BREAKING NEWS

SafetyNet has returned! The new look and format is intended to make SafetyNet easier to access and navigate. DOI employees, managers and safety professionals will now have easy access the site and find all the tools necessary to successfully carry out the safety and occupational health aspects of their assignments. There will be information on training, links to relevant websites, forms, checklists, and more. Please take a few minutes to browse around. If you don't see something you need, contact the Office of Occupational Health and Safety, and they will see that it is located and posted. As employees of DOI, we face challenges everyday, SafetyNet is one more tool now available to lower risks on the job.

Welcome to SafetyNet

SafetyNet is the one-stop safety and health information source for the Department of the Interior (DOI). SafetyNet promotes safety awareness within the DOI community, and acquaints managers, employees, volunteers and safety and health professionals with the DOI Safety and Occupational Health Program’s (SOHP) objectives and how to achieve them.

Protecting life and property through the incorporation of safety into the Department’s and bureaus’ core management systems is the fundamental tenet of the DOI SOHP. SafetyNet is one tool, and DOI safety managers are one asset available to managers to help reduce the risks their employees face every day on the job.

IN FOCUS

Over 500 BIA employees have taken the National Safety Council’s Driver Education Course, which is now available on line through DOI Learn.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The National Response Team is Sponsoring the National Response team’s 2008 Worker Safety and Health Conference at the EPA Head Quarters Building in Washington DC.

The US National Response Team (NRT) is an organization of 16 Federal departments and agencies responsible for coordinating emergency preparedness and response to oil and hazardous substance pollution incidents. The NRT Worker Safety and Health Subcommittee focuses on worker safety and health issues related to oil and hazardous material response and recovery. The Subcommittee is proud to sponsor this annual technical conference to provide awareness, clarification and insight into current occupational safety and health issues facing response and recovery workers.

Conference Topics include:

Operational Risk Management
Managing Worker Fatigue During Recovery Operations
Emergency Response and Recovery
Best Practices
Injuries and Fatalities during Response and Recovery Operations
Responding to Radiological Incidents
ase Studies on Technical Issues Related to Field Responses

The DOI Safety and Health Council will be meeting with the Designated Agency Safety and Health Official (DASHO) Council to set the FY 2009 safety and health agenda for DOI.

The DOI Safety and Health Council and the DASHO Council will be meeting jointly on October 22, 2008. The two Councils will use this opportunity to set the safety and health agenda for FY 2009 using the new DOI Safety and Health Strategic Plan developed by the Strategic Plan Work Group. One of the key meeting outcomes is a 12 month program implementation plan with specific targets and deadlines.

Departmental Safety and Health Manual Review

The DOI Safety and Health Council are currently reviewing the Departmental Manual (DM) relating to the SOHP (485 DM Series). The new DM series will follow the safety and occupational health strategic plan developed by the IG Response Work Group. The individual chapter reviews will take place over the next 12 months and new chapters will be added covering topics such as management of change.