Accident prevention program (APP)

This Accident Prevention Program identifies the actions necessary to promote the safety and health of employees and the workplace, and outlines policies and procedures to achieve safety and health goals. The purpose of this Accident Prevention Program is to provide the following:

• Define Microsoft’s Occupational Safety and Health Policy.

• Define Roles and Responsibilities (Managers, Employees, External Staff).

• Define General Safety Rules

• Define Emergency procedures

• Define Accident/incident investigation procedures

• Define Procedures for reporting and correcting unsafe/ unhealthy conditions

• Define Safety and Health training requirements

• Define Recordkeeping and documentation

• Define Employee Safety Committee Requirements

This document applies to all Microsoft Full Time Employees (FTEs) and external staff who are supervised directly by Microsoft FTEs (as required by local regulations) who work within the United States and its territories.

Microsoft conducts its business with integrity and in compliance with applicable laws protecting the health and safety of our employees, customers, and the public. Microsoft strives for leadership through programs that surpass minimum compliance by integrating sound safety and health practices into all aspects of the business. The objective is a safety and health program that will reduce the number of injuries and illnesses to an absolute minimum.

Stakeholders for each Microsoft Facility or Business Group are responsible for implementing the requirements established by the Global OHS Program that are necessary for Microsoft to meet its regulatory requirements.

All employees, including management and supervisors, must follow the following general safety and health practices:

• New employees must receive safety and health training as part of the New Employee Orientation (NEO) onboarding process. At a minimum, this training must include a link to this document, how to report occupational injury or illness or unsafe condition, and emergency response procedures.

• All employees must report when they are injured at work through the Microsoft Injury Reporting System.

• All employees must adhere to the Battery Recycling/Disposal Procedure listed in Appendix B of this Accident Prevention Plan.

• All employees must not conduct horseplay, scuffling, or other acts that adversely influence safety.

• All employees must understand the hazards of their job assignment.

• All employees must initiate proper housekeeping, such as keeping stairways and aisles clear, work areas neat and orderly, and promptly cleaning up spills.

• All employees must adhere to other specific requirements provided in the Microsoft Health and Safety Manual. 

Microsoft’s Emergency Action Plan addresses life and safety issues that emerge because of a disaster, emergency, or catastrophic event. The Microsoft Real Estate and Facilities group provides the resources necessary to staff and implements the Emergency Action Plan for each respective campus or facility. Microsoft employees, external staff, and vendors should review the first four modules of the Building Emergency Response Plan (ERP) online presentation on the Emergency Response Planning website once each year prior to annual fire and evacuation drills. In addition to these online presentation modules, the Building Coordinators and Floor Captains should review two additional Building Response Team (BRT) modules each year. All BRT members must document completion of the entire online course and must successfully complete a knowledge measurement tool after each review.

5.1 Personal Preparedness:

The ability of Microsoft employees, external staff, and vendors to act quickly and decisively at the time of an emergency is dependent, in large part, on the actions taken before an emergency occurs. Employees, external staff, and vendors are encouraged to implement the preparedness actions listed below and to become familiar with the steps to take during and after an emergency. The Building Coordinator will participate in additional plan reviews conducted by the receptionist trainer during annual receptionist meetings.

5.2 Pre-Emergency Responsibilities:

• Review the complete Building Emergency Response Plan on REFweb.

• Become familiar with all information contained in the Quick Reference Guide (QRG) and keep the Guide readily available.

• Know the locations of (see Evacuation Map Selector):

• Primary and alternate evacuation routes, fire alarm pull stations, fire extinguishers, and emergency exits near your usual work location

• First-aid supplies

• Floor Captains on your assigned floor

• Designated outdoor Emergency Assembly Area for your floor

• Regularly review and update your personal contact information using the Human Resources Web site and with your manager

• Employees with a disability should:

• Self-identify any special accommodation required during emergencies using HeadTrax.

• Recruit enough coworkers to assist you during emergencies.

• Before an emergency occurs, instruct coworkers on how best to aid.

5.3 Emergency action, when an emergency occurs, each employee, external staff member, and vendor should:

• Always evacuate the building upon activation of the fire alarm.

• Follow the appropriate emergency Scenario.

• Follow instructions issued by members of the Building Response Team (BRT) and Microsoft Emergency Response Team (ERT). Team members are identified by brightly colored vests.

• Assist the Floor Captain to convey emergency instructions to floor occupants or serve as the floor Assembly Area Coordinator, if requested to do so.

• Assist visitors and people with disabilities.

• If evacuation of the building is required, stay to the right in hallways and stairways. Move quickly and quietly so emergency instructions may be heard.

• Proceed to the designated outdoor Emergency Assembly Area, congregate by floor within your work group, and notify the Assembly Area Coordinator of any missing coworkers or visitors who were known to be on the floor at the time of evacuation.

• Remain at the outdoor Emergency Assembly Area until the "all clear" is given by the Building Coordinator.

Accurate reporting and thorough investigation of workplace injuries and illnesses is a vital part of keeping employees safe. We can prevent accidents by understanding and correcting their underlying causes. Employees and management should report all work-related injuries and illnesses to Benefits, and they should cooperate with any efforts to investigate safety incidents.

For immediate first aid or assistance, dial 911 (or 9-911). Using the Incident Report Form, report to both the Occupational Health and Safety team and HR any safety condition, incident, or accident that happened at work and caused an injury or illness. The form is for both employees and external staff, and it should be completed after you have received any required medical attention.

6.1 Report an Unsafe Condition

Unsafe acts and unsafe conditions cause injuries and illnesses in the workplace. When an unsafe condition is observed, the first thing to consider is if it can simply be fixed. For example, if there is water on the floor or a trip hazard, usually it can be removed or cleaned up to eliminate the hazard. If the unsafe condition is something that cannot be easily remedied—such as a safety feature that is missing from some equipment—a manager and the local OHS Manager should be contacted to follow up on correcting the unsafe condition. An unsafe condition should never be ignored with the assumption that someone else will take care of it. Remember, safety is everyone’s job, and if we all work together, we can create a culture of safety at Microsoft.

Managers are responsible for conducting investigations into incidents that involve their direct reports. Training is available on how to conduct an incident investigation from Microsoft Global OHS. The Global OHS team can assist supervisors/managers and Site Safety Administrators to investigate or implement temporary protective measures when hazardous conditions are discovered.

All employees, including management and supervisors, must have training and instruction on general and job-specific safety and health practices. Training and instruction must be provided in the following circumstances:

• New employees (safety and health training as part of the New Employee Orientation (NEO) onboarding process).

• All employees must receive training when given new job assignments for which they have not been trained and when new hazards are introduced to the workplace (for example, new substances, processes, procedures, or equipment).

• Supervisors to familiarize them with the safety and health hazards to which employees under their immediate direction and control may be exposed.

• All employees with respect to hazards specific to each employee's job assignment. 

8.1 NEO health and safety training must include

• Explanation of this Accident Prevention Plan.

• Emergency action plan and fire prevention plan, and

• Measures for reporting any unsafe conditions, work practices, injuries and when additional instruction is needed.

• Provisions for medical services and first aid, including emergency procedures.

• Proper housekeeping, such as keeping stairways and aisles clear, work areas neat and orderly, and promptly cleaning up spills.

• Prohibiting horseplay, scuffling, or other unsafe acts.

• Proper storage practices to prevent the generation of hazards.

• Office Worker Chemical Hazard Communication.

The Microsoft Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) team offers online safety training courses for employees and project teams as needed when their work puts them in contact with potentially hazardous materials or equipment. Each Microsoft Manager or Supervisor must define the Health and Safety Training Requirements for his/her respective Teams. The OHS team is available to help managers define EHS Training Curriculum for their respective teams, including but not limited to the following online training courses:

• Office Safety

• Lab Safety

• Industrial Hygiene

• Chemical Safety

• Confined Space

• Battery Safety

• Fire Safety

• Hand Tool Safety

• Power Tool Safety

• Machine Safety

• Shop Floor Safety

• Electrical Safety

• Radiation Safety 

• Laser Safety

• Soldering and Welding Safety

• First Aid Safety

• Respirator

• Working from Heights

• Working in Extreme Temperatures

• Waste Management

• Environmental Compliance

8.2 Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (California Only)

California State Bill 553 requires companies to have a Workplace Violence Prevention Plan and provide annual training related to workplace safety, workplace violence prevention, and workplace violence hazards to all employees located in California.  Information about Microsoft’s Workplace Violence Prevention Plan can be found here: GSI CA SB 533 Document.pdf

Microsoft must comply with all federal, state, and local legislative documentation retention requirements. If there are no legally driven retention requirements, the completed inspection checklist should be maintained for a minimum of one year.

Microsoft OHS will maintain copies of the following regulatory documents and records:

• Employee health and safety training

• Accident Report Forms and copies of reports to local government agencies

• Safety Data Sheets

• Personnel exposure monitoring records

• Safety inspections

• Safety audits with findings closure documentation

• Permits, licenses, reports to regulatory agencies (that relate to H&S only)
  

Required records will be maintained by Microsoft OHS for the timeframes prescribed by regulatory authorities and Microsoft’s document retention schedule. 

Employee safety committees are required at Microsoft facilities in the following states:

• California

• Connecticut

• Minnesota

• Nevada

• North Carolina

• Oregon

• Tennessee

• Washington

The purpose of a safety committee is to bring workers, managers, and safety professionals together to collaborate on meaningful safety and health initiatives specific to that location or business group. The safety committee is made up of voluntary members who represent a cross-section of the organization. At a minimum, the safety committees at Microsoft will meet the following requirements:

• Meet monthly.

• Document attendance and meeting notes and make them available to all employees.

• Have members from employees at large and employer- selected with an elected chairperson.

• Identify unsafe work practices and conditions and suggest appropriate remedies.

• Review accident/incident reports, including types of accidents, causes and trends to identify appropriate corrective action or long-term initiatives.

• Review incident data on past injuries and illnesses and suggest appropriate corrective actions.

• Assist in the development and implementation of effective health and safety awareness programs. Encourage feedback from all individuals about health and safety related ideas, problems, and solutions.

• Provide support and serve as a resource in the development, implementation, and maintenance of a comprehensive safety, loss prevention and loss control program.

The Safety Committee should have an agreed upon charter which defines the committee’s role, number of members, frequency of meetings, and action plans.

1. Purpose

To establish minimum standard work practices and procedures for the disposal of portable batteries at all Microsoft Facilities.

Adhering to this procedure will minimize the risk of injury to employees and vendors that Microsoft is involved in the generation disposal, collection, and transportation of end-of- life portable batteries. Portable batteries (rechargeable, single use) may also contain hazardous materials such as nickel, lithium and lead that do harm to environment when disposed in traditional waste landfills.

2. Scope 

This procedure applies to Microsoft employees and external staff that generate portable batteries associated with their work at Microsoft owned locations.

3. Procedures

3.1 Responsibilities:

3.1.1 Managers/Employees

• Adhere to the requirements of this Portable Battery Disposal Procedure.

• Correct and report any improper portable battery disposal situations that are discovered through Microsoft OHS Incident Reporting System

3.1.2 Microsoft Real Estate and Facilities

• Provide Battery Disposal Bins located at all Copy Center Recycling Centers throughout Microsoft’s Buildings. Such as this:

  

• Collect and transport the spent batteries according to this Portable Battery Disposal Procedure.

3.1.3 Microsoft Corporate Environmental Health and Safety

• Periodically audit implementation of this Portable Battery Disposal Procedure.

• Provide trainings aids to all Microsoft Teammates, which highlight the proper spent battery disposal procedure provided in this procedure.

3.2 Spent Battery Collection

Microsoft employees and, external staff that generate portable batteries associated with their work at Microsoft owned locations shall place any portable alkaline, nickel (Ni-Cd, Ni- MH, Ni-Zn, and lithium (Ion and Primary) Batteries into the small container located on top of the Microsoft Copy Center Recycling Centers. The following rules apply to battery recycling:

• No Lithium Battery Pouches shall be placed in the Microsoft Battery Disposal Bins located at all Copy Centers. Corporate EHS shall be contacted to pick up and dispose of any spent Lithium Battery Pouches.

  

• Nine Volt alkaline and Lithium Batteries shall have their + and – terminals taped with electrical tape or capped with plastic inserts before employees place them in the Microsoft Copy Center Battery Collection Container.

  

• Li-Ion Button Cells shall have their + and – terminals covered with tape before employees place them in Microsoft Copy Center the Microsoft Copy Center Battery Collection Container.

  

• Microsoft employees and external staff that generate work related spent electronic equipment shall not remove the battery from the device and place the equipment in the PC Peripheral or Office Equipment Bin at all Copy Center Recycling Centers throughout Microsoft’s Buildings.

• 3.3 Transportation and Recycling of Spent Batteries from Microsoft Buildings:

  Microsoft Real Estate and Facilities shall have the sole responsibility to transport and arrange for recycling of the spent batteries generated from Microsoft Business Activities. The following rules apply to the Transportation and Recycling of Spent Batteries:

• Microsoft Real Estate and Facilities has sole responsibility for the Transportation and Recycling of Spent Batteries from Microsoft Buildings.

• Microsoft employees and external staff shall not transport bulk amounts of spent batteries in their personal vehicles or public transportation.

• Microsoft Real Estate and Facilities shall conduct the following when transporting bulk amounts of spent batteries from Microsoft Buildings:

• Spent batteries shall be transported in strong outer packaging such a covered plastic tub.

• The totes must have a lithium battery label shown below.

• The totes must have Universal Waste label (and accumulation start date that is no more than a year in the past) shown below

• Lithium batteries/cells must be secured in a manner that they do not move inside the container

• Microsoft Real Estate and Facilities shall utilize a licensed and approved Universal Waste Recycling and Management firm to manage the Spent Batteries. Approval will be provided by the Microsoft Corporate Environmental Health and Safety Department.

DOT Label & Universal Waste Label for Lithium Battery containers used for Transportation

All information collected by the Employee Incident Report Form will be used by Microsoft Corporation and its affiliates and subsidiaries (“Microsoft”) for documenting an accidental incident and other appropriate business purposes. Microsoft will transfer this information to and store this information in the United States, to the extent permitted by law. Microsoft will continue to comply with local data protection requirements for data transferred to the U.S. and is registered as Privacy Shield compliant for the purposes of the collection and transfer of EU data. The information will be retained according to the Corporate Retention Schedule. When necessary, Microsoft may transfer to or share this information with its affiliates and subsidiaries for appropriate business purposes; third-party agents acting on Microsoft’s behalf to provide products and services to employees (e.g., Worker’s Compensation Third Party Administrator); third parties as Microsoft determines is necessary to protect or defend its rights or property or the safety of property of its personnel; in the course of litigation; and as required by law, regulation, or court order.  Microsoft will not disclose your information outside Microsoft for purposes not identified in this notice without your consent, except as provided above. By submitting this form that contains your information to Microsoft, you acknowledge you are providing the information voluntarily; that it is a true and accurate description of a work-related incident; and that you have read and agreed to Microsoft’s data collection practices described above.