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August Newsletter
  • President's Message
  • SF Chapter Wise Section
  • Membership Update
  • Upcoming Events
  • PDC Registration/Call for Speakers
  • Regulatory and News Updates
  • Student Services Update
  • Career Opportunities
PRESIDENT'S LETTER
Dear SF Chapter ASSP Members,

I hope everyone is having a safe and productive summer. I would like to inform you about some upcoming changes underway for the SF Chapter. First, we will be changing the cadence of our monthly meetings. We will now be meeting the 2nd Wednesday of every month. Second, we will be hosting our monthly meetings at a different venue each month. One of the board's goals for the chapter year is to leverage our membership to help host our meetings at a variety of locations in the Bay Area. I know the size of our region along with increased traffic has made it more difficult for members to attend our meetings. We are hoping this strategy will help get each and every one of you to at least one meeting this year. Lastly, we will be planning a mix of technical meetings, webinar's, facility tours, and networking/happy hour events. Our goal is to provide a variety of events to our membership that will drive greater engagement. Please take a look at our events calendar on our website for more information and keep an eye out for our event email reminders.

I am also extremely happy to announce that the SF Chapter has started a WISE (Women in Safety Excellence) section, led by our SF Chapter WISE Chair, Tamara Vartanian. We will continue collaboration with the Greater SJ Chapter WISE section. More info about our WISE section below. 
 
We also held our very first joint networking/summer mixer event on August 20th, hosted by the SF Construction Section, SF Chapter and Greater SJ Chapter. We had a great turnout! To see photos of the event check out the homepage of our website . We hope to host more events like this in the coming chapter year!
 
I would also like to take a moment to thank all of you for your continued support of the ASSP mission to protect people, property and the environment. In support of this mission, I hope we endeavor to promote the resources and opportunities available through ASSP to every healthy and safety professional, including those who are not current members. From access to member-only information such as Professional Safety Journal and ASSP Communities, networking, professional development opportunities, scholarships and education grants through the ASSP Foundation, membership helps safety professionals reach the next level by connecting members with resources to effectively create safer workplaces.
 
In support of the ASSP mission, I really encourage all of you to bring anyone who has an interest in healthy and safety to a SF chapter meeting, Construction, or Grapevine section meeting, to see the benefits of membership first-hand and the quality and value the chapter volunteers strive to provide.
 
I look forward to seeing you all soon!
 
Sincerely,
 
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Amanda Shin
President, San Francisco Chapter
American Society of Safety Professionals
SF Chapter WISE Section
 

I am pleased to announce that the SF Chapter has started a WISE section. For those of you that do not know, WISE stands for Women in Safety Excellence. WISE is a Common Interest Group that advances ASSP members and the safety profession through education, mentorship, networking, collaboration, research and innovation. If you haven’t already done so, please support and join the Women in Safety Excellence member community to connect with like-minded safety professionals and support the inclusion and advancement of women within the safety industry.

I would like to formally introduce our new SF Chapter WISE section chair, Tamara Vartanian. Here is a message from her below:

Hello! My name is Tamara Vartanian and I’m honored and excited to serve as the SF Chapter WISE Chair. I have over 10 years of diversified experience in environmental, health and safety (EH&S). Currently, I am the Director of EH&S at Denali Therapeutics Inc in South San Francisco. Prior to that, I was a Senior Consultant at BSI and worked on various projects assisting clients with evaluating, identifying and establishing efficient, cost-effective and innovative solutions to manage risks and promote the sustainability of EH&S programs. 

 I am very passionate about advocating for women in safety excellence and looking forward to this new subchapter in San Francisco. I am originally from Southern California and graduated from California State University, Northridge with a BS and an MS in Biochemistry. Outside of work my interests include volunteering, traveling, cooking, photography, art and spending time with friends and family.

 My goal for the 2019/2020 year for our newly formed WISE Chapter is to host two professional networking events and two technical sessions. The WISE SF Chapter is looking for volunteers. If interested, please email wise@sanfrancisco.assp.org.

I look forward to working with everyone!

Sincerely,

Tamara Vartanian
SF Chapter WISE Chair
 
 
MEMBERSHIP UPDATE
As of August 1st the SF Chapter has approximately 583 members. We have been growing!
 
Please welcome our new members below and long-term members. Thank you all for your continued investiment in the SF Chapter of ASSP.
 
New Members:
  • David Brinkerhoff
  • Joshua Gallagher
  • Marcus Kirk
  • Layla Luna
  • Adel Regalado
  • Fositi Athey
 
25 Years:
  • Gary Towery
UPCOMING EVENTS

Technical Meeting
Introduction to Fault-Tree Analysis
Speaker: Howard Lambert

September 11, 2019 from 11:30AM-1:00PM
California Service Tool, Hayward CA
more info here - registration will be opening soon!

Grapevine Section Meeting
September 12, 2019 from 6:00PM-8:30PM
Charlie's Hole, Windsor
More info to come
 
CHST Exam Prep 
October 8-11, 2019
OSHA Training Institute, Dublin CA
 
Construction Section Meeting
October 15, 2019 from 11:30AM-1:00PM
Scott's Seafood, Oakland
More info to come
 
Bay Area Safety Symposium 
March 4, 2020 from 8:00AM-5:00PM
San Ramon Marriott
 
Keep up-to-date on the latest news and events for the SF Chapter by following us on social media:
 
BAY AREA SAFETY SYMPOSIUM &
CALL FOR SPEAKERS

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Registration for the 2020 Bay Area Safety Symposium is open now. To register go to: http://www.safetybayarea.com/
 
We are currently accepting applications for speakers for the 2020 Bay Area Safety Symposium. To submit a proposal to speak at the conference please fill out the form here and email it over to us https://www.safetybayarea.com/media/BayArea2020Speakers.pdf
 
 
REGULATORY AND NEWS UPDATE

Wildfire Smoke Emergency Rule Adopted:

Sacramento, CA — An emergency regulation in California intended to protect outdoor workers from potentially dangerous wildfire smoke was enacted July 30 by the state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, also known as Cal/OSHA.

The regulation, approved by the agency’s Standards Board on July 18 and the Office of Administrative Law on July 29, requires employers to provide N95 respirators to workers when the local air quality index for the smallest particulate matter – PM2.5 – is 151 or higher, and when employers reasonably anticipate that employees could be exposed to wildfire smoke. An AQI above 150 is considered unhealthy, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Employers also are required to:

  • Identify harmful exposure levels from wildfire smoke before each shift and periodically thereafter by checking the AQI where workers are located.
  • Reduce exposures, if possible, by relocating work to an enclosed building with filtered air or an outdoor area with a safer AQI level.

If employers cannot reduce workers’ exposure to harmful wildfire smoke, they must provide N95 respirators to all employees for voluntary use and train workers on their safe use and maintenance. Additionally, they must educate workers on the new regulation and the health effects of wildfire smoke.

The rule is effective through Jan. 28, with two potential 90-day extensions, a California Department of Industrial Relations press release issued July 30 states.

Cal/OSHA will convene an advisory committee meeting on Aug. 27 in Oakland to discuss adopting the regulation permanently using the rulemaking process, the release states.

In February, state Assemblymember Brian Maienschein (D-San Diego) introduced legislation (A.B. 1124) that would require employers to provide respirators to protect outdoor workers against smoke from wildfire or burning structures as a result of wildfires.

Cal/OSHA High Heat Advisory: Employers Must Provide Shade for Outdoor Workers:

Oakland—As temperatures are projected to reach highs in the triple digits across the Central Valley from Merced to Bakersfield and parts of the central coast, Cal/OSHA reminds employers with outdoor workers that shade must be made available at all times, and must be in place when temperatures reach 80 degrees or above. Employers should also encourage workers to take cool-down rests in the shade to prevent overheating.

Read full article here

Cal/OSHA Important Updates:

For more important Cal/OSHA updates and news release at your fingertips, visit the following websites: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/cal-osha-updates.html and https://www.dir.ca.gov/dirnews/link_page.html.

 
STUDENT SERVICES UPDATE

Are you currently a student or an emerging safety professional?

ASSP society is hosting the Future Safety Leaders Conference, November 7-8, 2019 in Chicago. Click here for more information on how to apply.

About ASSP’s Annual Future Safety Leaders Conference 

 
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

We are always looking to network and find out if there are job openings. The jobs must be in an Environment, Health and Safety function. For example: Fleet Safety Manager, Director of Environmental, Health and Safety, Risk Manager, Health and Safety Specialist etc.

We will post the jobs to our website. This is done currently at no charge, but the chapter is always accepting donations to help establish our scholarship fund. Your contribution is appreciated.

Please email the job information to the Communication/Website Coordinator, Kathleen Roberts, at updates@sanfrancisco.assp.org .

Visit the ASSP San Francisco Chapter Jobs Website Page

 
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