McGill is a very decentralized institution. In comparison with other universities, McGill spends a small proportion of its operating budget on administrative services. This is illustrated by the relatively small staff complements in departments like Purchasing and Human Resources who are very dependent on individual departments shouldering much of the workload for these areas of administration.
Decentralization also applies to health and safety.
At the Safety Office, we sometimes receive callers who are unaware of this and are somewhat puzzled when we advise them to call someone else to report a safety problem. You should report it first to the Dispatcher at Local 4555. For what we do, the official answer can be found in the form of the Safety Office mandate, Section D of the Administrative Handbook. Safety is a responsibility shared by all. The principal role of the Safety Office is to assist others in fulfilling their responsibilities.