Protecting the safety of the Cornell community requires communication and cooperation throughout the organization. The role of the Department Safety Representative (DSR) is to assist the director, unit head, and/or department chairperson by leading health and safety activities within their unit and coordinating assistance from EH&S and other support organizations. Some of the important contributions of DSR’s to their units include helping to resolve safety concerns, educating others about safety programs and their own responsibilities for safety, organizing self inspections, helping to correct safety problems, and promoting and coordinating training. See DSR Roles and Responsibilities for more specific information.
EH&S recognizes that the unit DSR is a critical link in the safety management process and we want to help DSRs help others. The DSR web page is designed to be a quick reference about the DSR network and a gateway to information and resources. The following is a summary of the page content.
How to become a DSR
The University Health and Safety Policy 2.4 identifies the requirement for units to have Department Safety Representatives (DSR). The DSR Roles and Responsibilities document identifies that colleges or units may choose one individual per department to serve as the DSR or one individual may be given responsibility for multiple departments, units, or facilities.
The DSR Orientation Training Program is designed for newly appointed Department Safety Representatives and provides information on how to be an effective DSR and answers to questions about the DSR process. The DSR Orientation Training Program is available upon request by contacting Czora Pagsolingan.
A list of quick links to hot topics on the EH&S web page
Answers to many technical questions and services EH&S provides can be obtained from the EH&S web site or by contacting EH&S staff members. A list of Cornell Health and Safety Resources and websites and a selected list of frequently asked questions for information and hot topics are listed in a table of quick links.
Contact information for other DSRs
DSRs may find that networking with other DSRs is a valuable source of ideas and solutions to existing problems. EH&S maintains a list serve - DSR-L - that is open to all DSRs and other people interested in receiving safety updates. You do not have to be a DSR to subscribe to the DSR-L. Over 300 people are currently subscribed!
If you would like to be subscribed (or unsubscribed) to DSR-L, simply send an email request to Czora Pagsolingan. Once you are subscribed to DSR-L, you can post questions or requests for information by simply sending an email to DSR-L@cornell.edu.
An archive of information presented at past DSR Roundtables
DSR Roundtables are held twice per year, once in the spring and once in the fall. The purpose of the DSR Roundtables are to provide a forum for DSRs in receiving information and networking with each other as a primary goal. Meeting notices for upcoming DSR Roundtables are sent to all DSRs via DSR-L.
Contributions from DSRs
A collection of policies, checklists, and other documents developed and contributed by DSRs from all over campus can be found at the DSR Corner. EH&S encourages DSRs to share their information and experience with other DSRs across campus through the DSR Corner.