones role is most
18
ASSE UPDATE
Comparison Document
Explains Changes to ANSI/ASSE
Confined Spaces Standard
Understanding how to conduct swift and thorough evacuations

on charter bus trips is an important part of field trip safety and
should be explained to chaperones.
more likely to occur in the rear of the bus, unlike in a

yellow school bus where the risk of fire is greater in
the front. Overheated brakes, leaks and smoking in
the lavatory are some of the reasons fires can occur on
coach buses.
To improve supervision and emergency response,
position chaperones throughout the bus during the trip,
rather than seating them all toward the front. Supervisors
positioned in the back should be reminded to open and
check the restrooms in an emergency. Understanding
how to conduct swift and thorough evacuations on charter bus trips is an important part of field trip safety and
should be explained to chaperones.
CHECKLIST
Chaperones should have:
emergency phone numbers;
telephone;
first-aid kit;
itinerary;
exact number and list of attendees;
directions;
phone numbers of other chaperones;
passport/identification as needed;
the plan for handling medically at risk children and
dispensing needed medications;
phrase book for foreign travel.
Chaperones have accepted a serious responsibility and
should be commended for their efforts upon the conclusion of the trip or event.
Joann Robertson, CSP, CPCU, ARM, is the coordinator of risk
management services at Wright Risk Management in Uniondale,
NY, where she has been employed since 1991. She is the newsletter editor for ASSEs Long Island Chapter.
This article is courtesy of NYSIR NEWS.
o help explain the more than 160 changes to ANSI/ASSE Z117.12009, Safety Requirements
for Confined Spaces, ASSE has
developed a comparison document that highlights the changes
between the current standard
and its 2003 and 1995 versions.
The revised standard provides
safety requirements for entering,
exiting and working in confined
spaces at normal atmospheric
pressure. A combination package is available for purchase, which
includes the revised Z117.1-2009 standard and the Z117 Comparison
Document.
New ASSE Technical Report Available
revention Through Design: Guidelines for Addressing

Occupational Risks in Design and Redesign
Processes provides guidance on including prevention through design concepts and processes as a
specifically identified element in a safety and
health management system so that decisions pertaining to occupational risks are incorporated
into the design and redesign processes, including
consideration of the life cycle of facilities, materials and equipment.
ASSE Comments on OSHAs LongAwaited Proposed Rule on GHS
SHA has published its long-awaited proposed rule to harmonize

OSHAs HazCom Standard with the UN Globally Harmonized System
of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). The proposed rule was
published Sept. 30. Read ASSEs comment on the proposed rulemaking,
the Societys position statement on control banding and the future of
hazard communications and its March 2004 statement to the Senate
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Subcommittee on
Employment, Safety and Training.
Help Commemorate ASSEs 100th

Anniversary: Tell Your Story
n 2011, ASSE will celebrate its 100th year. You can help commemorate this milestone anniversary with the Society by telling your story.
If you have a story, anecdote or event relating to the safety profession, the Society or workplace safety in general, we encourage you to
share it with ASSE.
19
EMERGENCY RESPONSE
BY DANIEL P. MAHONEY, CSP, CIH
Medical Emergencies in Schools

edical emergencies can happen in any school
at any time. They can be the result of preexisting health problems, accidents, violence,
unintentional actions, natural disasters and
toxins. Premature deaths in schools from sudden cardiac
arrest, blunt trauma to the chest, firearm injuries, asthma,
head injuries, drug overdose, allergic reactions and heatstroke have been reported.
School leaders and staff address these emergencies on
a routine but sometimes inconsistent basis. Consistency
in response can be enhanced by developing an emergency response plan to address life-threatening medical
emergencies. Staff members should be trained on the
medical emergency response plan.
American Association of Pediatrics (AAP) found that
18% of all teachers surveyed in elementary and high
schools in the Midwest had personally provided some
aspect of emergency care to more than 20 students each
academic year. Seventeen percent reported that they had
responded to one or more life-threatening student emergencies during their teaching career. A survey of school
nurses in New Mexico revealed that each year 67% of
schools activated the emergency medical services (EMS)
system for a student, and 37% of the schools activated
the EMS system for an adult.
In January 2004, AAP published a heavily endorsed
policy statement on this issue. Planning teams should use
this document to build or audit medical emergency
response plans and procedures. AAPs policy statement
summarizes essential information about life-threatening
emergencies, including details about sudden cardiac
arrest, the components of an emergency response plan,
the training of school personnel and students to respond
to life-threatening emergencies and the equipment
required for the emergency response. Detailed information about sudden cardiac arrest and cardiopulmonary
resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillation
(AED) programs is also provided.
RECOMMENDED ELEMENTS: SCHOOL

MEDICAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN
effective and efficient communication throughout the
school campus, including outdoor facilities and EMS
personnel;
coordinated and practiced response plan;
risk reduction through safety precautions, identifying
students with medical conditions and training of personnel to respond to those conditions;
training and equipment for first aid and CPR;
implementation of a lay rescuer AED program;
using AAPs policy statement (available at ) to audit
a program.
SCHOOL MEDICAL CARE PROGRAM CONSIDERATIONS

When developing guidelines and procedures for providing medical care at a school, consider the following
elements.
Develop procedures for responding to urgent medical
situations involving children, such as burns, cuts, fractures,
choking and sudden illness. These procedures should conform to applicable state medical practice requirements.
Collect health history and emergency medical information for each student upon enrollment. Parents should
be required to sign a consent form authorizing the school
to administer first aid and to obtain emergency services
for their child. Both the medical history and consent
form should be updated at least annually.
Nurses and others providing medical care should
possess current state credentials. In addition, staff that
oversees activities where injuries are more likely to
occur, such as physical education teachers, should be
trained in first aid.
Have sufficient medical equipment and supplies to
address expected urgent care situations. Equipment and
supplies should be under the care of the school nurse or
other primary healthcare practitioner.
Have procedures in place for handling life-threatening situations. This should include arrangements for consultation with emergency care personnel, transportation
and transfer to higher-level care facilities. Parents or
emergency contacts should be notified of the emergency
and where the child is taken for treatment. Provisions
should be made for the caregiver to accompany the child
to the emergency care source until the parent or legal
guardian assumes responsibility for the child.
All medical incidents should be documented. The
documentation should include information about the
incident (e.g., where and when the accident occurred),
the names of any witnesses and when the parents or legal
guardian were notified (i.e., for incidents requiring professional medical attention).
Daniel Mahoney, CSP, CIH, is vice president of risk control for
Glatfelter Public Practice, a public entity specialist providing risk
management services and insurance products to schools, municipalities, sewer/water authorities and emergency service organizations. For 25 years, Mahoney has provided health, safety and
industrial hygiene services to a wide variety of public and private
clients. His background includes working for major insurance carriers, a managing general agency and an environmental engineering consulting firm. He has published articles in Professional
Safety and has been a guest speaker at local ASSE and AIHA
chapter meetings. He is a member of ASSEs Philadelphia
Chapter and of the Public Sector Practice Specialty. He may be
contacted at dmahoney@glatfelters.com.
Reprinted with permission from Risk Observer, Volume CLXI,
published by Professional Underwriters, 704 Haywood Dr., Exton,
PA 19341.
20
SCHOOL SAFETY
Roundtable on
School Safety: Recap
uring Safety 2009 in San Antonio, TX, the Public
Sector Practice Specialty (PSPS) sponsored a
roundtable discussion on school safety. Amy
Stewart, CSP, facilitated the discussion, while Gayle
Carson, CSHS, recorded it. Twenty-one people attended.
Stewart began the discussion with thumb ball to
acquaint participants. She also asked attendees to define
and give examples of school safety and to outline school
safety best practices.
Some attendees sought more passion in school safety
while others suffered under the it wont happen to me
syndrome as well as budget cuts and poor interfaces with
emergency responders. Some thought many in education
had tunnel vision while others thought state legislators
did not appropriate enough money for schools. Slips,
trips and falls, PPE and faculty/staff safety were also
major concerns.
School safety includes prekindergarten, kindergarten
through 12th grade, college, school board members, state
association(s), insurance representatives, parents, grandparents, families, neighbors, emergency responders, safety
practitioners, teachers, staff, bus drivers, aides, cafeteria
staff, custodial and maintenance workers, contractors,
librarians, principals, superintendents, secretaries, safety
committee members and grantees.
can provide a roadmap for an abatement plan. The janitors closet should be properly labeled to guard against
hazardous materials, while a safety plan for science laboratories can reduce potential hazards. Knowing the
equipment and property inventory and disposing of
unwanted or damaged equipment and property regularly,
but no less than once a year, can also reduce hazards.
Pictures of playgrounds can highlight problems and
can demonstrate how falls from equipment can occur.
Sand, wood chips or rubber chips below playground
equipment can reduce injury, but using FIBAR, a type of
wood carpet, is better. A good maintenance program for
the school and playground reduces hazards and resulting
injuries. Meeting the requirements of the Americans with
Disabilities Act can help prevent accidents as well.
Chemical safety and storage issues can be addressed
with a storage compatibility plan and by using less hazardous chemicals when practical. These steps also prevent
staff and student injuries by reducing exposure to chemicals.
Mercury spills in buses and classrooms can be a problem for some schools. However, development and implementation of a spill prevention plan can reduce risk. This
plan should include the use of digital thermometers
instead of those containing mercury. Sodium metal can
be found within school laboratories, but if the hazard is
properly identified, it can be controlled.
GIVE-GET
A training plan can provide school employees with
OSHAs role with public schools is still misunderstood. the knowledge to prevent injuries. All teachers have proAdditional money will be needed if schools are to meet
fessional development requirements; in some states, it
OSHA standards. How children fit into the equation is a
can be 15 hours per year. Teachers can also receive credit
concern since they are not employees. Special education
through online safety training. With proper training,
students needs must also be identified and met.
security officers and janitors can also help look for hazParticipants believed that school bus transportation,
ards. In addition, training should be provided to memfire and crime are the three basic hazards children face at bers of the school safety committees and crisis teams.
school, while workers are safest on school campus.
School officials should meet and develop a relationParticipants also fear that another Columbine incident
ship with their local first responders. First responders
will occur. Some schools have been on lockdown to pre- should receive a tour of the school as well as information
vent harm, while others have focused on drills to prepare about hazardous materials and chemicals on site.
for such an event. Weapons and drugs in schools are also
LESSONS LEARNED
a concern.
Since rules can vary from state to state, it can be difficult
BEST PRACTICES
to use best practices from another area. Participants felt that
Best practices include contracting school bus services not enough money is available to fix problems at every
and implementing a bloodborne pathogens program for
school. State legislators can appropriate additional money to
cleaning staff, cafeteria staff and school nurses. Other
address safety hazards at schools. Other solutions include
best practices involve school maintenance, chemical con- using a more creative approach to controlling and respondtrol plans and training.
ing to hazards or pursuing grants for eligible schools.
Maintenance is important when addressing facilities,
PSPS plans to sponsor another roundtable at Safety
playgrounds or equipment. School facility inspections
2010 in Baltimore, MD.
21
OCCUPATIONAL FATALITIES
Work-Related Fatalities in Tree

Care Operations in the U.S.:
1992-2007
W
orkers in various industries and occupations are

involved in the care and maintenance of trees,
such as tree trimming, pruning and removal.
This work is recognized as having many safety hazards
(DOL, 2008). Although previous analyses have involved
subgroups of workers who perform this type of work
(Poulin Buckley, Sestito, Hunting,
2008), no analysis has focused on
A total of 45 fatali- identifying injured workers from all
and occupations that perty investigations industries
form tree care operations. This report
completed during summarizes the characteristics of
fatal occupational injuries, using data
1985 to 2007 were from the Census of Fatal OccupaInjuries (CFOI) and a case
found to be related tional
series of fatality investigations conto tree care opera- ducted by NIOSHs Fatality Assessand Control Evaluation (FACE)
tions, including 14 ment
program.
fall deaths, 13 elec- During 1992-2007, a total of
1,285 workers died while performing
trocutions and 9 tree care and maintenance; 44%
trimming or pruning a tree
struck-by deaths. were
when fatally injured. The most common causes of death were being
struck by or against an object (42% of deaths), most
commonly a tree or branch, falls to a lower level (34%)
and electrocutions (14%). Most decedents (57%) worked
for small establishments with 10 or fewer employees.
Employers, trade and worker associations and policymakers should take additional steps to improve the safety
of workers involved in tree care, such as providing formal training and ensuring that PPE (e.g., fall protection
equipment) is used properly.
The analysis consisted of two parts. For the first part,
NIOSH reviewed data for 1992-2007 (the most recent
data available) from CFOI, a national surveillance system for work-related deaths attributed to traumatic injury
maintained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. CFOI
derives fatality data from multiple sources (e.g., death
certificates, medical examiner/coroner reports, workers
compensation reports and police reports) (BLS, 2007).
Potential cases of tree care-related deaths were identified using specific data elements: industry, occupation,
injury source and narratives describing the injury event.
Cases were selected for initial review if 1) the decedent

was coded as working in the tree services and ornamental shrubs industry (for 1992 to 2002, Standard Industrial
Classification Manual, 1987 Edition, code 0783); 2) the
decedent was coded as working in the landscaping services industry (for 2003 to 2007, North American Industry
Classification System, 2002 Edition, code 56173); 3) the
injury source was wood chippers [Occupational Injury
and Illness Classification System (OIICS) source code
3231 and secondary source code 3231] or a tree (OIICS
source code 587); or 4) the case narrative contained the
keyword tree with the trunks of the following keywords: fell, trim, prune, landscape, removal,
excavation or care. The initial review excluded cases
in which the decedent was coded as working in the logging industry or coded as a logger.
A case was defined as a fatal event that was a direct
result of a tree care operation, as determined by the
injury narrative. After the initial selection of potential
cases, a manual case-by-case review of injury narrative
confirmed relevance. Events among workers conducting
the following activities were included: tree topping, tree
trimming/pruning, tree felling, tree removing and tree
clearing. Because of changes in classification methods in
2002, industry and occupation are reported only for 2003
to 2007.
For the second part of the analysis, NIOSH reviewed
all fatality investigation reports concerning tree care
operations from the NIOSH FACE program for 1985 to
2007. Through on-site investigations, NIOSH and cooperating states collect detailed information on the circumstances for select incident types (including falls and
electrocutions) for purposes of making recommendations
for preventing future similar deaths (CDC, 2003). FACE
investigations collect information on employer safety
programs, worker training and use of PPE, information
that is not available from national surveillance systems,
such as CFOI.
FATALITY SURVEILLANCE
During 1992 to 2007, a total of 1,285 worker deaths
associated with tree care in the U.S. were reported to
CFOI, an average of 80 deaths per year. The decedents
were nearly all males (99%), Table 1. Most decedents
(70%) were non-Hispanic whites, but the proportion of
22
TCIA
Tree Care
Operations
W
EDITORIAL NOTE
In 2006, the Tree Care Industry Association petitioned
OSHA to consider a safety standard specific to tree care
operations because of the hazardous and unique nature
of these activities. In response, OSHA began collecting
data to inform next steps (DOL, 2008). NIOSH provided
information based on the 45 fatality investigation reports
from FACE and then conducted the analysis of surveillance data presented in this report (CDC, 2008).
This report is the first to comprehensively examine injury fatalities
specifically associated with tree care A substantial prooperations and their circumstances.
portion of fatalities
Results confirm that although most
tree care fatalities occur in the land- involved workers
scaping industry, at least one quarter
who were selfoccur in other industries, such as
farming, construction and utilities.
employed or who
A substantial proportion of fataliworked for estabties involved workers who were selfemployed or who worked for
lishments with
establishments with fewer than 10
employees. Small businesses typically fewer than 10
do not have the resources to employ
occupational safety professionals and employees. Small
might lack the knowledge, skills and
businesses typically
resources to identify safety hazards
FATALITY INVESTIGATIONS
do not have the
and to develop safe work practices.
A total of 45 fatality investigations completed during
NIOSH has a guide to help small
1985 to 2007 were found to be related to tree care opera- businesses connect with governmen- resources to employ
tions, including 14 fall deaths, 13 electrocutions and 9
tal and other resources (e.g., trade
occupational safety
struck-by deaths. Among the 14 fall deaths, 4 involved
associations, worker associations,
professionals and
falls from a height of 35 to 50 ft when an aerial lift buck- safety organizations) that can proet broke, 4 resulted from being tied to a branch, limb or
vide expertise and guidance on safe
might lack the
tree trunk that broke off from a height of 30 to 60 ft, 5
work practices (CDC, 2003). OSHA
occurred when the climbing rope broke or was cut by a
also has a guide for small businesses knowledge, skills
chainsaw or the climbing safety mechanism failed and 1 to help them comply with OSHA
and resources to
occurred because of tripping and falling from a height of regulations (OSHA, 2005). Trade
12 ft while exiting an aerial lift bucket.
associations also are a useful
identify safety hazAmong the 13 electrocutions, 5 deaths resulted from
resource for employers who conduct
ards and to develop
bodily contact with a power line, 5 resulted from equip- tree care, given the specialized
ment (e.g., chainsaw or aerial lift bucket) that provided
nature of this work.
safe work practices.
an electrical pathway; 2 involved a branch falling onto
The findings in this report are subthe power line and then making contact with the worker; ject to at least three limitations. First,
and in one case, a power line downed in a hurricane was the number of deaths reported to be associated with tree
wrongly assumed to be deenergized. The 9 struck-by
care probably is undercounted because of a reliance on
deaths involved a tree branch or tree trunk, 2 involved an inconsistent narrative information. Additional deaths assoentire tree ranging from 30 to 70 ft high and 2 involved
ciated with tree care might have occurred but were not
being struck by a vehicle while performing a tree care
identified through the CFOI analysis because of limited
operation.
and vague descriptions of the event (such as struck on
In 8 of the 45 incidents, the decedent was working
head by falling tree limb, which did not necessarily occur
alone. In most of the other incidents (60%), the decedent as a result of a tree care operation).
was working as part of a crew but outside visual contact
Second, rates of occupational injury death, which
with his or her coworkers. In 70% of the incidents, safety would support comparisons of risk with other types of
training consisted of only informal or on-the-job trainwork, could not be calculated because the numbers of
ing, and in 75% of the incidents, the employer did not
workers who provide tree care is unknown and cannot
have written safety policies and procedures in place.
be derived from national labor statistics, which are coded
deaths involving Hispanic workers increased over time,

from 12% in 1992 to 29% in 2007, Figure 1. Substantial
proportions of the decedents worked for pay or compensation (59%) or were self-employed (38%), and 57%
worked in establishments with 10 or fewer employees,
Table 1.
Nearly half of the fatalities occurred at a private residence (44%). The most common events leading to death
were being struck by or against an object (such as a tree
or branch) (42% of deaths), falls to a lower level (34%)
and contact with electric current (14%), Table 2. (To
view Tables 1 and 2, and Figure 1, click here.)
Regarding job tasks, 44% of decedents were either trimming or pruning a tree when they were injured, and 23%
were involved in tree felling.
During 2003 to 2007, most of the decedents (74%)
worked for the landscaping industry, which includes
arborist and tree-trimming services. Less commonly,
decedents worked in construction (8% of deaths), crop
production (7%) and utilities (1%). Regarding occupation, 50% of decedents were tree trimmers or pruners,
15% were landscapers or groundskeepers, 10% were
first-line supervisors or managers in landscaping and
grounds keeping, 7% were agricultural managers, 6%
were in construction occupations and the remainder was
in various other occupations.
23
In 8 of the 45 incidents, the decedent was working

alone. In most of
the other incidents
(60%), the decedent was working
as part of a crew
but outside visual
contact with his or
her coworkers.
by industry and occupation rather than by specific

types of work.
Finally, the information
from fatality investigations
on circumstances contributing to occupational injury
deaths is from a small convenience sample, and
although it provides illustrative information that is
not available elsewhere, it
is not meant to represent
the universe of tree care
occupational injury deaths.
NIOSH and others previously have made recommendations for preventing
deaths and injuries associated with tree care and
landscaping (CDC, 1992;
2008a, b; New York State
Department of Health,
2006). Results from the
analysis described in this
report generally affirm
those recommendations.
Employers, regardless of establishment size, should seek
information on worker safety before initiating tree care
operations and should develop, implement and enforce a
comprehensive safety program that includes formal
training in tree safety, fall protection, electrical hazards,
machine safety, safety along roadways, first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Worksite surveys should be
conducted before each new job and daily, by a knowledgeable person, to identify workplace hazards and control strategies.
NIOSH recommendations for safety during tree work
include 1) wearing appropriate PPE; 2) always working
in teams in visual contact with each other; 3) checking
the condition of tree branches before cutting them, climbing on them or tying off safety equipment; 4) inspecting
equipment before each shift and removing damaged
equipment from service until repaired; 5) maintaining
minimum distances from power lines as specified by
OSHA (29 CFR part 1926.416); and 6) prohibiting the
use of conductive tools and equipment near power lines
(CDC, 1992; 2008a, b).
Reported by D.N. Castillo, MPH, division of safety research,
NIOSH, and C.K. Chaumont Menndez, Ph.D., EIS officer, CDC.
This report is based in part on contributions by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, DOL and D.F. Utterback, Ph.D., NIOSH.
REFERENCES
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2007). Bureau of Labor
Statistics handbook of methods. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Labor. Retrieved from http://www.bls
.gov/opub/hom/homch9_a1.htm.
CDC. (1992). NIOSH alert: Request for assistance in

preventing falls and electrocutions during tree trimming.
Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, CDC, NIOSH. Retrieved from http://www.cdc
.gov/niosh/92-106.html.
CDC. (2003). Fatality assessment and control evaluation program: FACE program. Cincinnati, OH: U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, CDC,
NIOSH. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/
docs/2003-146.
CDC. (2003). Safety and health resource guide for
small businesses. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, CDC, NIOSH. Retrieved
from http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2003-100/2003100b.html.
CDC. (2008a). Comments of NIOSH in response to
the OSHA advance notice of proposed rulemaking for
tree care operators. Docket no. OSHA 2008-012.
Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, CDC, NIOSH.
CDC. (2008b). NIOSH fact sheet: Fatal injuries
among landscape services workers. Cincinnati, OH: U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, CDC,
NIOSH. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/
2008-144.
DOL. (2008). Advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) for tree care operations. Federal Register,
73:54118-23.
New York State Department of Health. (2006).
Fatality assessment and control evaluation (FACE): Tree
work fatal injury facts. Troy, NY: New York State
Department of Health, Bureau of Occupational Health,
New York FACE Program. Retrieved from http://www
.health.state.ny.us/environmental/investigations/face/
facts/logging.htm.
OSHA. (2005). Small business handbook.
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved
from http://www.osha.gov/Publications/smallbusiness/
small-business.pdf
Poulin Buckley, J., Sestito, J.P. & Hunting, K.L.
(2008). Fatalities in the landscape and horticultural services industry, 1992-2001. American Journal of Industrial
Medicine, 51:701-13.
Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification
only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services. References to non-CDC sites on the
Internet are provided as a service to MMWR readers and do not
constitute or imply endorsement of these organizations or their
programs by CDC or the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. CDC is not responsible for the content of pages found
at these sites. URL addresses listed in MMWR were current as of
the date of publication.
Adapted from MMWR Weekly, April 24, 2009/58(15), 389-393.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5815a2.htm.
24
PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS
BY BETTY LEE, PH.D.
GAO Report on Influenza

Pandemic Planning:
An Executive Summary
n influenza pandemic like the 1918-19 pandemic might cause a decrease of 4.25% in the
U.S. gross domestic product. In September
2008, the World Bank reported that a severe
pandemic could cause a 4.80% decrease in
world economic activity, which would cost the global
economy more than $3 trillion. World Health Organization (WHO) has developed six phases of pandemic
alert, each divided into three periods, as a system of
informing the world of the seriousness of the pandemic
threat. WHO exercised this alert system in response to
the swine flu.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)
combined the results of 11 reports and two testimonies
issued over the past 3 years on influenza pandemic
planning using six key thematic areas. GAO has made
23 recommendations in its reports based on the findings
and testimonies. Thirteen of these recommendations
have been implemented by the responsible federal agencies while 10 remain outstanding.
GAO believes that continued leadership focus on pandemic preparedness is vital, as the threat has not diminished. Influenza pandemic poses a serious threat to global
public health at a time when WHO has said that infectious
diseases are spreading faster than at any time in history.
Due to the rapid means of travel, a future pandemic could
spread in a matter of days or weeks. This article summarizes the 58-page February 2009 GAO report.
FIRST THEMATIC PLANNING AREA:
LEADERSHIP, AUTHORITY & COORDINATION
According to GAOs report, Leadership roles and
responsibilities need to be clarified and tested, and coordination mechanisms could be better utilized. Federal leadership roles have shared responsibilities between the
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and
the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and it is
unclear how these roles will work in practice. National
pandemic strategy and plan guidelines suggest that the
DHHS secretary will lead the federal medical response to
a pandemic, and the DHS secretary will lead the federal
coordination and overall domestic incident management.
In December 2006, the DHS secretary established five
pandemic regions each with a regional principal federal
official (PFO) and federal coordinating officers (FCO) for
influenza pandemic. PFOs facilitate federal domestic incident planning and coordination. FCOs coordinate federal
resources support in a presidentially declared major emergency. Despite this effort, GAO found that the relationship
of these roles to each other and to other leadership roles
remains unclear. In a July 2007 report, state and local first
responders were uncertain about the need for PFOs and
FCOs and how they would work in a major emergency.
If an avian influenza outbreak
occurs in the poultry population, both
In a severe influenthe U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) and DHS may be involved in za pandemic, DHHS
handling the situation depending on
projects that
the level of the outbreak. The DHS
secretary is responsible for coordinat- almost 10 million
ing the federal response to outbreaks
people would
serious enough for a presidentialdeclared emergency. USDA is responrequire hospitalizasible for preventing, controlling and
eradicating foreign animal diseases in tion, which would
poultry and domestic livestock in
surpass the current
coordination with other entities, such
as state governments.
capacity of U.S.
According to a June 2007 USDA
report on avian influenza planning, a
hospitals and lead
lack of coordination exists between
to rationing.
DHS and USDA. GAO has recommended that the DHS and USDA secretaries clarify their respective roles and how their
departments will work together and also test the effectiveness of coordination during exercises. A lack of information exists regarding federal and state governments
responsibilities in situations, such as state border closings
and influenza vaccine distribution. Mechanisms are available for collaboration between federal and state governments and the private sector, but they must be better used.
SECOND THEMATIC PLANNING AREA:
DETECTING THREATS & MANAGING RISKS
According to GAOs report, Efforts are underway to
improve the surveillance and detection of pandemic-related
threats, but targeting assistance to countries at the greatest
risk has been based on incomplete information. Domestic
and international disease surveillance systems need
improvement. International capability for influenza surveil-
25
USDA
H1N1 Flu
Information
The threat of a
pandemic remains,
and therefore, it
is important to
maintain momentum in preparing
the nation for a
possible influenza
pandemic.
lance has many weaknesses, especially in developing

countries. In the U.S., USDA is making efforts to help the
nation prepare for disease outbreaks of highly pathogenic
influenza. USDAs Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) is working with the Department of the
Interior and state wildlife agencies to increase surveillance
in the continental U.S. in addition to conducting surveillance of auctions, flea markets and public exhibitions.
USDA has designed a secure website with guidance for
response to highly pathogenic influenza.
The U.S. identified some priority countries for assistance. As of April 2008, the U.S. had committed $629 million, approximately 31% of the $2.05 billion committed by
all donors, for avian and pandemic influenza efforts. In
the 2008 report, the UN
System Influenza
Coordinator (UNSIC) and
the World Bank stated that
68% of countries had conducted a risk assessment.
In 2007, GAO reported
that adopting a risk management approach can
help manage uncertainties
in an influenza pandemic
and identify the most
appropriate course of
action. More recent data
on U.S. funding patterns
have concentrated on certain countries, with Indonesia the largest recipient, followed by Vietnam and Cambodia.
THIRD THEMATIC PLANNING AREA:
PLANNING, TRAINING & EXERCISING
According to GAOs report, Pandemic planning and
exercising have occurred, but planning gaps remain.
DHHS found many major gaps in states pandemic
plans. According to a UNSIC global survey, 141 countries have pandemic preparedness plans. However, the
quality and comprehensiveness of these plans vary significantly between countries. Specifically, 25% of
respondents (37 of 145 countries) reported that testing
took place at both the national and local levels.
In August 2007, GAO reported that the national pandemic strategy and implementation plan does not fully
address the six characteristics of an effective national
strategy. It does not address one characteristic at all.
There is no discussion of what it will cost, where
resources will be targeted to achieve maximum benefits
and how it will balance benefits, risks and costs.
A June 2008 GAO report indicated that all 50 states
and three localities at the state and local levels receiving
federal pandemic funds have developed influenza pandemic plans and have conducted pandemic exercises in
accordance with federal funding guidance. A DHHS-led
interagency assessment of states plans found on average
that states had substantial major gaps in their influenza

pandemic plans in 16 of 22 priority areas (e.g., school
closure policies and community containment).
FOURTH THEMATIC PLANNING AREA:
CAPACITY TO RESPOND & RECOVER
According to GAOs report, Further actions are
needed to address the capacity to respond to and recover
from an influenza pandemic. GAO found that healthcare systems need the ability to adequately care for a
large number of patients. Some potential problems that
state officials have identified include the reluctance to
send personnel into an infected area, the understanding
that personnel would be reluctant to volunteer and concerns that resources would not be available.
In a severe influenza pandemic, DHHS projects that
almost 10 million people would require hospitalization,
which would surpass the current capacity of U.S. hospitals
and lead to rationing. In addition, nearly 1.5 million of the
patients would require intensive care, and about 740,000
people would require mechanical ventilation. Although
DHHS plans to improve the surge capacity of healthcare
providers, these efforts will be challenged during a severe
pandemic because of the widespread nature of the disease,
the current shortage of healthcare providers and the potential high absentee rate of medical personnel.
GAO recommends that DHHS serve as a resource
for sharing among the states altered standards of care
guidelines developed by individual states or medical
experts. GAO also finds that state and local officials
want federal influenza pandemic guidance on facilitating
a medical surge.
In 2006, Congress appropriated $5.62 billion in supplemental funding to DHHS. Approximately 77% was
allocated for developing vaccines and antivirals for a
pandemic and for purchasing medical supplies. A portion
of the funding ($170 million) for state and local preparedness was allocated for state antiviral purchases for
their state stockpiles.
DHHS wants to ensure the availability of antiviral
treatment courses for at least 25% of the U.S. population
or at least 81 million treatment courses. DHHS and
states have stockpiled a total of 72 million treatment
courses. GAO finds that the availability of vaccines and
medications in a pandemic could be inadequate to meet
demand due to limited production, distribution and
administration capacity.
DHHS recently awarded $120 million to vaccine
manufacturers to retrofit their existing U.S. manufacturing facilities for egg-based vaccines while also planning
to build domestic cell-based vaccine production facilities
by awarding approximately $500 million in contracts.
GAO recommends that the DHHS secretary finalize
guidance to help state and local jurisdictions determine
how to effectively use limited supplies of antivirals and
prepandemic vaccine. In February 2009, DHHS officials
drafted guidance on prepandemic influenza vaccination.
26
FIFTH THEMATIC PLANNING AREA:

INFORMATION SHARING & COMMUNICATION
According to GAOs report, Federal agencies have
provided considerable guidance and pandemic-related
information but could augment their efforts. The U.S.
population should receive an accurate portrayal of risk,
without overstating the threat or providing false assurances of security. Timely, accurate and coordinated messages are essential. DHHS, DHS and other federal
agencies have provided a variety of influenza pandemic
information and guidance for states and local communities through websites and conferences.
Although the federal government has issued some guidance, it may not have addressed the particular concerns or
circumstances of state and local officials. In addition, private sector officials would like clarification about the
respective roles and responsibilities of federal and state
governments during a pandemic as well as state border
closures and influenza pandemic vaccine distribution.
SIXTH THEMATIC PLANNING AREA:
PERFORMANCE & ACCOUNTABILITY
According to GAOs report, Performance monitoring
and accountability for pandemic preparedness needs
strengthening. Most of the national pandemic strategy
and implementation plans performance measures consist
of actions to be completed (e.g., disseminating guidance.
However, measures are not always linked with intended
results). This lack of clear linkage makes it difficult to
determine whether progress has been made toward
achieving national goals and objectives.
Moreover, 18 action items have no measure of performance associated with them. It does not establish priorities among its 324 action items. This is complicated
by the lack of a description of the financial resources
needed for implementing the action items. HHS has
instituted many accountability requirements in providing
funding to states and certain localities to help them to
prepare for a pandemic.
CONCLUSION
GAO concludes that continued leadership focus on
pandemic preparedness is especially important now, as
the attention to influenza pandemic may be waning as
attention shifts to other more immediate national priorities. The threat of a pandemic remains, and therefore, it
is important to maintain momentum in preparing the
nation for a possible influenza pandemic.
Betty Lee, Ph.D., is a microbiologist in the Chemical and
Biological Controls Division, Bureau of Industry and Security,
U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, DC. She received
her Ph.D. (Pharmacology) from Dartmouth Medical School, M.S.
(Biochemistry) from LSU Medical Center, M.S. (Clinical Chemistry) from the University of Windsor and B.S. (Pharmacy) from
the University of Santo Tomas. She is an assistant editor of the
Association of Women in Science magazine.
NIOSH Seeks to Improve Protective Clothing

continued from page 17
much relief from heat as a full-body suit, while
giving a firefighter greater freedom of movement and more comfort? Is the added weight of
the cooling system offset by its benefits?
NO BURNS!
Firefighters protective ensembles are designed
to protect against burns, but in some cases, firefighters still suffer burns even though the gear is
not visibly damaged. This may be the result of
thermal energy, which can build up in multiple layers of protective clothing. The thermal energy may
be transferred to the firefighters skin as heat,
causing a burn, when the layers are compressed,
which may result from simple actions, such as leaning against a wall or kneeling.
NIOSH is focusing research to develop test
methods for determining which materials are
more likely to store thermal energy and where a
burn is likely to occur on the body from compressions of clothing. Study results will help manufacturers and users improve precautions for current
products while advancing materials and designs
for future products.
KEEP OUT!
Emergency responders depend on hazmat suits
as a barrier against harmful chemicals in a variety
of situations, from cleaning up industrial chemical
spills to investigating potential terrorist attacks.
Currently, these suits are designed to prevent or
delay a breakthrough of any and all chemicals. As
a result, hazmat suits are uniformly thick, heavy
and cumbersomeperhaps needlessly so in some
cases where a lighter material or fewer layers of
material might provide equally effective protection. Also, because any breakthrough, even water,
requires that the responder be removed from the
scene to change into another suit, an emergency
operation may be delayed or disrupted even if the
responder is not at any risk from the breakthrough, either immediately or long-term. However, manufacturers and users lack data needed to
drive new technical standards that could allow for
more versatility in materials, designs and deployment, while still offering needed protection.
NIOSH is working with partners to meet this
need, with studies in a key area of uncertainty that
must be addressed before progress can be made.
How long will different types and thicknesses of
materials resist different chemicals before the
chemicals break through the materials?
27
FROM THE COVER

The Crisis Management Plan Workbook
continued from page 1
Chemists Association) has provided beneficial initiatives

such as Responsible Care, CHEMTREC and TRANSCARE. Since the passage of PSM, RMP and ACCs
initiatives, the chemical industry has gained much insight
in the crisis management field. These regulations and initiatives have led the industry to examine its processes in
great detail. These data have influenced the creation of
elaborate plans for the industry. The principles in those
plans can be applied to any industry, business or even
to schools.
Crisis management involves eight basic steps: 1) hazard identification; 2) risk assessment; 3) corrective or
preventive measures; 4) response; 5) mitigation; 6) investigation; 7) aftermath; and 8) rebuild.
This article helps businesses determine the detail needed for a crisis management plan. The assessment phase is
enhanced through the use of a list of nonobvious crises,
such as kidnapping, sabotage of product, civil protest,
work stoppages, evacuation of expatriate employees and
dependents, product recall, information crisis and others.
The process can be used for single-site businesses, multiple-site domestic companies and international corporations. The degree of complexity increases with the
companys size. A single-site company would need one
plan whereas a large company with many sites would need
a plan for each site and a corporate plan that interfaces
with the individual plans. An organizational workbook
provides a roadmap to follow during an emergency.
or minimize unexpected releases of toxic, reactive or

flammable liquids and gases in processes involving highly hazardous chemicals.
This landmark legislation targeted facilities that use
certain chemicals in excess of listed threshold quantities.
It put into place 14 requirements that need to be
addressed for each of the covered processes on each site.
A graduated timetable was also
developed, which required a 25%
When a crisis completion rate for each of the 4
from May 26, 1994 through
occurs, it affects years
May 26, 1997.
not only the com- On June 21, 1996, EPA promulgatthe risk management program
pany, but also the ed
(RMP) rule, which requires compaentire surrounding nies of all sizes that use certain flammable and toxic substances to develop
community by dis- an RMP. An RMP includes hazard
that detail the potential
rupting the lives assessments
effects of an accidental release, an
and livelihood of accident history of the last 5 years and
evaluation of worst-case and alterthe entire area. an
native accidental releases. A prevention program must be developed that
includes safety precautions and maintenance, monitoring
and employee training. An emergency response program
must also be developed that spells out emergency healthASSESSMENT
care, employee training and procedures for informing the
A crisis management plan starts with a thorough
public and response agencies should an incident occur.
assessment of the company and of the surrounding sites
The American Chemistry Council (ACC) (formerly
that could affect it. This step can become very involved
Chemical Manufacturing Association and Manufacturing depending on the nature of the business and the nature of
neighboring businesses. Hazards associated with a business are usually fairly easy to identify. Think about a
Figure 1
business and what situations can cause a crisis. Then
Possible Structure
consider the businesses that have hazardous materials
which are in a 10-mile radius of a plant. These businessfor Team Organization
es can be identified from the Tier II reports available
from a county EMA director. Situations to be considered
include:
Site
1) Firepotential from internal and external sources.
Managers
2) Floodsources of water that could affect a busiTeam
ness (internal and external sources).
3) Severe weathersnow, rain, hail, wind, lightning,
tornado, hurricane or tsunami.
4) Explosioninternal and external sources.
Rebuild
Investigation
Aftermath
Response
5) Hazardous vapor releaseinternal and external
Steering
Team
Team
Team
Team
sources.
6) Power failurepartial outage and complete failure.
7) Water outageinternal and external sources.
Rebuild
8) Waste water treatment outagecompany or
Working
municipal facility.
Team
9) Raw material supply disruption.
10) Transportation disruption.
Possible structure for organizing a crisis response team.
11) Product recall.
28
W
12) Terrorism/sabotagetoward company people,
property or products.
13) Kidnappingforeign countries.
14) Civil protest/employee strikes/work stoppages.
15) Hot-air balloon landingsmost unusual occurrence.
16) Pandemic.
17) Computer system outage.
TYPES OF CRISIS MANAGEMENT PLANS
Crisis management plans generally fall into one of
three categories. A small, single-site company will benefit from the standard crisis management template. This
plan must interface with local responders, but a corporate
crisis management plan is not needed. A company that
has multiple sites in the U.S. will need a local plan for
each site, and they must complement a corporate plan.
They must use the same terminology and interface seamlessly with each other. An international company will
need plans that take into account any unique cultural or
regulatory requirements that exist in the foreign country.
The third type is an organizational workbook plan
that addresses the details or nuts and bolts of an emergency. The first two types of plans will identify what
needs to be addressed, and the organizational workbook
lists the groups involved in an emergency/crisis, the
responsibilities of each group, its membership and who
actually performs the work. This is developed in a flowchart format that is easily understood and used when an
emergency occurs.
BUSINESS LINK
Crisis
Management
Planning
Site Managers Responsibilities

The site manager or designate will decide whether to
activate the formal crisis management plan. In addition,
s/he determines what immediate actions are required;
assesses the events magnitude; assesses the event to
determine probability of initiation by terrorism, sabotage
or other form of intentional harm; and notifies and
updates corporate management.
Site Managers Team Membership
site manager;
communications and public affairs representative;
legal representative;
management representative from on-call schedule;
safety representative;
engineering services representative;
A single-site comhuman resources representative;
special projects representative;
pany would need
utilities representative;
security representative if terrorone plan whereas
ism or sabotage is suspected.
RESPONSE TEAMS RESPONSIBILITIES
The response team makes tactical
decisions to mitigate the event,
including protection of life, property
and the environment. In addition,
this team communicates with site
managers team; initiates the investigation team; notifies public affairs
on-call person; secures the scene and
preserves evidence; provides a safe
location for witnesses; and terminates the emergency.
a large company
with many sites
would need a plan
for each site and a
corporate plan
that interfaces
with the individual
plans. An organizational workbook
provides a roadmap
to follow during an
emergency.
CRISIS MANAGEMENT PLAN

ORGANIZATIONAL WORKBOOK TEMPLATE
A workable team organizational structure that complements the companys business structure is needed.
Response Team Membership
This organization would have a management team led by
incident commanderfire capthe site manager. During a crisis, various elements must
be provided. They differ in complexity based on the size tain on duty;
safety officer;
of the emergency, but they are always present and they
scene commander (firefighter)
must be addressed in a predictable manner that everyone
as needed;
understands and supports. Figure 1 depicts a possible
planning sector officer;
team structure.
building representativebuilding supervisor or
SITE MANAGERS TEAM
department head from affected area;
This team has the following responsibilities:
agency representativedesignated by incident comManage and coordinate crisis teams efforts.
mander;
Fill roles of incident manager and information officer.
security sector (firefighter)designated by incident
Make plant-wide response decisions to concommander;
trol/terminate incident based on information supplied by
staging sector (firefighter)designated by incident
response team.
commander;
Review all information prior to release to the public
medical sector (firefighter)designated by incident
or outside agencies.
commander;
Member lead rebuild and aftermath teams.
fire equipment specialistas needed.
Commission support for crisis teams from other speINVESTIGATION TEAMS RESPONSIBILITIES
cialists as needed.
The investigation team determines root cause(s) of
Communicate need/recommendation for potential
incident. This team also ensures that proper investigation
implementation of corporate crisis communication plan
technique is used based on severity of incident; gathers
and critique each event.
29
operations support services representative;

affected division management representative;
plant protection technical staff representative;
maintenance and services division representative;
Investigation Team Membership
environmental affairs representative;
principal investigatorfrom call list;
contract services representative;
process experts from affected areaassigned by
reliability representative;
division management;
utilities representative.
plant protectiontechnical staff, on-call person;
The workbook structure has served as a good organiplant protectionsafety, on-call person;
zational tool. As with all tools, there is room for
Technical specialists (as needed).
improvement and customization for each company. Each
section of the workbook may need to be expanded with a
AFTERMATH TEAMS
section that addresses an element in greater detail. This
RESPONSIBILITIES
The nature of the
could be a detailed description of a mutual aid agreeThe aftermath team resolves all
chemical industry liability issues resulting from emer- ment or a memo of understanding between a company
and area responders or suppliers or neighboring busiIts responsibilities also
has fostered gency.
nesses. When a crisis occurs, it affects not only the comencompass attorney/client determian environment nation; lawsuits; stakeholder issues; pany, but also the entire surrounding community by
issues; regulatory issues; disrupting the lives and livelihood of the entire area. This
where additional shareholder
insurance claims; accounting issues; structure was developed from a chemical company point
of view, so it may have some elements not needed for
levels of safety are coordinates site visits by outside
another type of industry.
agencies. In addition, this team
a way of life. maintains recording process to keep
CONCLUSION
track of outside agency representaA
crisis
management
plan organizational workbook
tives onsite and provide appropriate escorts (technical
can
be
adapted
to
a
wide
variety of industrial/business
and/or legal); controls records following investigative
settings.
The
plan
can
be
used
as a companion to the
teams work; provides timely updates to the community
more
detailed
corporate
or
local
crisis management plans
after initial incident is over (review through site managthat
may
be
part
of
the
business
environment.
ers team); and coordinates with the rebuild team to
The example plan was used as a template in a chemiavoid creation of spill during cleanup.
cal company setting, and it should be considered as a
Aftermath Team Membership
near worst-case environment. The nature of the chemical
site manager;
industry has fostered an environment where additional
affected division superintendent(s);
levels of safety are a way of life.
nonaffected division superintendent assigned as needed;
The workbook also follows the required principles for
plant protection;
national incident management system (NIMS) complicommunity relations;
ance protocols, which ensures a compatible structure for
human relations business accounts;
interface with other groups during the crisis. NIMS prooperations support services division;
vides an environment for organizations to work effectivelegal.
ly and efficiently to prepare for, prevent, respond to and
recover from domestic incidents, regardless of cause,
REBUILD STEERING TEAMS RESPONSIBILITIES
size or complexity. This article shares a technique that
The rebuild steering team identifies and implements
has been used effectively in a chemical company setting
corrective actions to return facility to normal production.
and can be applied to other business settings.
In this role, the team performs damage assessment to
determine what has/can be isolated and what can be
Larry G. Holloway, CSP, MEP, is president and founder of LGH
restarted (and the sequence involved). The team also over- Safety Services LLC, a consulting company specializing in the use
of exercise design development to assess thoroughness of crisees facilities cleanup; coordinates engineering, procuresis/emergency management plans in industries and school systems.
ment and construction of replacement plant; determines
Holloway has more than 30 years experience in the areas of crisis
what is truly broken and needs immediate/long-term atten- management plan development and implementation, emergency
exercise design, incident investigation, risk management plan
tion; obtains new/revised permits; commissions rebuild
working team; implements a process to share learning; and development, shelter-in-place strategy, dispersion and consequence modeling. He is chair of the hazardous materials subcomaddresses product supply/interruption issues (products
mittee of the Sullivan County Integrated Emergency Preparedness
identified, shortages identified, supply chain notified).
Council and an officer in his local ASSE chapter. He holds a B.S.
evidence from the event; assists legal in preparation of
official report; and presents report of findings to appropriate members of the site managers team.
Rebuild Steering Team Membership

site manager;
in Chemistry from Georgetown College.
30

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A TECHNICAL PUBLICATION OF ASSES

PUBLIC SECTOR PRACTICE SPECIALTY

BY LARRY G. HOLLOWAY, CSP, MEP

risis management began

A crisis management plan organizational

On Dec. 29, 1970, the OSH Act

t is my pleasure to serve as Public Sector Practice Specialty (PSPS)

Conference & Seminars

OSHAs Jordan Barab participated in the plenary session at Safety

9 BEE AWARE: COMING SOON

A COOP plan will allow a public organization to continue its

11 Should the Public Sector

The Public Sector Practice Specialty held

This article outlines basic information about VPP.

13 ICE: In Case of Emergency

& SPECIAL EVENTS

NIOSH reports on tree care operations.

16 TRANSPORTING STUDENTS SAFELY

Influenza pandemic poses a serious

Chaperones serve a vital role in the supervision of students.

Plenty in the Plenary

know that you are eager to hear about the future of

or enforcement initiative is no, I also have a message.

Jordan Barab Biography

would trigger additional mandatory inspections to ensure

ASSE Supports Approach

SSE in a letter to Representative John Conyers

ASSE Urges Coverage

n a letter to Representative Lynn Woolsey, sponsor of

New Virtual Symposium

s safety professionals, we know, its one of the

BY FRED FANNING, M.ED., CSP

Planning will also be required with private sector

BY CHRIS W. BRADSHAW, M.S., MT

Bee Aware: Coming Soon

behavior before attacking by flying in the face or around

WHEN AN ATTACK OCCURS

BY ROBERT BOB SANDER

Should the Public Sector

emember the public sector implementation of

and health committees. Such committees are also often

EPA Names Two Northern

or the first time, EPAs Green Power Partnership

BY AMY STEWART, CSP

ICE: In Case of Emergency

ICE stands for in case of emergency.

(All statements are true.)

Liquor Liability & Special Events

PUBLIC LEGAL CLIMATE

An effective department liquor loss control program

Liquor Liability & Training

ence of drugs or alcohol when they arrive. Signs of

Rob Roscoe is an industry

SCHOOL BUS SAFETY

BY GAYLE T. CARSON, CSHS

Transporting Students Safely

Safety Standard No. 111 and Title 49 CFR Chapter 5,

SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS

NIOSH Seeks to Improve

BY JOANN ROBERTSON, CSP, CPCU, ARM

crucial at this time. Chaperones should be prepared to

COMMUNICATION & PLANNING

Understanding how to conduct swift and thorough evacuations

more likely to occur in the rear of the bus, unlike in a