severe weather plan for institute of technology tallaght
SEVERE WEATHER PLAN FOR
INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY TALLAGHT
I. GENERAL
A. This plan identifies IT Tallaght’s response to severe weather warnings or conditions as experienced on campus or as communicated by Met Eireann.
B. Flexibility must be exercised when implementing this plan because of the different circumstances associated with severe weather conditions. If discretion is exercised, err on the side of safety at all times.
C. The institute will try to remain operational at all times. It recognizes that there may be times when events beyond its control will impact on normal operation possibly resulting in full or partial closures of the institute; full or partial postponement of examination sessions or other institute activities.
D. All efforts will be made to make good any academic or other deficit experienced by students or staff resulting from severe weather conditions or late\non attendance of staff
E. The institute will investigate the possibility of making materials available via the web for students such that they can continue to work from home when unable to attend the campus. Staff support arrangements will be agreed between the appropriate Head of Department and the staff concerned
F. The institute will investigate ways of further facilitating the normal business of the institute when staff are unable to attend the campus with any change to normal working arrangements being agreed with the appropriate Head of
Department\Function
G. In the event of closure of schools or crèches impacting on students or staff emergency arrangements may be put in place with the agreement of the appropriate manager or Head of Department
H. Patterns of late or nonattendance may require temporary redeployment of staff with the agreement of the appropriate managers or as communicated by SMT
I. A phased response system shall apply in that we shall have responses as follows:
The default position is that the institute is open
Prior action to keep the institute access routes open to both pedestrians and vehicles (to include, salting, gritting, ploughing, etc.) based on forecast or local conditions
Early closing on the basis of worsening conditions on campus or proximate
routes to\from the campus
Delayed opening on the basis of forecast improving conditions on campus or proximate routes to the campus
Pedestrian operation only on the basis of difficulties in keeping vehicular areas safe
Limited access to designated personnel only on the basis of compliance with all health & safety and insurance requirements
Full closure on the basis of severe conditions on campus or non operational key building services such as water, heat, etc.
For access during a severe weather event pedestrian routes will be a priority for clearance
For egress during a severe weather event vehicular routes will be a priority for clearance
II. ASSUMPTIONS
Normal access hours (during semester) of IT Tallaght are Monday – Thursday from
08:00 to 22:00, Friday from 08:00 to 19:00 and Saturday 08:00 to 14:00 (or later by arrangement)
The institute will do all it can to keep to normal operations for students and other users
Departments\functions will implement agreed specific ancillary plans to cover issues such as key business processes, equipment or materials requirements during severe weather events
Department specific plans will include checklists and nominated personnel to cover the severe weather event
Synergy users will make their own decisions in relation to travelling to and using
Synergy but will be subject to the wider decisions of the institute
Dublin West Education Centre will make its own decision in terms of opening but will be subject to the wider decisions of the institute and both the institute and DWEC will have nominated liaison personnel for severe weather event management
Every employee of the institute will make reasonable efforts to report for work.
Likely, nonattendance or late arrival must be flagged as soon as possible to the appropriate line manager\supervisor or other person deemed appropriate by SMT who
will in turn take steps to ensure that the impact on students or other staff is minimized.
It is the responsibility of a nonattending or late attending staff member to ensure contact is made.
This is particularly important for members of academic or technical support staff such that all impacted student groups can be informed in a timely manner.
Failure to make contact in relation to late or nonattendance will be viewed as an unauthorized absence and could lead to disciplinary action being taken.
Staff should leave contact details with their line manager\supervisor to include: email addresses, home phone number, mobile number, etc.
Staff are expected to make themselves conversant with the remote services provided by the Institute including inter alia mail and Weblink
Staff will make every effort to make good any academic or other work deficits resulting from decisions taken in relation to severe weather conditions on campus. Arrangements for such deficit recovery must be agreed with the appropriate line manager\supervisor.
Students will not suffer academically or otherwise as a result of severe weather conditions on campus or late\nonattendance of institute staff
This plan covers both normal teaching and examination periods for full time and part time operation in addition to research activities
Research supervisor requests for emergency access to the institute, for them and\or their
PG student(s), will be considered on an individual basis but health & safety, insurance and associated implications will obviously inform the decision
Details of how we communicate on severe weather events will be included in the
Student Handbook and other relevant institute communication channels
A series of webcams or feeds from our CCTV system will be selectively available via the web to campus users to remotely monitor conditions on campus
III. BASIC PLAN
A. General information about storms, rain, snow, and icing conditions will be obtained from Met Eireann http://www.met.ie/forecasts/regional.asp?Prov=Dublin with specific reference to the Dublin region and where possible will be combined with local data relating to Tallaght and the campus.
1. The Estates Function will have responsibility for monitoring and communicating the weather threat and advising SMT on the likely impact on the normal operation of the Institute such that SMT can decide on an appropriate course of action
2. SMT will develop a standard set of communications for weather related eventualities such that the campus community is kept informed of the status of the institute during periods of bad weather. These communications are included in Appendix A of this plan
3. The Estates function will develop and publish a series of operational plans for each response with an accompanying series of operational checklists such that plans can be implemented when relevant personnel are unavailable
4. A weather page\link and resulting institute\examination status (open, partially open (e.g. day but not evening), or closed) will be prominently available on our website and will be additionally communicated to all staff and students via email, SMS, the media, etc. as appropriate. The weather page should use a traffic light system as well as text green representing open, amber representing the fact that we are with monitoring the situation closely and red representing closure.
5. The PR function will coordinate the agreed single communication to all staff, students and public in general via. the agreed channels.
B. Local conditions will be monitored by the Estates function using appropriate means of validating local weather conditions not specifically covered in the more general Met Eireann announcements.
1. When local conditions are deemed severe by the Estates function they will advise SMT of this and make recommendations such that SMT can decide on the institute\examination operational status
2. To aid attempts to keep the campus operational the Estates function will ensure that adequate stocks of grit, other materials and equipment are kept such that roads and footpaths are kept as safe as is reasonably possible for campus users
3. In the event of severe weather warnings the Estates function will ensure that the campus and its community are adequately prepared. This will include annual checks pre and post the weather event to ensure that the campus is safe for users. For example, in advance of storm warnings
reasonable steps will be taken to ensure that flying debris cannot be produced within the institute and its environs. As a further example, in the event of severe rain or snow warnings the Estates function will take reasonable steps to ensure that the institute is secure from flooding and that heating, air conditioning and water supply systems are capable of normal operation.
4. In the event that the normal building services on the campus are disrupted due to a severe weather event the Estates function will advise SMT on what course of action should be taken with a view to minimizing the disruption caused while adhering to health and safety guidelines\best practice
5. The Estates function will identify and keep a published list of third parties that may be used as an institute resource for severe weather events.
For example, SDCC could be used as a resource for detailed local information on road and traffic conditions or a source for emergency supply of help or materials
C. The Estates function will keep a log of severe weather events and our responses such that a knowledgebase of experience can be developed to help inform subsequent decisions.
1. The log virtual or other shall be available at all times to management and include such items as historical records of campus responses to severe weather, equipment and check lists, equipment maintenance records, staff roles and responsibilities, service suppliers, costs, etc.
Appendix A
Messages to be communicated to:
Students
Full time staff
Part time staff
Synergy users
DWEC
Onsite contractors such as catering, cleaning, builders, etc.
General Public
Communications Channels to be used:
Institute Notice Boards John Hannigan
Website John Hannigan
Phones & reception system Paul Campbell
SMS John Hannigan\Terry Maguire
Moodle System
Media (Radio & TV)
Rose Cooper
John Hannigan\Terry Maguire
Stella Browne
Boards.ie
This communication can be undertaken by the PRO with designated replacements in the event the PRO is not available provided access to all channels is provided
Liaison:
SMT
TMT
LLL
T&L
External stakeholders (e.g. SDCC)
Media
Agreed Department ancillary plans can be appended as appropriate
Institute Operational Statements to be communicated via above channels
Statement IOS 1 The Institute Remains Open
The college remains open and will continue to monitor the situation via Met
Eierann forecasts and updates. Any change in status will be communicated via
notice boards, the institute website, Moodle & …. in as timely a manner as possible. Operational updates can be viewed via our website
Statement IOS 2 The Institute will Close
In response to the Met Eireann forecast at (Time and Date) the college will close at (Time & Date) with an intention to reopen at (Time & Date). Please monitor our website for operational updates
Statement IOS 3 The Institute Remains Closed
In response to the Met Eireann forecast at (Time and Date) the college remains closed with an intention to reopen at (Time & Date). Please monitor our website for operational updates
Statement IOS 4 The Institute is Unable to Reopen Until
As a result of the impact of the severe weather we have been experiencing the building services of the institute are not operating properly and as a result will close at (Time &Date) with an intention to reopen at (Time & Date). Please monitor our website for operational updates
Statement IOS 5 The Institute Remains Closed Until
As a result of the impact of the severe weather we have been experiencing the building services of the institute are not operating properly. The college remains closed with an intention to reopen at (Time & Date). Please monitor our website for operational updates
Examinations Operational Statements
Statement EOS 1 The Examination Sessions are Running as Normal
The semester examinations are currently operating normally. We will continue to monitor the situation via Met Eierann forecasts and updates. Any change in status will be communicated via notice boards, the institute website, Moodle &
…. in as timely a manner as possible. Operational updates can be viewed via our website