Occupational Safety
Keeping Our Campus Safe
At the University of Houston-Clear Lake, we care about the safety of our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the surrounding community. To mitigate occupational hazards on campus, the Occupational Safety and Industrial Hygiene division investigates, consults, trains, performs risk assessments, and develops programs campus wide regarding a wide variety of safety related topics.
Our department also investigates all accidents on campus, including those involving students and visitors. Employee accident investigations are coordinated with the department of Human Resources, who coordinates with the State Office of Risk Management (SORM) for worker's compensation claims. Links for reporting accidents may be found under Forms.
SORM also periodically performs campus safety inspections. Please notify our department with any safety concerns you may have about your work area or on campus.
In this section you will find information about:
Hot Work
Hot Work Permit and Procedures – This permit is required when performing any work that involves burning, welding, using fire- or spark-producing tools, or that produces a source of ignition. Contact the University Fire Marshal's office 281-283-2250 for questions concerning any work being performed on campus that may require a Hot Work Permit.
Issuance of a Hot Work Permit means that the work will meet the requirements for Fire Prevention, adequate Ventilation, and proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to safeguard the employee from hazards such as eye damage, burns, and fumes that may be hazardous to their health – which varies based on the materials used.
The requirements for a Hot Work Permit are detailed in the Procedures that precede the permit application. Review of the procedures will help the applicant understand ahead of time what conditions will be required for permit approval.
- Hot Work Procedures & Permit Application
- The American Welding Society has several Safety & Health Fact Sheets available on their website relating to the different types of hazards that may be encountered while welding, cutting, or grinding. Several of these are linked below. The full list is available at American Welding Society (AWS) Safety & Health Fact Sheets. These important fact sheets are available to inform workers of the hazards they may encounter so they will be better equipped to safeguard their welfare and others.
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Welding & Cutting
- Eye and Face Protection
- Minimum Short-term and Long-term Safe Arc Viewing Distances
- Gloves for Welding & Cutting
- Burn Prevention
- Welding Fumes and Gases
- Metal Fume Fever
- Confined Spaces
- Safe Use of Fluxes
- Meanings of Precautionary Symbols used as Hazard Warnings
- Fire and Explosion Prevention
- Welding, Cutting & Brazing Training – Free online training program.
Food Safety
Whenever food is sold or distributed on campus, public food safety rules come into effect and a temporary food permit must be obtained. This applies to employees, students, and community visitors distributing or selling food. Applicable requirements are summarized in the Temporary Food Permit Policies and Procedures.
The food permit application must be submitted online at least two weeks in advance at Environmental, Health and Safety - Permit Requests. Login credentials are the same as your campus computer login.
Applicants must acknowledge they have read the Temporary Food Permit Policies and Procedures when applying by signing a Declaration of Acknowledgement. This declaration signature page must be uploaded first into the online permit system by an applicant before the permit request may be submitted.
Should the online permit system be down, or if you are not a UHCL student, faculty, or staff and are renting out UHCL facilities for a public event, you may submit the food permit application to FoodPermits@uhcl.edu.
Hazard Communication
- UHCL Hazard Communication Program 2013
- FMC HazCom-GHS Training
- HazCom Chemical Workplace List
- Comparison of NFPA & GHS Label information
- GHS Pictograms and descriptions
- New (Material) Safety Data Sheet (SDS) fields
- Spanish (Material) Safety Data Sheet (SDS) fields
- New GHS Labels - required by 2015/2016