Health and Safety
Our safety record is a pride shared by our staff and subcontractors. We operate in full compliance with OSHA and California General Industry Safety Order 5192 as they apply to Phase I assessments through Phase III site cleanup work. Our team members are 40-hour trained and re-certified annually according to OSHA Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard 29 CFR 1920.120 and 8 CCR 5192. The success of Stratus’s safety program is, in part, based on the staff’s adherence to the safety practices we have adopted, but more importantly on the staff’s personal behavior and commitment toward job safety.
All employees, from the Principals down to the newly hired field technician, have the right to expect that they will be able to complete their assignments in a safe manner, and that training and equipment necessary to complete assignments will be provided. Every employee also has the responsibility to know and understand safety regulations and policies, and to stop work and notify superiors any time and under any circumstance when unsafe conditions are identified.
Stratus has set forth the policies and procedures outlined below to provide a safe and healthy work environment for our employees.
- The rights and responsibilities of all personnel are clearly delineated, and all personnel are made aware of and trained in these rights and responsibilities.
- Procedures for recognizing and handling changes in scopes of work or site conditions that may impact safety have been enumerated.
- A system of documenting and tracking safety issues associated with each site and each scope of work has been implemented (site-specific health and safety and emergency response plans, job safety analyses, etc.).
- A self-permitting system has been implemented to insure safe working conditions. Special permit procedures have also been implemented for higher-risk activities such as ground disturbance (i.e. drilling) and hot work (i.e. welding or grinding).
- A substance abuse policy has been implemented that includes pre-employment and random yearly screening.
- An on-going program of training and knowledge sharing, including regularly scheduled safety meetings, sharing of near miss incidents, and impromptu training opportunities, has been implemented to reinforce the safety culture.
- Safe driving is emphasized by training field personnel in the use of the Smith System™ of defensive driving, prohibiting the use of cell phones while driving, and providing a program of regular vehicle inspection and maintenance.
- Specific policies have also been prepared regarding the use of personal protective equipment, hand tools, working at heights, and lockout/tagout of energized systems.