UMSC January Minutes
UNION-MANAGEMENT SAFETY COMMITTEE
January 2026 Meeting Minutes
The monthly meeting of the Union-Management Safety Committee was conducted on January 13th, 2026 by the Environmental Health and Safety department with the following individuals in attendance:
Kyle Bushee A Legal Affairs, Risk, and Compliance
Cory Ghiringhelli VA Environmental Health and Safety
Devin Johnson A Maintenance Services
Laura Weber A Legal Affairs, Risk, and Compliance
Mark Weiss A Environmental Health and Safety
Jacob Woods A Environmental Health and Safety
In-Person Attendance: (A)
Virtual Attendance: (VA)
OLD BUSINESS
Cory Ghirinhelli provided an update to the safety concern involving the lack of tornado shelter and evacuation maps for the Landscape Services and ROTC areas in the Campus Services Building. The maps are typically located on walls, approximately 5’ high, near building entries. Jake Woods previously investigated and gathered necessary information regarding current locations of fire extinguishers and alarm pull stations. Devin Johnson subsequently used the data, along with hand-noted floor prints to create temporary evacuation maps; Jake helped to get them displayed at the necessary CSB locations. The Projects, Design, and Construction division pursued funding resources via the deferred maintenance program for campus-wide updated emergency plans. Cory mentioned that he met with Shannon S. Becker to initiate the efforts and the related project manager is now Wristen Paschich.
Cindy Beebe previously introduced a safety concern involving observations of damaged asphalt located near the East entrance of the Bill Brown facility. Committee discussions recommended forwarding photos and description of the damaged walkway materials to the FM Service Center for their awareness of the issue and resolution.
Jake Woods previously provided an update to the safety concern regarding safe work access and environment for the Custodial Services Special Projects division. The group recently encountered work locations, predominately newer on-campus construction, where safe access to rooftops/certain exterior locations was not provided or engineered into the building’s design. Jake met with Cindy Beebe at The Student Center and Sprau Tower and helped identify the fall protection protocol and how the spaces could be safely accessed. Both locations had prior systems in place and require no further action; a roof access gate padlock’s core was changed to a 2-49 following a request to WMU Public Safety.
Vince Renda previously introduced a safety concern involving safe personnel access to the Student Center roof-mounted cooling towers. The units were originally installed without a ladder-platform which would afford a safe working environment for persons completing maintenance and non-routine tasks. Committee discussions revealed that initial efforts were possibly underway to determine construction feasibility.
Jake Woods previously provided an update to the inquiry regarding the campus emergency phones (blue-light) that can be found throughout our campus’. Committee discussions revealed that Maintenance Services electrician tradespeople service-support the electrical supply and that DPS/OIT service-support the network and physical phones themselves. A FM work order should be submitted if any phones appear to have issues or are non-operational. It was mentioned that a missing blue light (likely removed or deactivated by WMU) indicates that the phone is non-operational or undergoing service. Jake contacted DPS and was provided the following update. The emergency call boxes/phones are inspected and tested once a year, typically in the summer, by parking enforcement officers. A list of any issues found is compiled and turned over to OIT or Maintenance Services for repair depending on what's observed to be wrong. Any issues discovered throughout the year are reported upon discovery to the responsible departments reporting system.
Jake Woods previously provided an update to the safety concern involving a walkway and unmarked pedestrian crossing located just North of the intersection of Ring Rd N and Valley 2 Dr. Pedestrians using the NE to SW sidewalk encounter Valley 2 Dr. to be unmarked. The W side of the road does not have curb-cut out and the E side is the tapered driveway for the nearby Maintenance Services region shop that is located in the basement of Goldsworth Valley #1. This situation had been observed to cause confusion for pedestrians and some near-miss incidents. Jake initially made the concern known to DPS who provided a summary of their thoughts. These included guidance on how the area of concern could be potentially changed to an approved crosswalk and their recommendation of maintaining the current configuration depending on the future of the Goldsworth Valley complexes. As of now, it is the pedestrian's responsibility to yield to traffic since traffic has the right of way. Jake subsequently contacted Residence Life and made the safety concerns and information known. Their intent was to educate occupants of GV#2 of the ongoing issue and encourage usage of the designated crosswalk.
Jake Woods provided an update to the issue involving an overhead mounted batting cage at the Seeyle Center that had incurred significant damage. Component(s) of the lift system broke causing part the suspended netting and framing system to fall to the floor abruptly. Student athletes were in the near vicinity when the net fell but fortunately no injuries took place. Jake previously mentioned that the affected netting system was immediately lowered by Maintenance Services tradespeople to mitigate the safety hazard. Jake stated that a third-party firm completed annual inspections of the lifting systems at the Seeyle Center during the week of January 5th. The devices were found to be in functional condition with no imminent hazards present, but replacement of all devices is warranted and recommended.
Jake Woods provided an update to the issue involving damaged exterior concrete steps-landings at Moore Hall entry #7. The issue was submitted to FM Service by Dennis and Cory but further actions were unknown at the time. Jake reached out to Landscape Services whom immediately placed a safety cone in the areas of concern. Committee discussions from the January meeting, and subsequent WMU Today release, confirmed that repairs to the exterior stairs was ongoing and expected to be completed by Friday, January 23rd.
PROJECT LIST/TABLE
No new projects introduced.
NEW BUSINESS
No new business introduced.
SAFETY HAPPENINGS
Jake Woods shared the following message from Mark Frever of Landscape Services. Please thank and update Laura Weber's MDLC team. MDLC awarded Landscape Service’s request to install two Frost Solutions Mini-RWIS's (Road Weather Information Station) on campus. WMU Police are supportive, and the paperwork is in the COLT and Purchasing process.
Mark Weiss shared that Cory Ghiringhelli is compiling accident-injury related statistics for calendar year 2025. They are preparing unit specific data that will be presented to departments along with recommendations / ways EHS could assist in reducing incidents for 2026.
Jake Woods shared that the National Safety Council recognizes January as National Radon Action Month. Radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer after cigarette smoking. It is an invisible, odorless gas that can seep into various types of structures, including but not limited to basements, slabs and crawl spaces. Exposure to radon is a preventable health risk and testing radon levels in your home can help prevent unnecessary exposure. Further information can be found at: https://www.epa.gov/radon/national-radon-action-month-information.
The next UMSC meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 10th, 2026 in the shared conference room located on the ground floor of the E.W. Building at 10:00 a.m.; an invitation to attend via video conferencing platform (WebEx) will also be sent out with these minutes. Please send a substitute representative if you are unable to attend.
Published: 1/20/2026