The safety and well-being of our employees is very important, and to guard it, the City tries to identify and eliminate employee exposures to avoidable hazards and conditions that can lead to injury, illness or accidents. City departments have Injury and Illness prevention programs to comply with federal and state regulations, laws and statutes, and help maintain a safe and healthful work environment.
Safety is everybody's job. All employees are encouraged to remain alert and correct hazardous conditions and unsafe acts – if it is safe to do so – and/or report them to their supervisors.
What's New
Ergonomic Services
The Department of Public Health, Occupational Safety and Health (DPH-OSH) Section provides ergonomic services to eligible CCSF employees for the purposes of prevention of workplace injuries. Our services are intended for employees who are trying to make changes to their work behaviors and workstations to prevent an injury or to resolve only mild discomfort. Employees who already have an injury and/or symptoms that they believe are associated with their job should file a Workers' Compensation (WC) claim. The WC system has a separate process for providing ergonomic services for injured employees.
Ergonomic services are provided by the DPH-OSH Section to eligible CCSF employees. Eligible CCSF employees are those employees who meet all of the following conditions:
§ The employee does not have an open Workers' Compensation claim for ergonomic related issues.
An employee with an open workers' compensation claim meeting all of the other conditions below may enroll in the Office Ergonomics Awareness Training class. However, the employee is not eligible for an On-Site Ergonomic Evaluation. An on-site ergonomic evaluation should be requested by the employee's treating physician through their Claims Examiner.
§ The employee's own Department does not have in-house health and safety staff: Departments that have their own health and safety staff include the Airport, Public Works and Government Services, Public Utilities Commission, Recreation and Parks,Port of San Francisco, SF Municipal Transportation Agency (MUNI, DPT), Housing Authority and the Human Services Agency.
Employees working for these departments should contact their safety and health staff for more information about ergonomic services.
§ In addition, DPH-OSH services are not provided to employees of the SF Unified School District, Community College District, Housing Authority, SF Superior Court or contract workers.
DPH-OSH offers the following Ergonomic Services:
§ Office Ergonomics Awareness Training (link to)
§ On-Site Office Ergonomic Evaluations (link to)
Office Ergonomic Awareness Training
§ DPH-OSH offers an Office Ergonomic Awareness Training class. The class is available at no charge to eligible CCSF employees.
§ The class is 2 hours and is offered regularly. See the class schedule (PDF) for specific dates and locations.
§ Classes can be provided at other locations if there is a minimum of 8 employees who can attend the class, and if the host department can provide a meeting location appropriate for the training. Contact Nancy Terranova (554-2651) or Karen Heckman (554-2762) if you are interested in scheduling training at your site.
§ Employees are required to attend the Office Ergonomic Awareness Training class prior to requesting an on-site office ergonomic evaluation.
How to enroll in the Office Ergonomic Awareness Training class
§ To enroll in the class, complete the Office Ergonomic Awareness Training Enrollment Request form (PDF)
§ Employees must have their supervisor's approval to attend the class. Supervisors may enroll themselves in the class.
§ We have limited space in our classes and classes fill quickly. We ask that participants give us at least 3 work days notice if they cannot attend a class so that someone from the waiting list can be contacted. Failure to provide this notice may result in low priority enrollment in any future class.
Class Overview
The key to preventing ergonomic injures is to understand what causes them and making changes before an injury can develop. In this class, students learn how to identify problems associated with computer use that may lead to discomfort or injury and simple solutions for resolving issues. The class focuses on low cost solutions and shows a variety of options for resolving the most common problems. Once employees attend the training they are asked to conduct a self-evaluation of their own workstations and share their findings with their supervisor. Course contents include:
§ Definitions and terminology related to ergonomics
§ Health concerns often associated with computer use
§ How to identify risk factors that can lead to injury and methods to reduce risk factors
§ Equipment and non-equipment solutions for improving comfort at a computer workstation
§ How to perform a self-assessment of your workstation
§ Exercises and stretches that can improve comfort
On-Site Office Ergonomic Evaluations
In order for an employee to become a partner in developing and implementing solutions that affect their comfort at work, DPH-OSH requires employees to first attend an Office Ergonomics Awareness Training ( link to) class prior to scheduling an on-site evaluation.
Many employees are able to correct problems on their own after taking the class and completing a self evaluation of their workstation. However, if additional assistance is needed, a request can be made for a member of the DPH-OSH staff to conduct an on-site office ergonomic evaluation. Note: DPH-OSH does not provide funding to purchase any items that may be recommended in the ergonomic evaluation report nor does DPH-OSH order any items for your department.
On-site office ergonomic evaluations are provided to eligible CCSF employees who meet the following conditions:
1. The employee does not have an open workers' compensation claim.
If there is an open workers' compensation claim, then a request for an ergonomic evaluation should be made by the employee's treating physician through their Claims Examiner.
- The employee has attended the DPH-OSH Office Ergonomic Awareness Training Class.
- The employee has conducted a self-evaluation of their workstation.
- The requesting department has determined that a budget is available to purchase equipment that may be recommended as a result of the evaluation.
How to Request an Office Ergonomic Evaluation
To request an on-site office ergonomic evaluation, complete the Request for On-Site Office Ergonomic Evaluation form (PDF) and send the form by inter-office mail or fax to:
DPH-OSH Section Ergonomic Services, 101 Grove Street , Room 217
Fax: (415) 554-2570
Note: The employee's supervisor must sign the request form. A supervisor may request an evaluation for their own workstation without a signature.
§ Upon receipt of a completed Request form the PH-OSH Section will contact the employee to obtain additional information and schedule the evaluation.
§ After the evaluation is completed, a written report will be sent to the requesting supervisor and the employee by the inter-office mail or e-mail.
§ The report will contain an assessment of identified risk factors and recommendations for changes and equipment purchases.
§ For all purchase recommendations, City approved vendors will be provided.
§ All equipment purchases must be made by the employee's department.
Questions?
Contact DPH-OSH Staff, Nancy Terranova (554-2651) or Karen Heckman (554-2762), if you have any questions.
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