Vivi's Safety Corner - May 2011

by: ESD Safety Coordinator Vivi Fissekidou (x5610)

Quicklinks

1. ESD policy on student training
2. ESD Summer Student Safety Reminder
3. Subcontractors, Vendors, and Guests Job Hazards Analysis and Work Authorization (SJHA) Process  and Improvements

ESD Student Training Requirements

All ESD students are required to complete their training for all the tasks listed in their JHA.  The workleads and/or supervisors should not waive any of the required training for students.  

The ESD Director requires that all students working in ESD labs/offices are fully trained. PUB3000 allows the work lead to waive training; however, (a) the students do not have sufficient skills, knowledge, and ability in that subject area to enable them to perform the work safely and within compliance of all LBNL policies without fulfilling the training requirement; and (b) the work being performed by the students cannot be considered to be below the level of hazard that necessitate this institutional training requirements.

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ESD Summer Student Safety Reminder

• Know your safety contacts (your supervisor/work lead, your Department Head, ESD Director, ESD Safety Coordinator – Vivi Fissekidou x5610, vafissekidou@lbl.gov).
• If anything looks unsafe, STOP WORK and notify your co-workers and safety contacts.
• Locate and read the following Safety/Emergency information in your work area:
  • The red EMERGENCY RESPONSE GUIDE
  • ESD “Health & Safety at a Glance”
  • Posted maps for emergency exits and meeting areas (in hallways of all building)
  • Lab Safety Primer (in every lab)
  • Laboratory sign (on the lab door).
• You must work under direct supervision (line of sight) until you have completed required safety training, including:
  • EH&S classes indicated from your Job Hazard Analysis
  • on-the-job training for specific tasks
• Safety is an integral part of our work – Best in Science = Best in Safety!

Basic Safety Expectations for Students Working in the Lab

The following are minimum expectations for students working at ESD:

1. Conduct yourself in a responsible manner at all times in the laboratory. 
2. Be familiar with your lab assignment when you come to lab. 
3. Do not work outside the scope of your authorized work. 
4. Follow all written and verbal instructions carefully. If you do not understand a direction or part of a procedure you’re going to perform, ask your work lead before proceeding. 
5. Never work alone. No student may work in the laboratory without a work lead present in the lab.
6. Do not eat food, drink beverages, apply makeup or wear contact lenses in the laboratory. 
7. Do not use laboratory glassware as containers for food or beverages. 
8. Perform only those experiments authorized by your work lead. Never do anything in the laboratory that is not assigned to you by your work lead. 
9. Safety glasses, long pants and close-toed shoes are required to enter into the lab. No flipflops or sandals. 
10. Safety glasses, appropriate type of gloves and lab coats (if required by LLPI) must be worn whenever you are performing your experiments. 
11. Observe good housekeeping practices from other scientists in the lab. Work areas should be kept clean and tidy at all times.
12. Know the locations and operating procedures of all safety equipment in the lab which may include the eyewash station, safety shower, spill kit, and fire extinguisher.
13. Know where the fire alarm and the exits are located. 
14. Be alert and proceed with caution at all times in the laboratory. Notify your mentor immediately of any unsafe conditions you observe. 
15. Do NOT dispose of any chemical waste. Consult your work lead. 
16. Never requisition any hazardous waste. This is a responsibility of your work lead. 
17. Never discard any chemicals or chemical waste in sink drains. 
18. You must be trained by your work lead or authorized person to use any equipment in the lab before use. 
19.  Keep hands away from your face, eyes, mouth, and body while using chemicals. Wash your hands with soap and water after performing all experiments.
20. Report any accident (spill, breakage, etc.), near misses, or injury (cut, burn, etc.) to your work lead immediately, no matter how trivial it may appear.

We plan our work, identify hazards and take appropriate precautions, seek help, and look out for each other. 

Have a SAFE and PRODUCTIVE summer!

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Subcontractors, Vendors, and Guests Job Hazards Analysis and Work Authorization (SJHA) Process  and Improvements

LBNL is required by Federal Law to ensure that all Subcontractors, Vendors, and Guests who perform work at LBNL facilities do so in a safe manner in compliance with applicable regulations.  Each Division is responsible for ensuring that their Subcontractors, Vendors, and Guests perform work on-site in compliance with LBNL EH&S requirements of the Non-Construction Safety Assurance Program that is documented in PUB-3000 Chapter 31. (http://www.lbl.gov/ehs/pub3000/CH31.html ) 

The Subcontractors, Vendors, and Guests Job Hazards Analysis and Work Authorization (SJHA) (https://ehswprod.lbl.gov/sjha/login.aspx ) describes the hazards and controls associated with a particular hands on activity; it contains a work scope, a job hazard analysis checklist and a record of oversight for scope of work. It is the ESD Requestor’s responsibility to ensure that the SJHA documentation is properly completed and any required work authorizations and/or permits are obtained before the work begins.

Lab-wide SJHAs

A number of Subcontractors and Vendors are authorized to work at LBNL through a lab-wide SJHA.  To use the Lab-Wide SJHA, the ESD Requestor should:

• Log into the Online SJHA database: https://ehswprod.lbl.gov/sjha/login.aspx
• Obtain a copy of the Lab-Wide SJHA
• Confirm that the scope of work that you are requesting matches the scope of work on the Lab-Wide SJHA    
• Obtain any additional work authorizations, if required
• Carry out a brief pre-job meeting and make sure that the subcontractor signs the form if he/she has not already done so. [Lab-Wide SJHAs with new signatures should be sent to the Program Manager for Non-construction Safety Assurance (M. Ruggieri, X5440 MRRuggieri@lbl.gov)]
• Provide oversight commensurate with the hazard level of the scope of work.

EH&S SJHA Lean process

In an effort to streamline the SJHA process, the EH&S Division initiated a review and evaluation (lean process) of the SJHA. The EH&S Division surveyed SJHA Requesters and Division Safety Coordinators and as a result of the received feedback, the EH&S Division will enhance the SJHA process by:

• Developing enhanced online training for Requesters
• Revising the online SJHA form to make it easier to use.
• Modifying PUB-3000 Chapter 31 to reflect changes
• Providing increased EH&S support for Requesters;
• Increasing the number of lab-wide SJHAs; and
• Requesting periodic feedback by re-surveying Requesters and Division Safety Coordinators

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