Auxiliary Adviser

"Providing Services That Power Education"
Volume 1, Issue 4
April 2001

Employee Recognition & Awards Reception

All auxiliary services employees are invited to the Employee Recognition and Awards Reception Tuesday, April 3, 2001. The reception will be held at the Commons Building in the Wake County Office Park from 2:30 to 5:00 PM.

We have an entertaining afternoon planned for you. There will be over 50 door prizes given out, pins awarded for years of service with the school system (5, 10, 15, 20, 25+ years), gifts for our retirees, safety awards, special awards and presentations, plus some recently-released video coverage of our one and only Ray Massey.

Please come as you are, relax, eat and allow us to recognize you for the great job you do!

School Cleaning Day

April 19 is School Cleaning Day throughout WCPSS. Now that the weather is getting warmer, it's time for a little spring cleaning. Just as you clean out your homes to get rid of the clutter, we need to clean out our schools. Mike Burriss, associate superintendent for facilities, asked principals to set aside some time on April 19 to help make our schools a clean, safe, healthy environment.

Burriss asked principals to clean out the mechanical and electrical rooms, storage closets, and classrooms. Principals should check those and other spaces for clutter, throw trash into the appropriate dumpsters and place bulky items at the loading docks. Maintenance and Operations will send trucks around to collect trash from the loading docks on April 19.

In addition, Burriss directed Auxiliary Services staff, "as you work in the schools over the next couple weeks, if you find trash and discarded equipment in these spaces, please pick up a piece of trash and take it to the docks."

For more information, please contact Gary Haithcock at 856-8010.

Child Nutrition Update
By Elaine Hunt

In June, Child Nutrition Services will lose two major people. Melissa Carson, our "Irish eyes," will retire after 22 years with CNS. Melissa has brought such class to this department and is a wonderful ambassador for feeding children. Melissa's husband, Eric, retired three years ago and now they will have more opportunities to visit with those three beautiful granddaughters in Atlanta. In late June, Melissa's son will get married in Tampa. I think she is going to stay really busy!

Sheri Yearby, CNS assistant director, has chosen to move back to Texas to be closer to her family. Sheri came to Wake County schools after ten years in child nutrition with the Dallas schools. Sheri has accepted a position with Alief Independent School District, a suburb of Houston. Our loss is certainly their gain. Sheri's expertise in human resources has been such an asset and will be greatly missed.

We are moving forward with the installation and training for the WinSNAP cash register system. We are installing the program at two schools a week and it has gone extremely smooth. Also, we are in the process of entering all the items we purchase into the database for our new ordering and inventory process with SNAP. Our summer offers us many opportunities for training.

Wake County child nutrition managers will participate in a day and a half training program with the other 13 school systems in the Capital Educational Area. It will be held on the campus of UNC-Wilmington and sponsored by the Department of Public Instruction. The training will be on how to give appropriate feedback to employees, managing workplace conflicts effectively, and working in a workplace with many generations. Already, 91 people from Wake County have signed up.

Technology Update
By Brenda Barker

1) E-mail is available via the web at webmail.wcpss.net. You need access to the Internet to use this address but it eliminates the need for remote access. Please share the address with others.

2) Beginning in July we will be asking all employees to either access their WCPSS e-mail or forward their WCPSS e-mail to their personal account. This means everyone! We believe that there are enough computers in the district for everyone to be able to check at least once a week. Beginning next year lots of important information will be sent via e-mail. As we move to a full Oracle implementation, you will find e-mail becoming a major communication device.

3) As we move to a full e-mail implementation we will be moving away from allowing access to other accounts via the WAN (YAHOO mail, hotmail, etc). These outside sites do not filter the Internet, which we are legally required to do. We also protect our WCPSS address so we are spam-proof; we do not sell our addresses to outside vendors. Employees can still have these accounts, but they will only be able to access them from home.

4) NCWise - still progressing, we will be working with different groups to finalize roll out plans. Thank you to the Pilot sites for their continued hard work in this project (Timber Drive, Stough, Fuller, Wake Forest/Rolesville High and Durant Middle). It is not easy keeping SIMS going - much less two systems.

5) Oracle Payroll will go live July 1, 2001; which means we will be doing time entry before that date. More details to follow from Administrative Services.

Auxiliary Services Division Training Dates

"Orientation to Performance Excellence" Baldrige Training*
Apr. 11, 12
Webster Training Center, Rm. 100
*This class is already full. Another class will be scheduled in the fall.

HAZCOM
Apr. 18
8 a.m. - 12 Noon
Commons Bldg.

Stairways and Ladders
Apr. 24
8 - 9 a.m.
Commons Bldg.

Confined Spaces/ Lockout Tag-out
May 3
8 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Commons Bldg.

OSHA 10 Hour (1926)
May 22, 8 a.m. - 12 Noon
May 24, 12:30 - 5 p.m.
Commons Bldg.

To register, please contact Malinda Ferrell at 856-8078, or e-mail, mwferrell@wcpss.net.

Confined Spaces in the Workplace
By Robin Pace

Every year, 1.6 million Americans perform work in a confined space. Wake County Public School System employees are no exception. Working in confined spaces carries the risk of serious injury or even death by asphyxiation, engulfment, electric shock, falls, and heat stress. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates 85% of all confined space-related accidents can be prevented if you learn about the hazards you face on your job. How do we go about this? The following questions and answers will get us started in the right direction.


Q: What is a confined space?
A: A confined space has the following three characteristics: 1) Its size and shape allow a person to enter it 2) It has limited openings for workers to enter and exit 3) It is not designed for continuous occupancy

Q: What are some examples of confined spaces encountered in the workplace?
A: Tanks, vessels, boilers, silos, sewers, and pipelines.

Q: What is a permit-required confined space?
A: A permit-required confined space has one or more of the following characteristics: 1) Contains or has the potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere 2) Contains a material that has the potential for engulfing an entrant 3) Has an internal configuration such that the entrant could be trapped or asphyxiated by inwardly converging walls or by a floor which slopes downward and tapers to a smaller cross-section 4) Contains any other recognized serious safety or health hazards

Q: What are some permit-required space hazards?
A: 1) Hazardous atmospheres 2) Engulfment - being trapped in liquid or solid material 3) Danger from unexpected movement of machinery 4) Electrocution 5) Heat stress 6) Becoming wedged into a narrow part of the space and suffocating 7) Other physical dangers, such as falls, debris, slipping ladders, steam lines, heating equipment, etc.

Q: What are some specific examples of hazardous atmospheres?
A: 1) Oxygen-deficient air (the air might not have enough oxygen) 2) Flammable atmospheres (the air and vapor mix might be in a flammable or explosive range) 3) Toxic atmospheres (the air could be poisonous)

Q: What does OSHA require employers with permit-required confined spaces to do?
A: OSHA requires all employers to evaluate the workplace to determine if spaces are permit-required confined spaces. If there are permit-required spaces, the employer must inform exposed employees of the existence, location, and danger the spaces pose. This can be accomplished by posting danger signs or by other equally effective means. According to OSHA, the following language would satisfy the requirements for such a sign:

DANGER
PERMIT-REQUIRED CONFINED SPACE
AUTHORIZED ENTRANTS ONLY

Alternative methods, such as additional training, may be used where they are effective in warning all employees who could reasonably be expected to enter the space.

Q: What steps can the employer take to help control the hazards of permit-required spaces?
A: 1) Identify all permit-spaces in your workplace 2) Reduce employee risk around permit-spaces with signs or training 3) Prevent unauthorized employee entry in permit-spaces 4) Develop and implement a written permit-space program 5) Document procedures establishing a non-permit space (an "alternate procedure") 6) Re-evaluate spaces when conditions change 7) Make special arrangements with contractors who may enter permit-spaces 8) Supply safety and personal protective equipment

For more information, please refer to OSHA 1910.146 Permit Required Confined Spaces. The next issue of the Auxiliary Adviser will discuss the confined space entry permit.

Please call the anonymous Safety Hotline at 713-0588 to report any unsafe working conditions.

Stay Informed

Subscribe to the Auxiliary Adviser and stay informed of important issues and events in the Auxiliary Services Division. To subscribe, e-mail kwood@wcpss.net, with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line. The newsletter will be e-mailed to you on a monthly basis.

If you do not wish to subscribe, you can also find the Adviser on the Tao bulletin board for auxiliary services. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact Kristin Wood at 856-8036.

Auxiliary Services Division
Vision
Providing Services That Power Education

Mission Statement
Provide quality facilities and support services to ensure safe, healthy, inviting and optimal learning environments.

Goals
1) Recruit and retain qualified employees
2) Secure funding to provide quality facilities and support services
3) Provide a safe and comfortable working environment