This procedure describes the process staff should take if they have concerns, and describes the actions that will be taken by the Facilities Department in response. It is important for staff to report indoor environmental quality concerns.
Procedure for Staff with Indoor Environmental Quality Concerns
Staff with concerns about indoor environmental quality should call the Facilities Office at 541-463-5000 or email Facilities Office@lanecc.edu. The reporting form on the Indoor Environmental Quality web page may also be used. At the same time notify the unit manager.
It is important for staff to report indoor environmental quality concerns. Occasionally, an immediate answer cannot be found. It is possible that by collecting data of recurring incidents, problems and solutions can be identified.
Procedure for College Response to Indoor Environmental Quality Reports
1. Immediate Concerns
The Facilities Office staff will dispatch the environmental specialist or other appropriate Facilities staff as soon as possible depending on the urgency of the problem. Usually someone will be on site to assess the situation no longer than two hours after the initial call; if the situation is urgent, staff will be dispatched immediately.
The environmental specialist or other appropriate Facilities staff will respond to immediate concerns and attempt to correct the problem on the day that it is reported.
Immediate concerns may include:
new irritating smells;
sudden changes in air delivery or conditioning that cause discomfort; and
visible mold.
The environmental specialist or other appropriate Facilities staff will provide the staff member(s) who reported the concern with written or verbal information about what was found during the investigation and what corrections were made, if any.
2. Persistent/Non-immediate Concerns
The Facilities Office staff will notify environmental specialist and other appropriate Facilities staff. The environmental specialist or other appropriate Facilities staff will respond to persistent concerns within 48 hours of the initial report.
Persistent/non-immediate concerns may include:
excessive dust;
stuffiness/lack of air flow or air supply;
visible or suspected water damage; and
reactions that appear to occur only when in building, from an unidentified source.
The response will include:
visiting the site in which the problem is occurring and talking with applicable staff and/or students in the area;
investigating the site to determine the source of the problem;
if the source of the problem cannot be determined during this initial investigation, the environmental specialist will set up a time with building occupants to conduct in-house air quality testing;
the environmental specialist may recommend that additional investigations be conducted by an outside agency (industrial hygienist or engineer).
Occasionally, the source of the concern is not found upon initial investigations and testing by in-house staff and consultants. In these cases, an Indoor Environmental Quality team may be formed. The team will determine what additional investigations and accommodations can be made. The team will include appropriate representatives from:
Human Resources;
Facilities;
Health and Safety;
manager(s) from the concerned department(s); and
faculty and staff from the concerned department(s).
A record of all reported indoor environmental quality concerns is kept on a spreadsheet called "Environmental Quality Incident Report" (EQIR). The EQIR is maintained on the Facilities Management and Planning network drive. The following information is entered into the EQIR:
date of report;
time of report;
name, phone extension, and department of person reporting;
building and room # in which problem is occurring;
description of reported problem;
response date;
response time; and
description of response.
The environmental specialist will provide the staff member(s) who reported the concern with written information about what was found during the investigation including any test data. The response will describe what corrections were made, if any, and recommendations for further corrections. The environmental specialist will provide a final written report once the investigation is closed. The manager of the concerned department as well as the vice president for College Operations (or designee) and the director of Facilities Management and Planning will be copied on these written communications.