It is the policy of Safco Services to uphold a safe working and learning environment free of all forms of discrimination. Safco Services does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations.  These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and firing of staff, selection of volunteers and vendors, and provision of training and technical services.  We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, clients’ volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and students.
Safco Services is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate base on gender, race, national origin, religion, creed, age, marital status, sexual orientation, or disability.

It is the policy of Safco Services that the Proprietary Interest of instructors is disclosed. Safco Services’ instructor(s) and its facility has absolutely no financial interest or related personal interest of bias in any business whose products and/ or services are described, reviewed, evaluated or compared in the training courses provided.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS POLICY

It is the policy of Safco Services that the Proprietary Interest of instructors is disclosed. Any materials, publications, processes, or related works for the design and delivery of continuing education and training developed by a presenter or outside agency without the assistance of Safco Services, shall be owned by such presenter or outside agency. The presenter shall provide Safco Services with a non‐exclusive license for the materials under reasonable terms as to use and distribution. The presenter shall grant Safco Services permission to: (1) copy, reproduce, publish and distribute the materials in all print and other formats (including but not limited to online publication via Safco Services’ website, and distribution at future Safco Services’ programs and conferences); (2) reprint materials for Distribution; and (3) make materials available for purchase and distribution after a continuing Education and training event. The presenter must represent and warrant that the materials do not violate or infringe on any personal or property rights of others, whether common law or statutory and that the materials contain nothing libelous or otherwise contrary to law. Safco Services agrees to provide presenters with appropriate authorship credit as applicable and acknowledgment each time it publishes or republishes the work, and to require authorized sublicenses if any, to also provide appropriate authorship credit and acknowledgments to the instructor’s proprietary interest. Safco Services understands and agrees that any grant of rights does not constitute a transfer of copyright and that the presenter remains free to present the materials or revised versions elsewhere. 

Valid photo identification is required of students to present at start of each course (for multiple day courses – IDs will only be collected on the first session of training). Accepted forms of ID include: driver’s license, state ID, passport, Green Card, work/school ID, or any other ID that contains student’s picture and full legal name.  Failure to provide ID will result in delay of course completion materials being released to student. These IDs are not distributed, any information will not be disclosed to any other parties and will be strictly maintained for office use for verification purposes. Since Safco Services provides government outreach training, if a student does not have identification, authorization must be obtained only from the Director of Training to take course.

This school has certified OSHA 500 trainers. 100% attendance for the course and active participation in learning activities including hands-on exercises and the end exams are required. Students must receive a minimum passing score of 70% on the multiple-choice exam to pass the class and receive the course completion certificate and verification letter. Students are allotted 1 hour to complete the exam, which is not open book.

Students who do not pass the end-of-course test will be extended a second opportunity to re-take the exam. It is the students’ responsibility to contact Safco Services to schedule their retake exam within one week of the original class date.  Students who do not successfully pass the exam a second time will have the option of registering for another construction training course at a reduced price of 50% of the original course fee.  Students must contact Safco Services to schedule and pay for the retake class within 6 months following the original class date. After 6 months, students will be required to pay the full course fee.

Upon completion of the course students will receive a certificate from Safco Services and within 30 days of successful completion of the course, participants will receive an OSHA 10-Hour Construction Industry wallet card from the OSHA Training Institute (OTI). The OSHA Outreach Program Training Guidelines require that the OSHA course completion cards are issued directly to each student, regardless of who paid for the training.  Make up time is not permitted for this training course. Students who miss time from any individual session must reschedule and attend the full training course. Cards must be picked up from our facility and a written acknowledgment must be signed that the cards were picked up. If a student choose for the card to be sent Safco Services is not responsible if the card gets lost in the mail.

CRITERIA FOR SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION FOR SAFCO SERVICES CONTINUING EDUCATION CERTIFICATE (1 CEU):

·       100% attendance for the course

·       Completion of Continuing Education and Training Registration Form

·       Active participation in all class exercises (determined by course instructor)

·       Completion of required pre and post quiz assessments

·       As applicable, achievement of minimum passing score on required end of course examination, minimum 70%

·       Participation and submittal of end of course evaluation form and/ or learner feedback (must provide name on form to receive credit)

Support, grievance and/or questions pertaining to the subject matter, quality assurance, learning environment can be directly to mariasafcoservices@gmail.com or mailed to the facility address; 31-21 31st Street 3rd Floor LIC, NY 11106, attention Maria Kiropoulos.

Students must address their concerns about this school or any of its educational programs by emailing a formal letter to the above email address or in writing to the facility address. Schools are responsible for ensuring and documenting that all students have received a copy of the school’s grievance procedures and for describing these procedures in the school’s published catalog. If, as a student, you were not provided with this information, please inform school management.

Students dissatisfied with this school’s response to their complaint or who are not able to file a complaint with the school, can file a formal complaint with Safco Service, as well as with other relevant agencies or accreditors, if applicable.

A certificate of completion will be issued at the end of course which is valid for 90 days Upon completion of the course students will receive a certificate from Safco Services and will receive an OSHA 10-Hour Construction Industry wallet card from the OSHA Training Institute (OTI). The OSHA Outreach Program Training Guidelines require that the OSHA course completion cards are issued directly to each student, regardless of who paid for the training. These cards must be picked up at our office and sign a release and confirmation of card pick up. The issued card must be carried at all times while on a construction jobsite and present this card as proof of completed course when requested.

We suggest you maintain a copy for your records.  If this card is lost or stolen you will need to purchase a replacement card at an additional $50.  Please contact us via email at mariasafcoservices@gmail.com for a request.

It is the policy of Safco Services to maintain records that are kept up‐to‐date, private and secure in accordance with OSHA and IACET for a minimum of seven (7) years. If a student wants a release of their records they must complete an Authorization for Release of Student Information Form and submit it via email to mariasafcoservices@gmail.com or mail it to Safco Services’ training facility.

$50 processing and handling fee for any new, updates or replacement OSHA and NYC DOB Training cards and SST Cards

DIRECTOR OF TRAINING:MARIA KIROPOULOS, MARIASAFCOSERVICES@GMAIL.COM

TRAINING COORDINATOR: STAVROS KIROPOULOS, SAFCOSERVICES@GMAIL.COM

Disclaimer - All courses are subject to cancellation due to lack of registration. Safco Services holds the right the cancel the class without providing advanced notice to students, but will respectfully take into consideration scheduling and will do its best to notify in case of cancellation.

REFUND POLICY

If registered and paid student cancels a class after payment is submitted, there is no refund and only credit towards a future class will be issued upon the approval of manager.

Safco Services reserves the right to cancel any scheduled course for any reason, including but not limited to insufficient enrollment, weather, emergency or other reasons.

If class is canceled due to reasons determined by Safco Services, a full refund will be issued.

Local Law 30 of 2017 strengthens language access services for people with limited English skills and expands the list of designated citywide languages to 10. It requires City agencies that provide direct services to the public to translate their most commonly distributed documents into the top 10 citywide languages. It also requires agencies to provide telephonic interpretation in at least 100 languages and to develop a language access implementation plan to be posted on an agency's website.

The following document outlines SAFCO’s Language Access Plan.

I. Mission and background

SAFCO’s mission is to provide the highest level of construction safety education through expertise in training, accident prevention, loss control, consultation and enrichment to students, clients and the community alike.

All training will be conducted at SAFCO’s training facility, which provides a professional, confidential and educational environment for individuals that are interested in or currently working in the private or public sectors of the construction field.

II. Company language access policy and goals

The current language access initiatives underway at SAFCO involve the use of bilingual employees. (Languages spoken include Spanish and Greek) This occurs informally, so if a learner needing language assistance came into the office or called, the appropriate bilingual staff member, if available, would be enlisted to help. Learner service support is a key focus for SAFCO; therefore, the primary goal of a language access plan is to ensure that language is not a barrier to anyone seeking our services.

Based on statistics from calls received and conversations with SAFCO’s staff, the company does not experience a high number of Limited English Proficient (LEP) learners looking for classes in languages not already served, in proportion to overall the learner is served. However, if a lack of awareness about the company by the LEP population is a factor, the company will try to address it through updates to the plan.  A yearly review of the plan would be necessary to ensure all learners are included.

The Language Access Coordinator will be responsible for creating new tracking logs, employee awareness of the plan, measuring milestones and any eventual updates to the plan. The company will gauge the successful implementation of the plan by soliciting learners’ feedback, meeting the milestones and through an annual review.

III. LEP population assessment

SAFCO’s Office Administrators assists the number of calls from people demonstrating limited English or requesting language assistance (ex. Caller or a walk-in could say: “do you speak Spanish”?) are then transferred to a bilingual employee. The Office Administrators can recall only a few instances where a language was requested which could not be accommodated.

In SAFCO’s plan, a log will be kept with the Office Administrators at the main offices of all LEP requests, noting date, language and whether a learner was not successfully assisted or not able to help or services in the language required. This will be to determine an official number of LEP requests directly to the company.

As a small company, resources at SAFCO are limited. The company will continue to utilize bilingual employees when they are available. The company will begin formally tracking any instances where a bilingual employee assisted a learner in a language other than English, Spanish or Greek. This will be included in the quarterly report reviewed by the Language Access Coordinator.

At this point, the company has experienced most requests directly in Spanish, and Greek - the languages spoken by its bilingual employees. If through the newly instituted tracking of LEP requests, the top languages are identified, they will be considered in the annual plan review.

IV. Provision of language access services

SAFCO will continue to use bilingual employees for telephone and in-person interpretation/training (Spanish and Greek) however will now log the exchanges. In the future, the company would be interested in including more bilingual employees and/or interpretation devices or services.

At this point, great demand for language services by SAFCO customers has not been established. Also, neither a demonstrated need for translated SAFCO documents nor top languages for learners have been identified. It is, therefore, premature to attempt to translate any essential documents into other languages.  The Language Access Coordinator will review any requests for translated documents. If a document is identified for translation, the company will consider assistance from a volunteer language bank or other similar resources as soon as possible.

Since the company will continue to utilize bilingual employees for telephone and in-person translation and training, the company will use the same methods of directing LEP customers to these employees. The company will rely heavily on customer feedback for the purpose of quality assurance. This feedback will be reviewed on a quarterly and annual basis.

V. Training

The Language Access Coordinator will conduct trainings when required with the relevant staff within the division, and ad hoc training can be provided to new staff as they are on-boarded. The coordinator will also update staff regularly on developments with the learner service and language access in this meeting.

Training will begin with instruction for staff by the Language Access Coordinator on using the new logs to record instances of LEP service requests.  Any updates to the plan would be presented to the staff and all aspects would be reviewed with new employees. There will also be ongoing training with employees to ensure LEP learners are directed quickly and accurately to the appropriate staff member who can assist.

VI. Record keeping and evaluation

As mentioned above, the company will institute new logs for tracking any LEP requests and prepare reports based on the data when required. The review will also look at the results of Quality Assurance measures such as learner satisfaction reports following language assistance with a bilingual employee. A review of the plan will document any changes in the service population and incorporate any learner feedback regarding language services.

VII. Resource analysis and planning

The plan mentioned above makes use of existing staff and resources. Given the company’s student base, this seems to be the most realistic plan of action at the moment. If any updates to the plan are made during the scheduled review periods, available company resources will need to be considered.

VIII. Assistance

If SAFCO is unable to assist the learner in their language, they are provided with DOB direct website with other course providers contact information for further assistance in the proper language.

Website: https://www.nyc.gov/site/buildings/safety/dob-approved-course-provider-list.page

IX. Language Access Coordinator

Kiera White is the Language Access Coordinator for SAFCO Construction Services

Main Office: 31-21 31st Street, LIC NY 11106, T: 929.296.0303, E: kierasafcoservices@gmail.com

Updated 2023