New Safety Training for All Voiland College Employees

Dear Colleagues,

As you know, safe conditions and procedures in our laboratories and classrooms are paramount for our students, faculty, and staff in the Voiland College.

I am pleased that we have been taking a number of positive steps in recent months to build a strong culture of safety around the college and to encourage proper safety procedures, especially in our laboratories. I have also been working with our college safety committee to begin organizing and formalizing training for all of our personnel across the college with the aim of making it consistent and easily accessible. The VCEA safety committee has worked with other groups on campus to establish a university wide standard of training.

I’m pleased to report that our efforts are coming to fruition, and that these valuable digital safety trainings are now available online through WSU’s learning management system. The ability to assign, deliver, and document safety training online in a centralized system will be of great value to reduce the administrative burden faced by faculty and others in adhering to regulatory requirements.

After discussion with members of the safety committee and the leadership team, I am asking that all faculty and staff take the following trainings by April 1, 2019. These courses are mandatory for all college employees. Supervisors may add additional training for hazards specific to their environments. If you have questions about the training modules available, please reach out to your unit’s safety committee representative.

Moving forward, all new employees will need to complete these safety trainings in order to gain laboratory access.

Required safety training for all Voiland College employees: Most of these policies are also required for all university employees as outlined in the university’s Safety Policies and Procedures Manual (total time: approximately two hours).

  • Back Safety and Injury Prevention
  • Slips, Trips and Falls
  • Emergency and Fire Safety Preparedness
  • Portable Fire Extinguisher Safety
  • Office Ergonomics
  • Asbestos Hazard Awareness (coming soon)
  • University Laboratory Safety – Working Safely

University Laboratory Safety content required for any Voiland College employees who are working in college laboratories. This series of online content replaces the in-person laboratory trainings that have been previously required for laboratory access (total time: approximately 1 hour).

  • University Laboratory Safety – Analyzing Chemical Hazards
  • University Laboratory Safety – Analyzing Physical Hazards
  • University Laboratory Safety – Analyzing Developing and Using Controls
  • Risk Assessment
  • PPE – Eye and Face Protection
  • PPE – Hand Protection

To access the training, go to Employee Training and Development and log into WSU’s Training website using your network ID. You will find all of the required courses listed under WSU Safety Courses>WSU Online Safety Courses. Supervisors shall verify their workers’ training either by looking at training certificates provided by the software to the trained individuals or by contacting EHS to verify training completion.

I want to thank you for taking the time to take these important trainings. I know that electronic training doesn’t replace all hands on teaching, but it streamlines the process, gives everyone a basic level of knowledge in these critically important skills, allows you take trainings on your own schedule, and frees up demonstration-based instruction for more hands on activities.

Thanks to the safety committee for their work to make this process as seamless as possible for all of you, and thank you for your help in ensuring the safety of all of our faculty, staff, and students in the college.

Sincerely,

Dean Mary Rezac's signature

Mary Rezac (she/her/hers)
Dean
Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture
Washington State University
526 Carpenter Hall
PO Box 642250
Pullman, WA 99164-2250
Email: mary.rezac@wsu.edu
Phone: (509) 335-5593
Twitter: @VCEA_Dean
vcea.wsu.edu