OLD Business:
A) The Ryan building stairway, closest to the library is very cold. Mostly the area from the 1st floor down. The housekeeping employee advised that once she washed the stairs ice formed on the stairs. She had to take a rag and physically wipe the stairs to prevent it from icing up. Alex will put a work order in to check on the heater and see what can be done about this problem.
- Dec.18, 2014 -Ursula will check with housekeeping in January when the real cold weather returns
- Oct.22, 2015 waiting for quotes to replace heating unit, traditionally trouble with the doors
May 29, 2014 - since it is summer now and last winter was especially harsh, this concern will be revisited in the fall/winter. Should the same condition occur the only option will be to install a heater over the stairs?
Jan. 15, 2015 -Ursula spoke with housekeeping and they advised that it may not be the heater or lack of heat in that area but rather the fact that the doors (from the outside) don't close properly, especially if there is an accumulation of snow. Steve Gervin said that he will put a work order in to have the doors checked.
April 16, 2015 – Steve will check on the door
B) Asbestos update – remediation is occurring on annual asbestos abatement program. Pulp lab in CB will be abated in December and some work in the old "Junction"/Post Office" area will be done in January 2016. Discussions on program for dusting is ongoing with housekeeping staff.
C) Ursula advised that the WHMIS program will be replaced by GHS. We are looking at purchasing on online training program for the training purposes. Ursula will speak more about this at the next meeting.
D) Housekeeping – lighting by the Library courtyard, CNFER and RC very low light levels and not pathway lights in that area. Steve will ask security for any issues and price out the cost of installing some lights.
Nov.19, 2015 -Security did not respond to Steve as of yet but the housekeeping member of the Committee confirmed that indeed it is very dark in this area. Someone suggested that it is possible that the lights at CNFER canopy are on a timer and go out when housekeeping staff are working. Ursula will put in a work order to check to see if this maybe happening. Pending results we may be looking at some other solutions.
W/O # 154202
4. Steve send an email to Lorne Clifford re procedures to be reviewed re: threat at ATAC in September. First in should be emergency respondents not LU personnel.
Nov.19, 2015 – a long discussion ensued and Ursula advised that she will speak to Lorne about the concern expressed by the mechanical group.
Injury Report;
No injuries to report.
Near Misses:
A grounds employee was removing snow on a wooden ramp leading to BB when his foot slipped and he jarred his knee. Fortunately, there was no lasting injury and the employee returned to work immediately.
Inspections Outstanding;
• Lot 5 House (Mike & Ursula)
• Library (Mike & Ursula)
• Physical Plant Building Maintenance (Steve & Rob)
New Business:
1. Ursula spoke about GHS. It appears that in spite of the fact that Ontario has not passed the GHS legislation some jurisdictions have, including Federal gov't. As a result some manufactures have begun supplying chemicals with new labels and MSDS sheets. By law until the Ontario gov't passes the new legislation the employer has until 2018 as a transition period. In spite of this, we have begun receiving chemicals with new information. Ursula has one source CCOHS website where training on GHS can be completed, it is an e-learning course. She will take the training and advise if it is something that others should be doing.
2. Steve and Matt will be taking JHSC certification training Part 1 starting Dec.8 to 10, 2015. This is a 3 day training course. They will then have to take Part 2 of the training as soon as possible.
3. Stairs between the RB and the Library (outside) there are often bicycles locked to the stairs and at least once the handle bars were creating a tripping hazard. All concerns with bicycle traffic should be reported to Security immediately.
4. Steve reported that the floor in the Power house is breaking. There are no vehicles allowed inside. The area is cornered off with signs advising of the danger, until such time as a decision is made how the floor will be fixed.
5. A discussion was held in regards how the University (i.e. Health and Safety, Security and the mechanics) respond to calls of "bad smells." Ursula advised that bad smell calls have been more frequent this fall but only in one instance has the smell been traced to activities in the lab. Ursula advised that although it is time consuming the mechanics are a crucial part of this process, as we rely on their expertise in terms of mechanical systems.
6. A power failure in the City a few days ago cause several buildings go to without power. 1294 Balmoral was one of those buildings. It has been noted that the Emergency Exit lights are battery operated and the batteries last 20 minutes only. It appears that some employees did not leave the building when the power went out and were then leaving the building when it was completely black. Ursula and Steve will look into this concern.
7. A long discussion was held about how Police and the administration responded to a recent threat against the University. Some members of the University expressed their concern that although the police presents on campus was very visible the University did not issue any information until later in the day. Ursula and Steve G advised that they were told that this was done on purpose at the directive of the police. In these types of situations the University will always adhere to the guidance of the police.
Meeting adjourned at 10:25 a.m.
NEXT MEETING: Thursday, December 17, 2015 in Avila – Physical Plant meeting room at 9:00 a.m.
