**182.1 PURPOSE** BPA's Safety Award Program's are designed to provide
incentives for a demonstrated increase in safety awareness among
employees The primary goal of the safety award program is to influence a
high level of safety awareness among employees commensurate with the
work being performed.

**182.2 SCOPE** The program is open to all BPA employees within the
Transmission Business Line, permanent and temporary, whose occupations
require routine exposure to multiple risk activities or those who
significantly affect safety related conditions of other employees.

**182.3 DEFINITIONS**

**A. Accident-free:** Having no recordable injuries and no preventable
motor vehicle accidents. The exceptions identified below are considered
being beyond the employee's control and will not count against the
employee's award record.

> 1\. Insect, snake or animal bites
>
> 2\. Motor vehicle accidents that are determined nonpreventable, where
> the injured employee was the driver
>
> 3\. Motor vehicle accidents in which the injured employee was a
> passenger

**B. Environmental conditions** are those related to inclement weather,
equipment failures, etc.

**C. Multiple risk** positions are defined as those having **all** of
the following characteristics

> 1\. Need to perform demanding physical tasks such as lifting,
> climbing, or bending
>
> 2\. Need to work under hazardous conditions or environments such as:
> On or near energized facilities, confined spaces, inclement weather,
> working aloft, in or around excavations, or around industrial
> machinery
>
> 3\. Need to operate industrial tools and equipment of various
> capacities and operating characteristics

**D. Recordable Injury:** Any injury requiring medical attention beyond
first aid, lost time or restricted duty

# E. Routine Exposure: Exposure as a regular part of job performance

**F. Switching Errors:** Any Inadvertent operation of power system
equipment due to human error.

**182.4 RESPONSIBILITIES**

## A. Central Safety and Health Committee

> 1\. Review and approve program policy. **Exception:** Safety Award
> programs that are developed in addition to the existing TBL award
> program will be reviewed and approved or rejected by the Safety
> Office.
>
> 2\. Develop and interpret policies and guidelines for the safety award
> program. **Exception:** Safety Award programs that are developed in
> addition to the existing TBL award program will be reviewed and
> approved or rejected by the Safety Office.
>
> 3\. Select members to serve on a committee that will review and decide
> appeals by employees for loss of awards due to injury accidents

### B. Joint Employee and Management Sub-committee

> 1\. Review and assess the safety award program on an annual basis
>
> 2\. Determine where efficiencies and overall value can be achieved
> within the program
>
> 3\. Research appropriate incentive mechanisms to effect improvements
> within the program
>
> 4\. Provide recommendations as appropriate for changes in policy,
> guidelines, or rules

## C. Managers

> 1\. Arrange for formal presentation of awards at safety meetings,
> banquets or other functions
>
> 2\. Providing emoloyees the opportunity to attend award presentations
>
> 3\. Assign an Award Program Coordinator

## D. Supervisors: Report accidents in accordance with BPAM Chapter 182

## E. Employees

> 1\. Immediately report all accidents to their immediate supervisor
>
> 2\. Submit their requests to the Gift Certificate Center (GCC)
>
> 3\. Notify GCC of lost or stolen certificates (note: this is not the
> actual retail certificate)

## F. Participating organizations will budget for the purchase of award certificates, awareness items and milestone award items

**G. Safety Office**

> 1\. Administer Safety Award programs

2.  Perform contract administration functions which includes aquiring
    certificates and awareness items.

> 3\. Payment of invoices
>
> 4\. Maintain program records
>
> 5\. Provide Group/Region Award Coordinators with annual listing of
> participants and amounts earned for their review prior to ordering of
> certificates
>
> 6\. Maintain master list of participants and amounts earned

## H. Coordinators

> 1\. Group/Region Award Coordinators will provide administrative
> support for their assigned group of employees which will include but
> is not limited to
>
> a\. Review of annual award list for changes in employee status and
> notify the Safety Office of additions, deletions or changes
>
> b\. Receive shipment of annual gift certificates and route to the
> proper managers for presentation to the employees
>
> c\. Provide guidance and assistance to employees and supervisors
> regarding the program rules and processes
>
> d\. On a quarterly basis, award coordinators will provide supervisors
> with a list of award recipients and award amounts accumulated

**182.5 ELIGIBILITY**

## A. Annual Awards

> 1\. Employees can earn an annual Transmission Business Line safety
> award gift certificate for an amount based on each quarter of
> accident-free service during that year.
>
> 2\. For each quarter of accident-free service, \$25 will be
> accumulated towards an annual award certificate.
>
> 3\. Award certificates are redeemed by the employees for retail gift
> certificates of their choice. A list of available retailers is
> provided with the award certificate. The retail gift certificates may
> be redeemed for merchandise only. They may not be redeemed for cash or
> applied as payment towards credit accounts.
>
> 4\. With each annual certificate, the employee will receive an
> awareness item of nominal value that has workplace visibility and
> bears the award program logo. Examples of such items are baseball
> caps, coffee mugs, pen and pencil sets, etc. Only one type of item
> will be presented and will change each year.

## B. Milestone Awards

> 1\. Milestone award items are the 5, 10, 15, and 20 year belt buckles.
>
> 2\. Milestone awards may be selected only in the year earned. The
> employee may receive either the buckle or the gift certificate but not
> both in the same year.
>
> 3\. Milestone buckles will be issued with a number tab representing
> the milestone award year achieved (5, 10, 15, 20).
>
> 4\. Buckle selection is capped at 20 years; however buckle tabs will
> be updated at 5-year intervals for years 25, 30, 35, etc.

**C.** **Six-Month and Annual Awareness item: A six-month and annual
safety awareness item will be awarded to all participating
organizations.** Examples of such items are baseball caps, coffee mugs,
pen and pencil sets, etc. Only one type of item will be presented every
six months.

## D. Replacement of Lost or Stolen Awards

> 1\. Award Certificates that are lost or stolen after presentation to
> the employee, will not be replaced by BPA. Employees are responsible
> for seeking replacements from the vendor subject to policies
> established by the vender.
>
> 2\. BPA will replace award certificates issued for the wrong amount
> when the employee notifies their award coordinator within 30 days of
> receiving the certificate.
>
> 3\. Awareness items will be replaced only if defective and the defect
> is reported within 30 days of employee receiving the item.
>
> 4\. Milestone belt buckles will be replaced only if defective and the
> defect is reported within 30 days of the employee receiving the item.

**182.6 AWARD PERIOD**

**A.** The period for earning the milestone awards is based on working a
**full** calendar year (January 1 - December 31) accident-free. Although
employees who do not complete the year accident-free will receive a
certificate based on the number of accident-free quarters, they will not
receive credit for that year for the milestone award items/years.

**B.** Annual gift certificate amounts will be based on the number of
accident-free quarters achieved during the award period (January 1 -
December 31) and will be presented upon the conclusion of that year.
*Exception*: Employees who leave BPA or an eligible occupation prior to
the end of the year will be recognized for the number of full quarters
achieved. Employees who are leaving BPA may receive their certificate
upon their departure. Employees who are leaving an eligible occupation
but are remaining with BPA will receive their certificate at the end of
the award year.

**C.** Employees must work a full quarter to receive credit toward a
gift certificate for that quarter.

**D.** Employees working on a detail will not receive credit toward a
gift certificate for any full quarter in which they are not actively
working in an eligible occupation, but will receive credit for that year
for the milestone award.

**E.** In cases where an accident determination is not made until a
subsequent award period, the loss of that quarter or annual amount will
be assigned to the period in which the case is determined.

**182.7 APPEAL PROCESS**

**A.** Employees who have had a recordable injury that eliminates them
from receiving a safety award may appeal the loss of their award if the
occurrence resulted from either the actions of another party or
uncontrollable environmental conditions. These are the only two
conditions under which a case may be appealed. Successful appeal of the
loss of the award will not affect the recordability of the case in BPA's
records as required by OSHA.

**B.** A joint employee and management committee will hear and decide
appeals.

**C.** Appeals shall be initiated by the affected employee to the BPA
Safety Manager through his or her immediate supervisor.

**182.8 REFERENCE:** *Safety and Health Program Handbook*, Section D,
Chapters 1 & 3, Safety Award Program