Safety

Forward Integrated Support Teams (FIST)

Overview

The Pacific East District implements the Safety and Occupational Health program for District Leadership by collaboratively working with multiple host nation base installation organizations. This work is accomplished by communicating goals, achieving objectives, and sharing information. Under DoDEA’s HQ Safety Division guidance and partnership with District Superintendents and Chief of Staff, the Pacific East District Safety Officer worked with twenty DoDEA schools’ Principals, Assistant Principals, Administrative Officers, and numerous support personnel at six geographically separated locations in Japan to create a robust safety and occupational health cognizant school environment for students, teachers, staff, and host nation employees.

Connected Cognia Standards

Leadership Capacity Standards

1.1

1.6

1.11

1.2

1.7

1.3

1.8

1.4

1.9

Learning Capacity Standards

2.1

2.7

2.2

2.8

2.3

2.9

2.6

Resource Capacity Standards

3.3

3.4

3.5

3.6

Impact Statement

The Pacific East District has positively impacted safety in schools as evidenced by having:

- Achieved a safe, hygienic school environment by having each school maintain sufficient quantity of approved hand sanitizer, liquid hand soap, and disinfectant wipes available at all times throughout a school facility and during school-sponsored events. Ensured proper storage of flammable hand sanitizer by procuring multiple OSHA-approved flammable storage cabinets for each school with associated Safety Data Sheets (SDS).
- Removed excess authorized/unauthorized hazardous materials and hazardous waste from school campuses. Developed chemical hygiene standard operating procedures (SOPs) to address hazard assessment, minimizing chemical exposures, and avoiding underestimation of risk. Standardized chemical storage at Middle/High School chemical laboratories by disposing excess inventory and unnecessary chemicals from school science classrooms.
- Regularly-scheduled safety assessments and inspections provided proactive support that ensured excellent facilities, services, and equipment maintained to provide a safe, clean, and healthy environment for all students and staff.

Timeline

Since July 2020, the Pacific East District provided leadership support for implementation of DoDEA COVID-19 Operational Guidelines and Protocols for Schools to conduct in-school educational activities safely and sustainably in a COVID-19 environment for students, teachers, staff and host nation workers. The team responded to COVID-19 concerns from staff, students and sponsors with professionalism. In support of this, they advised the leadership to make informed decisions and to ensure collaboration with local commands to stay updated on COVID-19 issues, HPCON status, and local installation response.

In ongoing support of safety, the district implemented the Hazard Communication and Chemical Hygiene Safety Program on June 2016 based on the concept that employees have both the right and the need to know about the hazards they are exposed to while working, and the identities of chemicals that pose the hazard. This program put in place a system whereby the hazards of all chemicals are evaluated. Hazard information and protective measures required to use these chemicals safely are communicated through the Safety Data Sheets (SDS) while occupational safety and health standards, safety rules, and procedures will be monitored and followed for schools that use chemicals in laboratories.

Additionally, the Pacific East District conducted annual Safety Assessment Visit and Evaluation (SAVE) of District school facilities starting in November 2017 by using performance-based risk surveys to assign Risk Assessment Code (RACs) to identify hazard based on probability (likelihood) & severity (consequence) to address safety and occupational health concerns/needs. SAVEs also recognized commendable practices for sharing them for application throughout the District.

Finally, the district performed annual inspections of school playgrounds as the Certified School and Community Outside Playground Inspector in July 2018 to create safe, inclusive, and high quality play areas for children.