*OSEH Management System*

  • Introduction
  • Mission/Vision
  • Director's Philosophy
  • Annual Reports
Management systems are essential to the smooth and efficient use of available resources of any department. The field of health, safety, and environmental management is no exception. On a daily basis we must all be strong stewards of our institution, striking a balance between many demands including:
  • Compliance with federal and state rules and regulations
  • Efficient use of all resources including financial and human
  • Protecting and enhancing our campus environment through sustainable practices
  • Meeting the missions of the University to educate, perform research, and provide outreach to the community
This web site has been designed to provide guidance to the campus community in health, safety, and environmental management. How we operate as a department and how we serve the community can be found on these pages. In essence, this is our pact with those who rely on our services.

In an effort to be sustainable and find the most efficient methods to reach out to our customers, we leverage technology and a prime example is the use of the internet as our management system.

Continuous improvement is a strong key to our operation. In that light we welcome any comments you may have toward improving this site or the services we provide. Feel free to drop an e-mail to our general OSEH contact and we will get back to you.

Thank you for browsing the site.

Terry Alexander
Executive Director

Recognized as a national leader in the field for more than 40 years, the University of Michigan's Occupational Safety and Environmental Health (OSEH) Department is a vital link in the enhancement of a healthy and safe University environment where individuals pursue research and education and enjoy the benefits the University has to offer.

Philosophy of the Department

We are all caretakers of the resources that we use in our daily lives, and it is our responsibility to manage those resources to the best of our abilities so they do not adversely impact our community and are available for future generations.

Mission and Vision of the Department

The Mission of the Department of Occupational Safety & Environmental Health is to support the University’s Mission through partnership, guidance, and education to promote health, safety, protection of the environment, and regulatory compliance.

The Department Mission lays out what we do to support the University community. Our Vision statements identify how we intend to meet that mission.

  • OSEH will provide services that promote health, safety, and environmental responsibility through partnerships, guidance and other activities to support academic, economic and regulatory needs of the University.
  • OSEH will lead the University in development, dissemination and application of health, safety and environmental programs using state-of-the-art technologies and innovative ideas.
  • Environmental health and safety programs will be integrated into University activities while maintaining efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
  • OSEH will retain and attract high quality staff by providing professional development and an environment where individuals can contribute to their highest potential, through recognition and empowerment.
  • OSEH activities will incorporate the values of quality, responsibility, accountability, trust, diversity, flexibility and respect.

Values of the Department

  • Quality as demonstrated by accurate documentation and continuous improvement.
  • Responsibility as demonstrated by knowing your job, being ready to jump in to help out and making sure your part is done on time with high quality.
  • Accountability as demonstrated by taking credit for what is done right as well as what goes wrong - learn from the mistakes.
  • Trust as demonstrated by being open and honest in your communication with customers. There is no faster way to lose trust than to be caught in a dishonest action or statement. The actions of an individual do reflect on the entire department.
  • Diversity as demonstrated by treating all fellow OSEH staff with equality, without regard for race, gender, or position within the department.
  • Flexibility as demonstrated by:
    • Opening up to the concept that we are all safety, health, and environmental professionals, regardless of our particular background or position title.
    • Offering assistance to other staff, even where it is outside your normal work routines.
    • Being ready to shift to new roles within OSEH to support programs that are understaffed or have need for extra help on a project.
    • Becoming knowledgeable in a wide range of safety, health, and environmental programs in order to recognize concerns or hazards outside your normal area of expertise.
  • Respect as demonstrated by:
    • Treating all customers, in either personal or phone contact, with dignity and without judgment of their questions or concerns. All questions and concerns are important to the customer or they would not be requesting assistance.
    • Treating all fellow OSEH staff with consideration, using open and honest communication, as an important member of the team effort. The department succeeds or fails as a team, not as an individual.
    • Listening to the ideas of other staff and incorporating those ideas where they are appropriate, explaining when they are not appropriate, and giving credit to the person that voiced the idea. Remember, when thinking outside the box, no idea is outside consideration.
    • Criticizing ideas, not the person with the ideas.

OSEH Services

OSEH provides key services to the University Community in several areas including:

  • Biological & Laboratory Safety which supports the research goals of the University by promoting research safety and assuring sound laboratory management.
  • Environmental Protection & Permitting provides assistance to all University departments in managing environmental issues. There are federal, state, and local laws and regulations that affect our activities on campus. While regulatory compliance is a primary objective, pro-active environmental stewardship and leadership receive equal attention.
  • Environmental Stewardship & Emergency Planning which assists the University community in projects and programs designed to promote sound stewardship and sustainable practices through conservation measures, waste minimization, and pollution prevention.
  • Fire Safety Service is responsible for ensuring compliance with applicable fire safety regulations. This responsibility is met through inspections, fire drills, building plan reviews, consultations and fire safety awareness programs.
  • Hazardous Materials Management is responsible for the collection and proper disposal of chemical, radioactive, and biological waste generated throughout the 27 million square feet of facilities during teaching, research, and clinical operations at the Ann Arbor campus.
  • Industrial Hygiene & Safety which protects University staff from workplace injury and illness by assisting departments in anticipating, evaluating, and controlling potential health and safety hazards – primary campus areas of focus are College of Engineering, Housing, Athletics, Stores, and Printing Services, as well as dealing with issues surrounding lead paint, asbestos, and construction safety.
  • Operational Safety & Community Health which provides safety support to Plant Operations, administers the Medical Surveillance program including respirator fit testing, ergonomic workstation evaluations and training, and community health support for food service on campus, drinking water evaluations, pesticide use, and swimming pool monitoring.
  • Radiation Safety Services which promotes radiological safety and provides oversight for the safe use of radioactive materials and radiation producing devices in accordance with federal and state regulations and licenses.
  • Scientific Diving Safety which monitors the health and safety of scuba divers operating under the auspices of the University in accordance with established federal and state regulations.
Director's Philosophy
Each year the Program Managers and Coordinators establish goals for their area, in coordination with their staff. These goals are tracked throughout the year for status, and at the end of the year an annual report is prepared documenting the status of the goals. The Director rolls the goals from each program area into a departmental goal spreadsheet for the current year.

The OSEH Director provides an annual report to the Administration of the University. The following yearly reports provide detail on programs and projects we have accomplished.

  • Organizational Chart
  • Job Descriptions
  • Staff Recognition
  • Staff Webmail
Organizational Chart
This section is designed to assist with defining: the various job positions within OSEH, minimum requirements for each position, and a tool to help relate the HRAA based market title to the actual department working title for each position.

In FY 2005 the University HRAA established a new market based job description for all positions at the University. Under the new system, OSEH staff positions were mapped to new market based titles and descriptions. An OSEH Reclassification Map has been prepared to help you understand the relationship between the new and old system, and to show the hierarchy of administrative structure within the department.

Once you understand the hierarchy, you can check out the minimum OSEH Position Requirements for each level within the department. This should help guide you in furthering your career path. These are the minimum requirements – refer to OSEH Policy 24 for guidance on how promotions are accomplished within the department.

The following chart will guide you through the actual position descriptions for each level within the department. Both the Market and Working descriptions are provided for your reference. Note: HRAA has numerous Market titles on their web site that are not applicable to the OSEH department.

HRAA Market Title OSEH Working Title
Health, Safety & Environment Top Executive Executive Director, OSEH
Radiation Safety Director Director, RSS
Environment Health & Safety Manager Manager, IH&S, BL&S, HM&RS, OS&CH
Safety Senior Supervisor OSEH Coordinator
Environment Health & Safety Expert OSEH Expert
Env Health & Safety Specialist Lead OSEH Senior Rep
Env Health & Safety Specialist Senior OSEH Rep II
Env Health & Safety Specialist Intermediate OSEH Rep I
Safety Technician Intermediate OSEH Tech II
Safety Technician Associate OSEH Tech I
Training Assistant Senior OSEH Trainer
Network Administrator Intermediate Network Administrator
Business Administrator Intermediate Business Administrator
Administrative Coordinator Admin Coordinator – Dosimetry, Med Surveillance
Administrative Assistant Intermediate Admin Assistant
Secretary Intermediate OSEH Secretary
Receptionist OSEH Receptionist
Feedback from the community we serve is always greatly appreciated. This page shares that recognition with all staff to promote a spirit of quality and high performance, and basically to show that others do care about the great jobs we all do.

Thanks for all of the hard work,
Terry

If you would like to check your e-mail via the web please click here.

If you would like to check your e-mail via terminal service please click here. (note: terminal service should be used with a connection speed faster than 56k).

If you would like to check your University voice mail on-line, Please click here. Note that the computer you use must have speaker capability so you can actually hear the voice message. Log in using your unique name and the password you use on your phone to check messages.

  • U-M EHS SPGs
  • OSEH Policies
  • OSEH Plans
The University of Michigan is committed to promoting a healthy, safe, and environmentally sound campus for all faculty, staff, students, and visitors. This is reflected in day-to-day operations, management, and conduct of research.

Four Standard Practice Guides have direct applicability to this commitment.

  • [SPG 605.1] Occupational Safety and Environmental Policy provides the basis for the operation of OSEH and directly lays out the responsibility of the campus community.
  • [SPG 605.02] Occupational Safety and Environmental Health Procedure provides the basis for the day-to-day operations of the OSEH department.
  • [SPG 303.3] Research Policy Statement on the Integrity of Scholarship and Procedures for Investigating Allegations of Misconduct in the Pursuit of Scholarship and Research directly establishes the link between research integrity and the need to meet all regulations of federal, state, local, and University agencies.
  • [SPG 601.24] Delegation of Authority to Bind the University to External Agreements on Business and Financial Matters. The OSEH Department has been delegated the authority for signing documents related to inquiries on operations or federal, state, and local compliance matters concerning: occupational and community health and safety, environmental activities, public health issues, and use of radioactive materials or equipment capable of producing radiation. This also includes commitments to EHS programs for governmental or corporate research grants.
The following office policies are designed to guide how we operate as a department, promote consistency among the program areas, and answer some difficult questions. If you have questions on any of these, ask your manager/coordinator or the Director.

Office Policies - Admin

Office Policies - Emergency Response

Office Policies - Financial Control

Office Policies - Security

OSEH Plans