IAW is committed to the health and safety of all organization participants. The following policies and procedures are in place to protect the well being of all those on IAW premises or when offsite at an IAW project/event.
As an organization it is our responsibility to:
- identify, manage and control hazards to establish a safe environment
- provide protective clothing and equipment as required
- make adequate preparations for emergencies
- record all accidents and “near misses” and investigate where necessary to ensure future accidents are avoided
As a participant it is your responsibility to:
- contribute to the process of hazard identification, analysis and control
- ensure all accidents and illnesses are reported and recorded
- use any protective clothing and equipment provided
- not undertake any task which is unsafe
- look out for the safety of fellow participants
- observe all organization safety rules and hazard controls
The following policies are to be reviewed at least annually by the board, updated as necessary and documented.
Welding booths
- PPE: Helmets, goggles, welding gloves, hearing protection, fire and electricity resistant clothing are to be worn while working in booths
- All stations are to remain clean and free of trash, debris etc to avoid accidents
- All students must work under the supervision of an artist or instructor when operating equipment
- All equipment is to be used per manufacturer instructions and for its intended use to avoid accident/injury
- Any equipment not in use will be properly turned off and stored in the appropriate location
Building
- Capacity-no more than x # of people on premises at any one time (TBD determine what the code is)
- Prohibited items:
- Weapons including, but not limited to: firearms, blades or knives that are not used for welding or in the kitchen area, explosives or combustible items
- Illegal drugs/substances
- Vapes, cigarettes or e-cigarettes
- pets/animals besides service animals
- Alcohol (unless preapproved for legal consumption as part of a supervised special occasion or event)
- Monthly checklist items:
- Exterior lighting-(currently only one street light and one flood light above garage door on dyke street. No exterior lighting on herbert way entrances)
- Fire extinguishers
- Sprinkler system
- Locks
- Walkways
- Emergency exit access
- Stairways/railings
- Eye washing sink?
- HVAC?
- Safety equipment/booth PPE
- Welding tools/equipment
- Smoking is prohibited inside the building. Anyone smoking outside of the building must maintain at least 10’ distance from entrances.
- Personalized alarm codes are to be provided as needed and documented. They should also be revoked as needed (ex. artist temporarily using space for a project)
- if/when we hire employees-displaying and updating OSHA poster as necessary
Storage of supplies/recycled goods to avoid injury
Waste
- All waste will be property disposed of in appropriately labeled containers
Emergencies
- Bodily injury
- A first aid kit will be available on site (located in the kitchenette) and replenished as necessary
- In the event a participant is injured while on site or on an offsite project it should first be reported to the artist/supervisor in charge at that day/time. If immediate medical treatment is necessary calls should be made to 911 first and parent/guardian second (vice versa if it is not immediately urgent). Incident should be documented (when, where, how, who was involved, etc. for safety evaluation to determine if policy/procedure needs to be changed)
- Ingestion
- Eyes
- Cuts
- Burns
- Safe storage of recycled materials/supplies to avoid injury
- Fire
- There will be a minimum of one fire extinguisher per welding booth, at each door entry, kitchenette, and education rooms. They are to be checked monthly and documented on the tag and inspected annually
- Building exits are located as follows: 2 at front of building from Herbert Way on left and right side of building and Dyke street at the back of the of building
- All emergency exits will be properly identified with signage and will be free of any blockage of access at all times
- Evacuation plan
- In the event of an emergency everyone should immediately exit the building from the closest exit to them and walk to the cribs for kids parking lot where the designated artist/person in charge will conduct a head count and wait for further assistance from the necessary emergency personnel
Student Pickup
All students are responsible for their own transportation. Staff may not transport apprentices age 18 and under. They are to be picked up by designated parent/guardian ONLY or take public transit if permitted.
If a child is waiting to be picked up, staff will wait until 15 minutes after closing. If the parent or guardian has not arrived, staff or security will call the City of Pittsburgh Police. Two IAW staff members will remain with the child until the police arrive.
IAW staff or security will notify the City of Pittsburgh Police if the site is closing, at the scheduled time or in an emergency situation, and a parent or guardian of a child cannot be located in the building or by phone.
If you have any concerns about health and safety or any ideas about how health and safety can be improved, please discuss these with an IAW staff member or email safety@iawpgh.org.
These policies will be updated as needed based on CDC guidelines. We ask that all staff, volunteers, students and visitors commit to these guidelines for everyone’s safety. This policy will be available on our website. Any updates to these policies will be communicated on our website and via email.
- The following signage will be posted at the entrance and in common areas of the building:
What we’re doing to keep you safe
- All guests are asked to enter through the entrance on Herbert Way so that staff can perform contactless temperature checks (below 100.4 F)/symptom screening prior to entry (symptoms listed in CDC infographic)
- We will mark 6 feet marks on the sidewalk to encourage social distancing during student drop off during programming.
- If a student is brought to the premises by a parent,the parent may not leave until the student has completed their temperature check and symptom screening.
- We ask that you please stay home if:
- Face masks required to be worn over mouth and nose whenever on premises
- Disposable face masks will be provided for guests that do not have one
- A face shield alone will not be sufficient for entry
- Building capacity is limited to allow for social distancing of 6 feet. All welding booths allow for ample space between students
- In addition to using the ventilation system, garage doors will be open during programming to allow for optimal air flow
- High touch surfaces will be sanitized throughout the day and documented
- All cleaning products used will follow CDC guidelines under List N
- Hand washing sinks and sanitizer are to be readily accessible for proper hygiene on site
- Hand sanitizer will be readily available for offsite projects or anywhere that a hand washing sink is not feasible
- Welding safety equipment will be assigned to each student at the beginning of their program for individual use. Equipment can be left in their assigned lockers at IAW
- Meal/break times will be taken in designated areas of the kitchenette with marked spaces for each student to social distance. The surfaces in this area will be sanitized daily before and after breaks. Lunch schedules may be staggered if needed to ensure space for social distancing. Serving meals “family style” will not be permitted.
- If anyone begins experiencing COVID symptoms while on site they will be asked to move to an isolated area near the Herbert Way exit of the building away from other people until they can be picked up by a parent or guardian. All common areas will then be sanitized.
If someone gets sick or is exposed
- We ask that anyone that has tested positive or experiences COVID symptoms offsite notify IAW email at safety@iawpgh.org so that we can create a close contact list (anyone within 48 hours) and notify anyone that may have potentially been exposed.
- In compliance with state and local laws IAW will notify local health officials, staff, volunteers, students and families immediately of any case of COVID-19 while maintaining confidentiality in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- IAW reserves the right to require any staff, student or volunteer that experiences multiple COVID symptoms to provide a negative COVID test result before returning to the premises
Information security
- Personal identifiable information (PII) including but not limited to:
- Name
- DOB
- Physical address/mailing address
- Email address
- SSN (employees)
- DL #
- Mother’s maiden name
- Financial account #s:bank accounts, debit card, credit card etc (donations)
- Place of birth
PII will be password protected (encrypted when necessary) and only available to appropriate board members/committee members, and third parties with appropriate authorization (ex. Third party services used for collecting donations)
- Onsite internet usage
- Only sites appropriate to IAW should be visited. Browsing of nonrelated websites, or downloading of non-related files should be kept to a minimum as outlined below. Please use your best efforts to ensure that your use:
- does not damage the reputation or operations of IAW
- does not involve objectionable material (including but not limited to accessing or circulating items relating to terrorism, pornography, sexism or racism)
- Only sites appropriate to IAW should be visited. Browsing of nonrelated websites, or downloading of non-related files should be kept to a minimum as outlined below. Please use your best efforts to ensure that your use:
- Users (board members, committee members, artists with their own login info) should never share access with someone else by giving him/her/they your password. If this does occur, you should alert system support, and change the password to ensure that your computer files are not exposed to abuse. You are responsible for your own account and this means taking measures to ensure others cannot use it. Passwords are only effective if they are selected wisely; therefore your spouses’ name or your birth date are not acceptable.
- Passwords should always be longer than 5 characters.
- You should ensure your PC is shut down correctly when you are done working. This ensures unauthorized persons do not have access to the network in your absence.
Internet email allows you to access an enormous global community, and whilst email can be a powerful medium, messages are not protected in any way as they travel between correspondents. Therefore you should exercise good judgement and common sense when creating and distributing email messages. Care should also be taken to virus check all attachments.
Email messages must not contain offensive or objectionable material and the email system must not be used to send or receive, without prior authorisation, confidential information including but not limited to copyright materials, company, financial or personnel information or similar materials.
The email system belongs to IAW and all email messages created, sent or received are the property of IAW.
In the event of a break in or vandalism the individual(s) that discover the incident should first call 911 or the appropriate emergency line and the executive director then return to their car/safe space until help has arrived. Under no circumstances should an individual investigate an incident alone.