Mainstreaming occupational safety and health into university ...

Mainstreaming occupational safety and health into university educationE u r o p e a n Ag e n c y f o r Sa f e t y a n d He a l t h a t Wo r kBackgroundThe Dublin Institute of Technology is one of Ireland’s largest and most innovativethird-level institutions, with a population of 22,000 students and approximately 2,000staff members. DIT offers over 300 different programmes from apprenticeship rightthrough to postgraduate level. DIT’s campus sites are currently located in over 40buildings around the city centre.DIT’s safety management system has been in existence since 2002. The health andsafety team has recently been developed to include three occupational healthofficers, who have been assigned to and based at various locations throughout DIT.Aims and objectivesThe aim of DIT’s initiative is to prepare young people (both students and staffmembers) for the health and safety aspects of working life, which may be in DIT itself,or in future workplaces. In particular, the objectives of the initiative include:OO to promote risk awareness as an integral part of education;OO to promote positive health and safety culture and to maintain professionalstandards;OO to improve safety behaviour and attitudes;OO to enhance open communication and consultation through education, guidance,advice, information and training; andOO to improve the university’s OSH performance and compliance by adding thedimension of student involvement.ScopeTraining programmesThe training efforts of the safety team range from providing safety inductionsfor apprentices to manual handling training for staff members. Safety inductionprogrammes for students and staff members are developed by the health and safetyteam in consultation with various internal departments, lecturers, technical officers,staff training and development office, students union office and external consultants(if required). Consultation with the students’ union office is important to ensure thatthe safety programmes are relevant to the lives and interests of students.Safety induction programmes are also delivered by members of the health andsafety team and consist of either a PowerPoint or interactive presentation. Allpackages are tailored towards the target audience but a typical package includes thefollowing information: health and safety law and responsibilities; safety contacts andrepresentatives; DIT procedures and policies relating to smoking, incident reporting,hazard reporting, first-aid, etc; safety statements; fire safety; personal protectiveequipment; risk assessments relating to pregnancy and disability; and communicationand consultation.Safety induction programmes are supplemented by a number of other health andsafety items and activities:OO student and staff handbooks;OO safety wallet cards and safety booklets;OO plasma screen in main reception areas with safety information;OO health and safety website;OO safe work practice sheets;128