VCAT Safety Briefing

October 2022
 Day of event response, safety plan to secure site, 

inform OSHA, serve as POC for OSHA investigation

 Lead NIST safety incident investigation and root cause 

analysis team

 Fact-finding phase

• Document incident site

• Review safety-related documents, files, 

and communications

• Perform interviews with relevant staff

• 3rd party FE modeling and failure analysis 

of pertinent structural components 

 Analyze circumstances of event to determine 

contributing and causal factors, root cause(s)

 Develop corrective action plan with input from 

NIST Executives to ensure depth, breadth, and 

sustainability

OSHE Support for September 26, 2022 Event
Incidents and Near Misses (FY22)

Reduce reporting reflects reduced staffing

3

188

159

203

192

162 163

150

103

77

109

0

50

100

150

200

250

FY13 FY14 FY15 FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22

IRIS Cases FY13 - FY22 Incident and Near Miss Type Number 

of Cases

OSHA 

Recordable 

Cases

Injury 22 7

Illness 36 46*

Near Miss 23

Property Damage 12

Contamination by Radioactivity 2 0

Spill/Release 6

Exposure 2 0

Other 6 0

Total Cases FYTD 109 53

*Includes 42 work related COVID cases. OSHA requires 

workplace transmission of COVID to be recorded when 

other standard recording criteria are met (e.g., medical 

treatment beyond first aid, days away)
Incident Trends: OSHA Recordables, TRC, DART (FY06-22)

Injuries 

Employee Strains Back While Lifting Pipe*

Employee Suffers Fractured Foot in Fall on Uneven Ground*

Employee Injured in Encounter with Campus Geese*

Employee Injured by Elevator Door

Employee Cut Using Knife to Open Box*

Laceration to Three Fingers While Cutting Hose

Fatal Fall from Height

Illnesses

42 COVID workplace transmission cases*

Employee experiencing neck and back pain teleworking*

Employee has heat rash/allergic reaction*

Employee experiences occupational hearing loss

*DART cases

4

0

10

20

30

40

50

FY06 FY07 FY08 FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15 FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22

RC

DART

STS cases

Fiscal Year

Number of cases

RC and DART without

COVID transmission cases
COVID Protocol Changes

• COVID protocols are tied to CDC Community 

Levels; posted in buildings, on web pages

• Return to work following COVID infection 

protocols are based on CDC guidance 

• Following close contacts, staff and visitors 

may enter campuses but must wear a better 

performing mask, practice social distancing, 

and self-monitor for symptoms (10 d)

• Staff encouraged to take appropriate 

precautions based on personal risk

• There are no occupancy restrictions 

• NIST Gaithersburg offers COVID booster and 

flu shots to federal employees
COVID Case Management

• New COVID reporting application for staff to 

obtain campus access requirements

• SCIRA allows us to monitor numbers of cases 

and work-related close contacts

• OSHA requires workplace transmission of 

COVID to be recorded when other standard 

recording criteria are met (e.g., medical 

treatment beyond first aid, days away)

• NIST determines whether COVID transmission 

is work related, e.g., exposed while on official 

travel or at-work, known close contacts

On-site Gaithersburg Boulder Off-site 

work 

COVID Cases 316 92 53

Work-related 

transmission 15 3 2

1,434 staff have reported testing positive for COVID-19
Workplace Inspection Data

Number of inspections increasing as staff 

return to campus following COVID-19 

reduced on-site work in FY20 and FY21
Top 10 Deficiencies Closed FY22

1. Update General Door Sign (308)

2. Chemical Labeling (179)

3. Housekeeping (118)

4. Slips, Trips, and Falls (110)

5. Chemical Inventory (64)

6. Compressed Gas Inventory (64)

7. Eyewash/Safety Shower 

Inspection (63)

8. Electrical Daisy Chain (60)

9. Electrical Panel Clearance (55)

10. Compressed Gas Storage (54)

• 2420 deficiencies (FY22)

• 1713 closed (FY22)

• 330 open deficiencies from 

previous 3 FYs (6556 total)
 NCNR Director and CSO co-chair NIST NCNR Enforcement Actions Support Team; OSHE RSO 

serves as a member

 CSO ex officio position on the TR-5 Safety Evaluation Committee (SEC) by charter

 OSHE staff participation in SEC subcommittees 

 Qualification and Training Review

 OSHE safety embed in NCNR, position posted

 Participation in committees formed to meet CO

 Safety Culture Program (CSO)

 Employee Concerns Program (DCSO)

NCNR Support
Safety Management System Directives

Effective and Deployed

Safety Programs (46)

Programs Under 

Development (11)

Resources 

Posted (6)

FUNDAMENTAL SAFETY (Total, 15 programs)

- Safety Culture 

- Contractor Safety

- Monitoring Measurements and Assessments 

Change Management 

- Corrective and Preventive Actions 

- Documents and Records 

TECHNICAL OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH 

(Total 24 programs; 6 resource pages)

- Electrical Safety (Notice)

- Walking Working Surfaces (Resource)

ENVIRONMENTAL (Total 14 programs)

- Gaithersburg Wastewater

- Boulder Wastewater

- Stormwater Management
Incident-related communications: 

- Managers, subscribers notified of posted incidents

- New in FY22: Weekly incident summaries to NIST 

leadership, color coded for risk level

- Safety Minutes and videos focus on incident 

prevention (12 communications in FY22)

Communications, Focus on Education and Incident Prevention 

Workplace Inspector Series:

- Fire Safety Systems for Inspectors

- Walking and Working Surfaces Safety

- Hazardous Waste
Communications, by the numbers

13 Safety Minutes (65% open rate)

2 Safety Standard Newsletters (70% open rate)

8 Event notifications (70% open rate)

20 NIST announcements (68.5% open rate)

FY22 initiative to increase traffic to the NIST 

Safety Intranet: use up from 6,974 to 9,052 

visitors and 345,047 to 380,942 pageviews
Safety Culture Program Implementation

- Formal Safety Culture Program approved by ESC October 2022

- Conduct Safety Culture Survey, industry benchmark (Planned Fall 2022)

- Executive Safety and Safety Advisory Committees develop an action plan

Re-Evaluation of Job Hazard Reviews

- Ensure hazard controls are adequate, functional

- Ensure documentation reflects practice 

Safety Management System

- Complete remaining directives

- External evaluation of SMS adequacy

- Improve safety data system tools

FY 23 Focus Areas