Prevention assistants: the university's sentinels

Frédéric Vincent is a prevention assistant. On the Richter site, he contributes on a daily basis to improving safety and well-being at work for employees. As part of the "Rouages" video series, produced by the University of Montpellier, he presents this function, which is more vital than ever in these times of health crisis.

The provision of hydro-alcoholic gel in all the University's buildings is their business. They're also responsible for traffic plans, harmonized signage and the organization of offices when work resumes. In the shadow of the current health crisis, they work discreetly to ensure the safety of UM staff. They are the prevention assistants.

On the Richter site, the "Mr. Prevention" is Frédéric Vincent. He has chosen to take on this role in addition to his position as head of the shared service at Richter (SMR). " Prevention assistant is not a job, it's a function that any interested person can carry out in the workplace in addition to his or her position ," he explains. At the university, each structure, component and department has its own prevention coordinator. In all, there are more than 200 such assistants, reporting to their respective unit directors.

A function open to all

Recruitment of prevention assistants is voluntary, and comes with a five-day training course. This is the minimum time needed to cover all the areas concerned, " whether it's problems of adapting workstations, or everything to do with research laboratories, because they have the most complex tasks. They have to deal with chemicals, toxic substances and special storage procedures. Our colleagues in Triolet and Pharmacy are directly impacted by these issues ", explains Frédéric Vincent.

The tasks of prevention assistants are varied, and depend to a large extent on the activities of the structures in which they work. From the storage of hazardous products in laboratories, as mentioned above, to a problem concerning workstation layout, or a recurring elevator malfunction. " Our role is to anticipate potential hazards and to dialogue with personnel to identify problem situations and bottlenecks, and to provide solutions either by solving the problem or finding a workaround," continues the assistant. He also helps to ensure that staff are fully aware of health and safety rules.

Identify and solve problems

Another important part of his job is to put forward proposals for improving working conditions. At the Richter site, Frédéric Vincent would like to launch a major project to tackle the issue of blue light emanating from computers, which can cause visual discomfort and headaches. Finally, the prevention assistant must ensure that the health and safety register for the unit in which he or she works is properly kept.

Whatever the problem, it's important not to hesitate to meet with them, because even if prevention assistants don't have all the answers, they'll be able to support staff members and liaise with specific departments. " We may need specific expertise, and the General Services Department can guide us, and advise us on equipment and solutions for staff ".

Indispensable in the crisis

Prevention assistants are indispensable on a day-to-day basis, and have become even more so in recent times. Faced with an unprecedented situation, the questions are of course legion, and the answers not always available, as Richter's prevention assistant reminds us: " At the start of the epidemic, we didn't really know what we were dealing with, or how it was all going to develop, so we applied maximum precautions. "

We cleaned and disinfected the buildings, closed the elevators to prevent people from gathering and pushing buttons, and blocked all access doors to the buildings: " We did everything we could to ensure that staff only had to touch their office doors and their personal equipment. Centralizing all accesses to control comings and goings, explaining instructions, providing hygiene kits supplied by the Presidency... It was a real sentinel role that the prevention assistants played during this crisis, even if for Frédéric Vincent, " everything went very well because people really played the game and followed procedures. They were really aware of the dangers they were running.