University Campus Safety – Outdoor Safety

When approaching the issue of occupational safety and health on university campuses, it can sometimes be tempting to “think inside the box” and only consider potentially hazardous activities which occur within a university building. While it is true that labs, swimming pools and even cafeteria kitchens all offer their own specific challenges when it comes to worker safety, there are other hazards that exist out of doors which are equally dangerous but not always as easy to identify.

University Campus Safety – A Broad Mandate

University campuses face unique challenges when it comes to occupational safety, primarily due to the fact that such a wide range of different activities occur on their grounds. While specialized industries may be able to effectively train their employees on the procedures necessary to ensure a hazard-free environment, university workers often face a number of challenging environments during the course of a single day’s work. It is hard to think of another sector of the economy where maintenance workers and other administrative staff could encounter sporting events, chemical storage and transportation issues, high voltage electricity and heavy vehicular traffic all within the confines of a single facility.