University Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee

The University Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee (USEPC) serves as an advisory resource to the President on policies and programs for promoting student, faculty, employee, patient, and visitor safety, and institutional emergency preparedness at the university.

Charge: Committee Responsibilities – Safety
*Recommend to the President/Designee policies and programs to improve the safety posture ofthe university.
*Advise the President/Designee regarding compliance with these policies through general observations, review of incident reports and similar activities.
*Review findings of inspection and hazard surveillance programs.
*Communicate with the Biosafety, Chemical Safety, Radiation Safety and other university committees on mutual safety concerns, and with the Augusta University Medical Center Safety Committee.
*Consult with the Human Resources Division and other appropriate units on safety-related information used in the orientation of all new employees and in the continuing education of all employees.
*Review the safety program and advise the President/Designee on its effectiveness. Review should include all pertinent records and reports.
*Advise the President/Designee regarding the safety of on-campus traffic, parking, shuttles, lighting, and pedestrian walk-ways.
*Safety policies approved by the President/Designee will be distributed to affected units as directed by the President/Designee. The head of any unit may consult the Committee for advice on ways to improve safety or better educate employees on safety issues.
*Request for variance from established safety policies may be submitted to the Committee for review and recommendations to the President/Designee.

Committee Responsibilities – Emergency Preparedness
*Review and evaluate plans for university response to disasters and emergent situations.
*Evaluate the effectiveness of university plans for disaster preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery. Report findings, observations, and recommendations to the enterprise Emergency Preparedness Committee.
*Provide input to university Health Hazard Vulnerability Assessments (HVAs); review HVAs annually and provide recommendations for approval to the EPC.
*Provide input to the university Emergency Operations Plan (EOP); review the EOP annually, provide recommendations for approval to the EPC.
*Provide guidance to university organizations on the development and maintenance of unit Continuity of Operations Plans (COOPs).
*Coordinate with the Hospital Emergency Preparedness Committee (HEPC).
*Review and evaluate exercise plans and monitor improvement plans.