Walk-Through Inspections Planned

Facilities and Public Safety representatives will conduct walk-through inspections on campus within the next couple of weeks, looking for violations previously cited by the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA). Memos will be distributed in advance to the affected departments and supervisors are invited to accompany officials during the inspection.

The walk-through will target issues cited in the MIOSHA inspection that can easily be abated. These include taped extension cords, missing grounding plugs, blocked exits or fire extinguishers, propped doors that should be closed, power strips plugged into each other, and right-to-know issues such as proper labeling of containers.

“We’ll be treating it like a MIOSHA inspection,” said Mike Bath (Public Safety and Police Services). “We’ll make a list of violations and departments will have to come up with a timeline for abatement and document that the abatement has actually occurred. There were more than 200 violations cited in the last MIOSHA inspection. We managed to abate 700 to 800 others in advance. The upcoming walk-through will be an educational process. We just want to reaffirm the importance of adhering to MIOSHA standards because the university can be fined a hefty amount for repeat violations."