WUSTL, staff win safety awards

Washington University, two administrators and a School of Medicine department have received safety awards from the Campus Safety Health and Environmental Management Association (CSHEMA) and the National Safety Council (NSC).

Washington University was recognized with CSHEMA’s 2011 Complete Safety Program Award of Merit for excellence in the university’s institutional safety and compliance programs. This award recognizes WUSTL’s excellence in designing and implementing institutional safety programs while incorporating novel efforts in complying with standardized regulations.

Also receiving safety awards were Henry S. Webber, executive vice chancellor for administration; Walter W. Davis Jr., assistant vice chancellor and assistant dean for medical school facilities; and the medical school custodial services department, led by Ivory Reed, director of support services.

“These awards reflect that departments across the university are stepping up their safety efforts and incorporating safety into their day-to-day behaviors,” says Bruce Backus, assistant vice chancellor for environmental health and safety.

“While not stated in the individual award titles, individuals and departments in Arts & Sciences, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, School of Engineering & Applied Science, School of Medicine, Olin Business School, the Central Fiscal Unit and others have worked to make safety a priority for the university,” Backus says.

Webber and Davis also received the 2011 CSHEMA Campus Leaders Who Care Award, marking the first time that CSHEMA has awarded a single institution two of these awards in the same calendar year. The award recognizes the outstanding involvement and support of senior administrators for their understanding of how important environmental stewardship, health and safety issues are to their institutions.

Webber was recognized for developing and formalizing a multi-departmental approach to prioritize and address the university’s safety risks. Under his leadership, the university’s sustainability and disaster preparedness programs have improved significantly.

Davis was recognized as a leader who has made safety his department’s No. 1 priority. Davis and his department of approximately 400 full-time employees reduced their OSHA recordable injury-illness rate by approximately 45 percent in the past five years.

A division within Davis’ department at the School of Medicine, Custodial Services, led by Reed, received the NSC’s Milestone Award for reaching 231 days, or 225,720 employee hours, without an injury involving days away from work.