DPW Safety Officers, Inspectors, and Assistants Help Prevent on the Job Injuries and Accidents

Most people at Department of Public Works know the Safety Officers, Safety Inspectors and Safety Assistants from the Employee Health and Safety Section of the Risk Management Office for their active involvement with the annual safety awards, but all year long behind the scenes at the County they are performing valuable work preventing industrial injuries and vehicle and equipment incidents.

In order to reduce the amount of injuries, the section promotes health and safety through safety directives and bulletins informing management and staff of the latest Federal, State, and local laws. To meet the goals of eliminating job risks, the section’s daily focus includes one-on-one ergonomic evaluations of workspaces, personal protective equipment evaluation, worksite and facility inspections, responding to safety inquiries, and coordination of safety training for line staff, supervisors, and managers. These methods have a proven track record to significantly decrease on the job injuries and accidents. Last year, of the more than 1,200 authorized mileage permittees at Public Works Department, there was a whopping cumulative of 8,788 years of safe driving on the job, as well as 9,475 years of injury-free work.

While the priority is to prevent injury, they also get out into the field to conduct trainings in operation of equipment, CPR, first aid, respiratory protection, driver training, incident response and proper protocol. Currently they are working with employees on Excavation & Trench Safety, Heat Illness-Train the Trainer, a Supervisor Safety Coordinator Course, and Rope Access trainings.  They are constantly assisting divisional safety coordinators in updating safety tailgate trainings and reviewing new and improved safety equipment for product approval.

DPW Safety Officers, Safety Inspectors and Safety Assistants take pride in helping to prevent on the job injuries and accidents, ensuring a safe work environment for all employees. CAPE thanks them for their dedicated service!

Safety Section at the Department of Public Works Alcazar Yard Safety Awards in June 2015 (from left to right: Luana Enriquez, Steven Prieto, Marvin Mejia, Joseph Clift and Alenoush Babakanian)