The CSIT Building Occupational Health and Safety Committee (Meeting) ================================================================== Date: Wednesday April 19 2006 Time: 14:05-15:00 Venue: CSIT N335 present: Clem Baker-Finch, Antoinette Bosman, James Fellows, Vicki Peterson, Peter Strazdins (chair) MINUTES: 1. Noting of Apologies and Minutes of previous meeting (http://cs.anu.edu.au/ohs/minutes/Sep05, No apologies were noted. The minutes of the previous meeting were approved, and the report of http://cs.anu.edu.au/ohs/minutes/Dec05 was noted. Antoinette was welcomed as a returning member of the Committee, and also as the Department's OSLO. Clem was also welcomed to the Committee. 2. Matters Arising: none. 3. New Hazard and Injury Reports A further OOS-related injury was reported in Dec 05, making the second such for that year. Peter noted that there seemed also to be people suffering from OOS in DCS that did not submit reports. Antoinette said that Gary Fontein from the OHS unit offered to give a seminar on Work Habits and OOS - this could be particularly useful for Graduate Students (who have periods of intense work). It was agreed that attendance by all to the seminar would be strongly encouraged. ACTION: Antoinette to follow up on organizing the seminar. 4. Review of OHS Committee Terms of Reference The draft ToR sent for comment from the OHS Unit late last year was read by the committee. It was noted the the committee already operated according to the terms, and it was agreed that they looked reasonable. 5. CSIT Building Inspection 05 James and Peter carried out the inspection on 5/12/05. Apart from some matters for repair, no major problems were noted. Peter put in a request for repairs through the DCS Office in early April; since then the minor items (missing roof tiles and sprinkler collars) have been rectified, but the broken seat in the Shower opposite N101 is yet to be repaired. 6. Report on OLSO Office Checks. Antoinette, who was accompanied by Peter, reported that she checked about 60% of the occupants in their offices for workstation setup and gave advice on work habits etc in the morning of Thurs Apr 13 (as per the DCS policy on Hazard Management). Antoinette reported that most people had a good setup, with the exception of the (newer) graduate students, who typically did not have desks with drop-down keyboards. A number of requests for improved furniture or accessories (e.g. workstation stands) were recorded. Peter mentioned that Paul Thomas has developed his own OOS-preventing software package (xp) for Linux. ACTION: Antoinette to pursue requests with the HoD, asking for the necessary funding. Peter to include in an email bulletin to remind people about OOS-preventing software/accessories and to invite those that missed the checks to arrange a check individually with the OSLO. 7. Other Business. 7.1 Process of Reporting of and Fixing (potentially hazardous) Building Problems Chris Johnson requested that this be discussed, in the context of his own request for replacing failed lights. The process is to report the problem to the DCS Office, who will pass on the request to F&S. Currently there is no viable tracking method at this level. Antoinette said that if the DCS Office thinks the issue important, they will follow it up. If there person making the request does not see the problem rectified in reasonable time, it is up to them to follow it up with the DCS Office. ACTION: Peter to inform occupants of this in the next email bulletin. 7.2 Arm-boards as an OOS-preventing Device Brendan McKay invited the Committee to discuss this new device, including a report and article. These were deemed interesting, but it was noted there were differing schools of thought on providing forearm rests for the keyboard. The Committee felt that if anyone was interested, they should determine how one could be purchased and request funding from the HoD for a trial. ACTION: Antoinette to request arm-boards be included in Gary Fontein's seminar. 7.3 Problems with the CSIT Lift James reported that there are several problems with the lift: the indicator lights are malfunctioning (indicating the wrong floor), the doors do not open when they should consistently, and there are broken tiles on the floor presenting a potential hazard. It was noted that this lift services 3 buildings (CSIT, Ian Ross and EIT). There had been previous attempts by F&S to fix it, but these problems remained. The Committee deemed the lift was a hazard and deemed its current functioning as unacceptable, and it needed to be properly fixed or replaced. ACTION: Peter to request it be properly fixed or replaced to the HoD, and if necessary, the Director of CECS. 7.4 Committee Membership Arrangements for Semester 2 Peter noted that with Vicki retiring and Peter and Clem on study leave next semester, Committee membership would need to be strengthened for semester 2, despite the expected return of Ian to DCS. A new academic would be needed to replace Vicki; it was also felt that, in considerations of the previous items, there should be permanent graduate student representative on the Committee. Finally, it was noted that a chair would need to be found; there was some discussion on this. Antoinette moved a vote of thanks to Vicki for serving on the Committee over several years, and to Peter for his recent work on chairing the Committee, which the Committee then endorsed. ACTION: Peter to request the graduate convenor (Peter Christen) to arrange selecting a graduate representative. Peter also to seek for the other additions. Meeting concluded 15:00.