Safety and Health Policy
1. Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to ensure the protection of people and property from injury or loss by recognizing hazards, taking appropriate steps to evaluate and mitigate those hazards, and actively seeking to enhance the program using the principles of Human Performance Improvement.
2. Scope
This policy applies to all Fermilab activities and operations carried out under the approved management systems at the Fermilab site and all leased spaces. Fermilab employees assigned to work at locations other than the Fermilab site or leased spaces are expected to follow the local worker safety and health programs established for those locations.
3. Applicability
This policy applies to Fermi Research Alliance, LLC and all its employees, contractors, subcontractors, Fermilab Users, Affiliates and visitors.
4. Effective Date and Date Reviewed/Updated
This policy went into effect on June 1, 2019 and its update was effective on July 20, 2021.
5. Policy
Fermilab must provide a safe and healthful workplace for employees, users, affiliates, visitors, contractors and their subcontractors. The Safety and Health (SH) Program describes how Fermilab maintains compliance with applicable standards and Local, State and Federal legal requirements through the contract between Fermilab Research Alliance and the Department of Energy. Fermilab strives for the prevention of injury or ill health and continual improvement in safety and health management and performance.
To the maximum extent practicable, all hazards shall be eliminated or minimized through engineering or administrative controls. Where engineering or administrative controls are not feasible, personal protective equipment (PPE) shall be provided by the organization free of charge. Where hazard abatement resources are limited, priorities shall be assigned to take care of the most serious problem(s) first.
Employees, visitors, users, contractors and subcontractors must be trained in order to perform work at Fermilab. The requirements are defined for workers and users in FESHM 2070, ES&H Training Program. Supervisors or designated Points of Contact are responsible for developing an Individual Training Needs Assessment (ITNA) for all of the personnel they supervise. All required training must be completed before workers are exposed to the hazards associated with the work they will be performing. All personnel are responsible for participating in defining the necessary training with their supervisor, successfully completing all required training, and applying training on the job.
Safety and health requirements, in addition to standard OSHA requirements, shall be transmitted to contractors and their subcontractors prior to their arrival on site. Construction site inspections must be conducted and tracked to monitor adherence to all regulations.
A comprehensive occupational health surveillance program shall be in place to identify and monitor potential hazards in the workplace. This must include medical surveillance programs for employees that may potentially be exposed to hazards, industrial hygiene monitoring efforts to document actual exposure levels, and radiation monitoring programs to keep exposures as low as reasonably achievable. These programs are explained in more detail in the Fermilab Environment, Safety, and Health Manual (FESHM) which also includes the Fermilab Radiation Control Manual (FRCM). Thorough incident investigations shall be conducted following the guidelines of the Human Performance Improvement principles. Results of investigations must be input into an issues management tracking system. This gives the laboratory the ability to understand the drivers behind incidents or events and to reduce the probability of recurrence.
6. Definitions
Fermilab is the physical site and property that is the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.
Fermilab Environmental Safety and Health Manual (FESHM) – a set of policies and procedures established to manage, control and mitigate potential safety and health impacts of specific Laboratory activities.
Fermilab Radiator Control Manual (FRCM) – a set of policies and procedures established to manage, control and mitigate potential radiation risks and impacts of specific Laboratory activities.
Fermi Research Alliance, LLC is the operator and manager of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory under Department of Energy Prime Contract No. DE-AC02-07CH11359 and is the principal employer of personnel working at Fermilab.
7. Responsibilities
Chief Safety Officer:
- Liaises with the Fermi Site Office (FSO) on Fermilab S&H activities and forward any identified deficiencies in DOE requirements for resolution
- Provides oversight for documenting, implementing, and maintaining this policy.
- Develops ES&H programs together with line organizations that comply with the standards of Fermilab's contract to otherwise promote responsible ES&H practices.
- Provides the appropriate resources to implement and maintain the Safety & Health Program.
- Supports an open reporting culture and principles of Human Performance Improvement.
Division, Section, and Project Heads/Management System Owners:
- Support an open reporting culture and principles of Human Performance Improvement.
- Ensure that sufficient resources are provided to their areas of responsibility in order to adequately support both process and personal safety.
- Assign personnel to activities that possess the experience, knowledge, abilities, and training to perform effectively.
Employees, Users, Visitors, Affiliates, Contractors, and Subcontractors:
- Comply with all procedures, instructions and directives contained within the Fermilab Environment Safety & Health Manual (FESHM) in order to assure a safe and healthful workplace.
- Identify and mitigate hazards
- Perform all activities in a safe manner.
- Stop work or decline to perform an assigned task because of a reasonable belief that the task poses an imminent risk of death, or serious physical harm or other hazards to the worker. No one will be subjected to reprisal for taking such an action, or for raising a concern.
8. Authorities
Department of Energy Prime Contract No. DE-AC02-07CH11359
9. Owner
The Chief Safety Officer is the S&H Management System Owner and the owner of this policy. Responsibility for reviewing, updating and communicating changes to this policy rests with the CSO.
10. Review Cycle
This policy shall be reviewed every 3 years.
11. Communication Plan
The requirements of this policy shall be communicated by the Chief Safety Officer to all employees, and periodic training shall be provided to Management System Owners and Chiefs/Division Heads/Section Heads/Project Directors. This policy shall be available in the Fermilab policy database. The Chief Safety Officer is responsible for the communication of this policy.