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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 05191992 - IO.8 s I .O.-8 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Contra FROM: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE Costa °s x• County �••, - X40 DATE: May 11, 1992 SUBJECT: STATUS REPORT ON VIDEO DISPLAY TERMINAL (VDT) TASK FORCE AND IMPLEMENTATION OF VOLUNTARY VDT SAFETY GUIDELINES SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1 . Establish as measurable objectives to test the success of the voluntary VDT safety guidelines that: * By December 31, 1992, 65% of the employers with 10 or more employees will have agreed to implement the voluntary VDT safety guidelines or will indicate that they are utilizing other similar measures . * By December 31, 1993, 75% of the employers with 10 or more employees will have agreed to implement the voluntary VDT safety guidelines or will indicate that they are utilizing other similar measures . * By December 31, 1994, 85% of the employers with 10 or more employees will have agreed to implement the voluntary VDT safety guidelines or will indicate that they are utilizing other similar measures . 2 . In order to test the extent to which the above objectives have been achieved, approve the plans of the VDT Task Force to interview a sample of 330 employers of 10 or more employees in Contra Costa County to determine whether the employer has VDT operators meeting the criteria of operating a VDT for four hours a day or more and, if so, whether the employer has implemented the voluntary VDT guidelines or similar and equally effective measures. For those employers who have such VDT operators, but have not implemented the voluntary guidelines, a copy of the guidelines will be redistributed to the employer a a follow-up will be made in a year. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: -1,_YE SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OFCOUNT RATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE T SIGNATURE(S): R ODER �SUNNE��WRIGHT McPEAK ACTION OF BOARD ON May APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. CC: County Administrator ATTESTED Director of Personnel Risk Manager PHIL BATCHELOR,#RKOFTHE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR Health Services Director Public Health Director BY DEPUTY M382 (10/88) I.O.-8 -2- 3 . In addition to the above sampling, interview the 30 largest employers in Contra Costa County to determine the extent to which each of them is complying with the voluntary guidelines or has implemented similar and equally effective measures. 4 . Request the VDT Task Force to develop a community education program including such items as publishing the voluntary VDT safety guidelines in the newsletter of each chamber of commerce in the County at least twice in each calendar year, and in the Contra Costa Council ' s "Update" magazine at least once each calendar year. 5 . Request the Director of Personnel and VDT Task Force to report back to the Internal Operations Committee on December 14, 1992 . This report is to include at least the following items : A. Accomplishments for calendar year 1992 in the area of the voluntary VDT safety guidelines. B. Results of the survey of employers for calendar year 1992 as outlined in recommendations #2 and #3 above. C. The Task Force's Workplan for calendar years 1993 and 1994 in the area of community education, as outlined in recommendation # 4 above. D. Any other issues involving voluntary VDT safety guidelines which the Director of Personnel or VDT Task Force wish to bring to the attention of the Board of Supervisors . BACKGROUND: On March 3, 1992, the Board of Supervisors approved recommendations from our Committee, including asking the VDT Task Force to return to our Committee on May 11, 1992 with quantitative measures for the success of the implementation of the voluntary VDT guidelines and how the Task Force proposes to measure them. On May 11, 1992, our Committee met with Eileen Bitten, Assistant Personnel Director and other County staff and reviewed the attached report from the Director of Personnel . While we are prepared to recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve the report as far as it goes, we also believe that the largest employers in the County should all be surveyed to insure that they are included, since they represent a significant number of employees in the County and should be providing the leadership in this area. In addition, we are- asking the Task Force .to prepare and implement a community education program directed at employers in the County to remind them of the' importance of implementing the guidelines . Finally, we are requesting that the Director of Personnel and the VDT Task Force report back to our Committee in December on a number of specified issues . Contra �,E..S...,- °F Personnel Department .� Costa ►` Administration Bldg. o. - Z 651 Pine Street County .. .. •�., W•�4o Martinez, California 94553-1292 ST4 COUNT DATE: May 7, 1992 TO: Internal Operations Committee' FROM: Harry D. Cisterman, Director of Personnel l SUBJECT: Status of VDT Task Force Activities In your February 24, 1992 meeting, you requested the Personnel Department develop quantitative objectives to measure the success of the voluntary VDT guideline program. In addition, you requested we develop an instrument which would allow us to measure the reduction in VDT related problems such as vision and wrist complaints. This report will outline our progress in these areas.' I . VDT TASK FORCE EVALUATION METHODS SUB-COMMITTEE A sub-committee of the VDT Task Force was convened to discuss and determine an approach to achieve the goals of the Internal Operations Committee in devising quantitative objectives to verify the use of the voluntary VDT guidelines. Invited to, and in attendance,, at-this meeting were two University of California professors who are interested in health issues related to the use of VDT equipment. The meeting resulted in proposals by the professors to perform studies with Contra Costa County employers which will be discussed later in this report. In addition, the initial framework of the following evaluation method was discussed. II. EVALUATION METHOD There are approximately 5,000 employers in Contra Costa County. As was evidenced with the survey conducted by mail during 1991, the results of which were presented to .you in a report in December 1991, a very small number . (1.8%) of the 5,000 businesses contacted responded to the survey. To increase the response rate, it would have been necessary to attempt personal contact by phone. With such a large number of employers and limited staff and resources among the Task. Force members, this would have been nearly impossible to accomplish within a reasonable amount of time. In light of this and in determining the most efficient manner to achieve the goals and objectives as outlined by the Internal Operations Committee, staff recommends conducting a survey utilizing a sample of employers randomly selected. This will allow us to perform a mail or telephone survey with a smaller number of employers and extrapolate the results for the targeted business community. The targeted business community will include employers who employ ten (10) or more employees (The San Francisco ordinance recently overturned by the courts covered employers with 15 or more employees)'. There are approximately 2,300 such employers in Contra Costa - County. Based on statistical calculations, a representative sample would include approximately Internal Operations Committee Page 2 May 7, 1992 330 of these employers. This number of employers will provide a 95% confidence level that they are representative of the population (targeted business community) . The objectives of the survey will be to determine whether the employer has VDT operators meeting the criteria of the guidelines of operating VDT equipment for four (4) or more hours per shift, and if so whether the employer has implemented the voluntary VDT guidelines or utilized other measures to ensure worker safety. In addition, the survey will request the employers to perform a self assessment to evaluate the impact of the guidelines on reducing vision and wrist complaints associated with the use of VDT equipment. For those employers who indicate that they have not implemented the voluntary guidelines and are not utilizing any other measures, the guidelines will be redistributed to them and a follow up made the next year. The survey will be conducted for a three year period beginning with 1992 and involve contacting one-third of the selected employers each year. In doing so, it is hoped that the following will be achieved: • By December 1992, 65% of the businesses in the targeted community should have agreed to voluntarily implement the voluntary guidelines or indicate utilizing other similar measures. • By December 1993, 75% of the businesses in the targeted community should have agreed to voluntarily implement the voluntary guidelines or indicate utilizing other similar measures. • By December 1994, 85% of the businesses in the targeted community should have agreed to voluntarily implement the voluntary guidelines or indicate utili-zing other measures. To increase the awareness of the guidelines and insure that each employer in the targeted business community has an equal chance of knowing about the guidelines, they will be mailed to these employers each year over the next three years along with a request that they implement them if they have VDT operators meeting the criteria set forth in the guidelines. These efforts will supplement the planned advertising strategies outlined in our February 24, 1992 report. III. SUMMARY In addition to the above, the Task Force has solicited the support of James Sheedy, O.D. , Ph.D. , U.C. Berkeley Associate Clinical Professor and U.C. Berkeley, Chief of VDT/Occupational Vision Clinic, and James Cone, M.D. , MPH, Assistant Clinical Professor of U.C. San Francisco and Medical Director of the Occupational Health Clinic, to assist us in formulating methods to evaluate the effectiveness of the provisions covered by the Guidelines. They will also develop informational materials which can be used to demonstrate to employers and employees the value of such policies. HDC/EKB:dn