health & safety @ little france induction training …

HEALTH & SAFETY @ LITTLE FRANCEINDUCTION TRAINING

Welcome to an on-linehealth and safety training package intended for staff

and students working within UofE buildings on the Little

France campus.

Information contained within these pages is for use by University of Edinburgh staff and students only.

This on-line training package is not intended as a substitute for attending

a formal introductory presentation summarising health and safety

arrangements for the Little France site, which is mandatory for all staff.

Dates and venues for induction training are regularly advertised: please attend as soon as you can.


Last updated: September, 2016


Please take time to view the following material, and direct any urgent questions to your H&S Advisor,

Senior Laboratory Manager, or the Little France Buildings H&S

Manager (the contact details for whom are shown on the last page of

this presentation).

Thank you


Workers are as likely to have an accident in the first six months at a workplace as during the whole of the rest of their working life.

HSE, 2011


The extra risk at that time arises due to:• Lack of experience working in a

new workplace; • Lack of familiarity with the job

and the work environment; • Reluctance to raise concerns (or

not knowing how to); and • Eagerness to impress workmates

and managers.


This means workers new to a site: • May not recognise hazards as a

potential source of danger; • May not understand 'obvious' rules

for use of equipment; • May be unfamiliar with site layout,

especially where site hazards maychange from day to day; and

• May ignore warning signs and rules,or cut corners.


Let’s start off with a brief orientation to the Little France campus …


Old Dalkeith Road

Queen’s Medical Research Institute

Medical School & Chancellor’s

Building

RIE

Car Park B

NEdinburghBioquarter


Centre for Cardiovascular Sciences

Centre for Inflammation Research

Centre for Reproductive Health The Drum

Wellcome Auditorium

Queen’sMedicalResearchInstitute(QMRI)


Clinical Research Imaging Centre and core facilities

Containment Level 3-capable labs and plant rooms

Queen’sMedicalResearchInstitute(QMRI)


Lecture Theatres

Undergraduate Teaching

Medical Research Administration

Medical Library

Chancellor’s Building (Medical School) and Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic

Common Rooms

Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine


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Nine, Bioquarter


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Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh: Embedded Spaces


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EdinburghBioquarter


Plot 9

CDP

RHSC etc

IRR

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Little France is a constantly evolving campus, and is likely to remain so for many years. Construction activity and movement of heavy plant etc, throughout and all around the site, are potential hazards for pedestrians and other road users.


Take care at all times when walking, cycling or driving within or around the Little France campus.


Why Health & Safety?

“Accidents will occur in the best regulated families”


Charles Dickens (1812–1870), Mr. Micawber in David Copperfield

Context & Justification

Typically, something in the order of 35 million working days lost in the UK each year due to accidents and ill-health.


HSE

Typically something more than 350,000 reported serious injuries per year in the UK …… approximately one third of which are caused by slipping and tripping.


HSE

Approximately two million people annually suffer ill-health which they believe is work-related.


HSE

The number of convictions resulting from action by HSE in recent years amounts to approximately one thousand per annum, with an average penalty of £12,642 per case.


HSE

Having said all of that, we have a good track record for health and safety on this campus, and we aim to keep it that way.


But we will need your help to achieve this.

Health & Safety

It’s everybody’sbusiness!


And it’s a product of several factors …..



Legal

Moral Financial

Continuous Performance ImprovementHealth & Safety leading to ……………

• Mostly “good housekeeping”• Minimise potential for injury to:

◦ Yourself◦ Your co-workers

• Plus a duty of care for:◦ Cleaners◦ Contractors◦ Visitors etc


Why Health & Safety?

• There is an abundance of Acts,Regulations and Codes ofPractice, and more seems to beadded each year.

• Furthermore, it is UofE policyhttp://www.safety.ed.ac.uk/policy/

index.shtm• And we also need to minimise thepotential for civil litigation.



Section 2 of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 sets out a general duty for Employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees and, in particular:• Safe plant and systems of work;• Safe use, handling, transport and storage of

substances and articles;• Provision of information, instruction, training andsupervision;

• Safe place of work, access and egress; and• Safe working environment and adequate welfare

facilities.


But the same Act also sets out the general duties of all Employees at work:

• Section 7(a): To take care for health and safety of themselves and others who may be affected by acts or omissions.

• Section 7(b): To co-operate with employer so as toenable compliance with statutory requirements.

• Section 8: No person to intentionally or recklesslyinterfere with or misuse anything provided in theinterests of health, safety or welfare.


Basically, this means:

• Complying with safety rules.• Obeying safety notices.• Following instructions from

Supervisors etc.• Attending training.• Informing Safety Advisor of hazards.• Contributing to risk assessments.• Practising “good housekeeping”.

Top-Down Endorsement

“Study the policy now –It is too late once anaccident or ill healthhas occurred.”

Professor Sir Timothy O’SheaPrincipal of The University


“No one who works in the University has a right to endanger others … staff, students or visitors.”


Professor Sir John Savill, Head of CM&VMProfessor Hillary Critchley, Dean of Clinical SciencesProfessor Mike Shipston, Dean of Biomedical SciencesProfessor Sarah Cunningham-Burley, Dean of MG&PHSProfessor David Argyle, Head of R(D)SVS

The Little France H&S Model• Building on tried and tested

structures and systems.• Validated by audit (UofE-led

internal safety audits, and alsoexternally by HSE, SEPA andUofE’s insurance advisers etc).

• Compatible with NHS Lothian,MRC et al.


• Kept under constant review.• Adaptable to changingcircumstances.

• Always open to suggestionsfor improvement.


A “living” model


• Robust• Endorsed• Enforced

The Little France Safety Manual

• Fire procedures (including arrangements for people with mobility impairments)

• General safety rules• General laboratory safety

precautions• Waste disposal


Inform your Supervisor beforehand, and log in with Buildings Security (and log out before leaving) on each and every occasion that you work late (including visits to the Medical Library).


• Late working arrangements apply After 18:00 Before 07:00 Anytime at weekends Public and UofE holidays

• Risk Assessment• Supervision• Cleaning of laboratories• Manual handling operations• Display screen equipment

safety• Arrangements for contractors

and visitors


• Security cards and keys*• Library and auditoria• Arrangements for large-scale events

• Stores and deliveries• Building facilities• Smoking policy


* To contact Security, phone: 0131242 9289/9290 (QMRI) or 650 2257 (UofE)

Special Safety Precautions• Chemicals, including cryogens.• Biological material, including pathogens and genetically-modified organisms.

• Ionising and non-ionisingradiation.

• Other risks as they emerge and/or are identified.


Local RulesEach laboratory group must also prepare and maintain written arrangements, specific to their own work programme and unique laboratory situation, but which are fully compatible with the overarching Health and Safety arrangements for Little France.


On discovering fire …

Use fire alarm call-points to activate fire alarms and initiate an evacuation, but also Call-Out to people in the vicinity, impressing upon them that they really are at risk.


Raise the alarm!Automatic sensors (very widely distributed within these buildings) will quickly detect smoke and fire, make alarms sound and alert the Fire & Rescue Service. But you may spot a fire even before the sensors are activated ...

Activate a Fire Alarm Call PointPress lightly against the front of the red touch fire alarm call point (onto the black spot between the two black arrows), and that’ll activate the sounders.


A Fire Action Notice is located alongside each call-point, summarising what to do in the event of fire.

Emergency Door Releases

It may be necessary to open some security doors before proceeding along a fire escape route. Do so by using the emergency door release panels located alongside those doors, but most magnetically secured doors in these buildings will release automatically when the alarms sound.



The following arrangements apply equally to all buildings on the Little France campus (the Chancellor’s

Building, Queen’s Medical Research Institute, Scottish Centre for Regenerative

Medicine, Centre for dementia Prevention, and Royal Infirmary of

Edinburgh).

So, regardless of where you are when you first hear fire alarms, this

is what you should do …

Be aware of the two different alarm sounds that may be heard:

• Continuous sound (~~~~~~~)• Intermittent sound (- - - - - - )and the quite different reactions that are expected of you upon hearing each of these.

Fire Alarm Sounds


Note, however, that the signal for SCRM and CDP is a voice message broadcast over loudspeakers.

People hearing a continuously sounding alarm (~~~~~~~~)should …

Continuous Alarm


Evacuate immediately!


And stay out!Get out …Get up …

So, when the alarms begin to sound continuously ….

People hearing an intermittently sounding alarm (- - - - - - - ) are being alerted to the possibility that there is a fire in another part of the building, but the area in which they are hearing an intermittent alarm is not at immediate risk and people there do not need to evacuate immediately.

Intermittent Alarm


• Update the emergency services by dialling ‘2222’ from any

extension at a safe location; and• Report your name, theaddress of the building, and theprecise location and nature of the emergency.


After raising the alarm …

• Proceed to the NEAREST escaperoute (closing doors behind you).

• Follow white-on-green “runningman” signs to the NEAREST exit.

• Proceed to an EvacuationAssembly Point.

• Don’t re-enter the building until you are told that it’s safe to do so.

And then …


• Look for white-on-green “runningman” signs, which point out thebest route to the exit closest towhere you are standing at the time(wherever you are in the buildings)when alarms start to sound.

• Proceed in the direction indicatedby the arrow towards the nearest exit.

Yes, but where is my Escape Route?



• If so, simply turn around, proceedaway from the obstruction, and lookfor signs pointing to the nearestalternative exit.

• Proceed in the direction indicatedby the white arrows towards thenearest alternative exit.

What if the route is obstructed?• Yes, that’s possible … and it might

even be fire that’s obstructing yoursafe exit.

• Ultimately, the white-on-green “running man” signs are pointingyou towards the Fire Exit closest towhere you are standing at the time(wherever you are in the building).

• The final exit will be signed like this (see left) which, you will note,has no white arrow.

Where is the nearest Fire Exit?


• Simply push the bar (or operate analternative door release mechanism) and proceed through the open doors to a safelocation away from the building.

• Fire escape routes and fire doorsmust be kept free fromobstructions, and are surveyedregularly by Fire Wardens.

And what do I do when I reach it?


• Proceed directly to the correct Evacuation Assembly Point foryour building.

• Don’t re-enter the building untilyou are told that it’s safe to do soby fire-fighters (though beprepared for that to take sometime).

And then … ?


• For the Chancellor’s Building, it’s at the corner of the building’s car park (to the rear of the building) farthest away from the building, alongside the Simpson’s Maternity Hospital.

• For the QMRI, it’s in front of the Chancellor’s Building common room windows.

• For CRIC, it’s into the QMRI Car Park to the west of the building.

• For SCRM, it’s onto the path leading west towards the Old Dalkeith Road.

• For CDP, it’s alongside Building 9, clear of the car parking area and attending fire appliances.

Where are the Evacuation Assembly Points?



EAP for QMRI

EAP for CBEAP for

CRIC


EAP for SCRM


EAP for CDP

CDP

Building 9

• A plan will be tailored to theindividual needs of each person.

• Fire steward’s may have special responsibilities.

• Special communications exist.• Safe areas (Refuges) exist.• Consider other handicaps (e.g.

visual and hearing disabilities).

Special arrangements for people with (e.g.) mobility impairments


But this means that we will need you to tell us if you have any special requirements (or if you know of anyone who does, including visitors to the building). We will treat all such information with respect to the individual’s medical confidentiality.


Fire-fightingThere are fire extinguishers all around the building … Should I grab one and try putting out the fire?


The correct first action is not to reach for a fire extinguisher … Itis to raise the alarm!Otherwise time spent tackling a fire, and quite possibly failing to bring it under control, will be time that has been wasted by failing to evacuate people to safety.


After raising the alarm and ensuring that the evacuation has begun, maybe you can begin to think about fire-fighting, but …


ALWAYS: • Confirm that the alarm has first been

raised and ensure that people arebeginning to evacuate.

• Know the proper use and limitationson use of each type of extinguisher (it’s possible to make a bad situationa whole lot worse – for yourself aswell as others - by using the wrongtype of extinguisher).


BUT NEVER EVER take personal risks or attempt or continue to fight a fire: • If your escape route might be cut off

by fire or smoke; or• If the fire continues to grow in spite of

your efforts; or• If there are gas cylinders or other

flammable or explosive items nearby.


If you’re not entirely confident on any of these points … DO NOT (never ever) attempt to tackle the fire.


Your life, and that of others, is infinitely more important than any building or property!


All the information that you need to know about each type of fire extinguisher is written onto the extinguisher itself (and sometimes also displayedon the wall where it is mounted), but the time to

learn about this stuff for the first time is not when a fire has broken out. If you don’t already know,

don’t take a risk … Get up, get out, and stay out.

Alarms are tested as follows:• Chancellor’s Building – Every

Friday at 10:00• QMRI – Every Wednesday at

11:00• SCRM – Every Friday at 10:00• CDP – TBC

Fire Alarm Tests


Be alert to sudden noise and automatically closing doors.

Make it your most urgent priority to:

• Familiarise yourself with thelocation of Fire Alarm Call Points,particularly in all of the areas whereyou will be working most often.


• Read a Fire Action Notice.• Know the location of Fire Escape

Routes and Fire Exits fromthe areas where you work.


Read and reread the Fire Action Notice fairly regularly, so that you have a sound knowledge of the arrangements, and your response to fire will always be immediate, correct and actually quite intuitive.


• There are numbers of trained first aiders within thesebuildings, and also manyfirst aid boxes.

• Serious injuries should always be referred to A&E in the Infirmary.

First Aid


If an ambulance is needed, dial (9)999 from any extension at a safe location, not 2222, but also send someone to Reception to help direct attending paramedics to the casualty.


2222 is reserved for sending update messages to the Fire & Rescue Service.For first aid emergencies, or if someone collapses inside a liquid nitrogen plant room when it is suspected that oxygen levels have dangerously depleted, the correct number to dial is (9)999.


Report all accidents and incidents, and also all near-miss occurrences, using the on-line form available at:http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/health-safety/accident-reporting/reporting-form/form


• Report occurrences also to your Supervisor/Manager

(even if no actual injury wascaused).

• They will investigate and takeaction, aiming to help preventthe same thing happening tosomeone else, perhaps with even greater consequences..


Report buildings-related faults too (e.g. loose carpets, blown light bulbs, leaky taps etc) to buildings management through your line manager.


H&S Organisation for LFHealth and safety for people working within or visiting University buildings on the Little France campus is directed, led and managed by an organisation of people with various different roles, and a range of committees covering different aspects …..


Head of School

Head ofManagement Unit

SeniorLaboratoryManager

School and Area

Safety Advisors

Little France Buildings

Health & Safety Committees

Principal Investigators

Line management

Advisory

All co-ordinated by College Health & Safety Manager

Area andLaboratory

Safety Advisors


LB Buildings H&S Committee

Floor-levelH&S Committees

Lab ModuleH&S

Committees

SpecialRemit

Committees

Little France Buildings

Health & Safety Committees

Area andLaboratory

Safety Advisors


You’ll have noticed that the Area or Laboratory Safety Advisor is a critically important contact for you.But the wider University also contributes specialist expertise in several very specific areas …..


Occupational Health

Unit

UofEH&S

Radiation Protection

Unit

BiosafetyUnit

Occupational Hygiene

Unit

Fire SafetyUnit

Training & AuditUnit


Occupational Health are happy to advise, regarding …

• Immunisations and vaccinations (e.g. HBV).

• New and expectant mothers.• Work-related illnesses.• Etc. But they need us to tell them if their

advice is required!

But, most importantly, each and every member of staff, student and visitor has a role ...


1. To help safeguard your own health and safety, and that of others for whom you have a duty of care.

2. But also to draw to the attention of managers any dangers and defects that you may see or hear about.



Counselling, Welfare, Dignity and Respect

• http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/human-resources/about/staff-

counselling • DRAs: Heather Anderson (CB) and Chris McKinnell

(QMRI)


Observe and comply with all safety signage and safety-related information packages which, within University buildings on the Little France campus, may take several forms ….

Signage and Information

• Fire and first aid notices• Door notices• H&S notice-boards• Safety bulletins• Safety web site• Temporary signs



Blue signs indicate that something is compulsory.Failure to comply not only may put you at risk, but means that you may be breaking the law.


Red signs draw attention to a prohibition and/or relate to fire safety.


Yellow signs indicatewarnings.Failure to take notice not only may put you at risk, but you could be breaking the law if you fail to take the necessary precautions.


Green signs draw attention tosafety guidance including that related to include fire safety and the location of first aid equipment.

• If it’s provided, use it;• If it’s needed, get it;• If it’s broken, report it and

replace it;• Keep it handy; and• Keep it well maintained.


Personal Protective Equipment

• Lab coats.• Gloves (e.g. nitrile).• Goggles/safety glasses.• Full-face shields.• Respiratory protection.


This includes:

• You must not wear labcoats (or lab gloves) outside of the lab (includingoffices, rest areas etc).


• You must wear lab coatsin the lab.

1. Look for hazards;2. Decide who might be harmed,

and how;3. Evaluate the risks:

• Can the risk be reduced, oreven eliminated entirely?

• How best can any remaining riskbe controlled?


Five steps to Risk Assessment

4. Record your findings; and5. Review at an agreed frequency

(e.g. annually), and revise asnecessary.


That’s all that there is to risk assessment … Easy, isn’t it!


But risk assessment is applied to very many aspects of what we do here within University buildings on the Little France campus ….


• COSHH assessments must be done.• Consider less hazardous

alternatives.• Obtain safety data sheets.• Assess risks associated with

storage, use and disposal.• Use control measures as required.• Plan in advance for accidents.

Chemicals and Biological (COSHH)

Radiation


• Justify each use.• Optimise design (ALARA).• Work within dose limits .• Plan for accidents.• Defer to your RadiationProtection Supervisor.

Biological


• Do risk assessments.• Special aspects for GMOs.• Know about ContainmentLaboratory rules

• Know about safety cabinets.• Know about rules for transportof biological materials.


A whole range of risk assessment pro formae are available from the University’s central health and safety web site ….


• General Risk Assessment - Form RA1 and Notes for Guidance• COSHH: Hazardous Substances RA and notes• COSHH: Biological Agents - Form BA1 and notes for guidance

• Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002(DSEAR): Form and Notes for Guidance

• Fieldwork Assessment: Form FA1 and Notes for Guidance

• Lone Working Risk Assessment Form and Notes for Guidance

• Manual Handling Operations Form

• New and Expectant Mothers Model Risk Assessment Form and Notesfor Guidance

• Radiation generic risk assessments

• GM forms


The forms tend to look something like this ….


… and, used properly, they are a means not only of ensuring that our statutory obligations are met, and that we are all using safe systems of work (the end product of a competent risk assessment), but also help guide laboratory workers towards good experimental design.


http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/health-

safety/training/e-learning/cardinus/wsp

Cardinus On-line Training and Risk Assessment

• You will be required to enter your surname and UofE staff number.

• Students should address the student ergonomics course.

Waste Management


It’s critically important that we manage all waste streams correctly, so it’s very important indeed that you make yourself familiar, as quickly as possible, with our policies and procedures. So please find out about …..


• Waste disposal policies*• Designated disposal rooms.• Radioactive and clinical waste.• Penalties for non-compliance.• Health & Safety implications.• Cost of waste management.• Potential for recycling.

* See Section 18 (Waste Disposal) of the site’s Safety Manual


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If in doubt, don’t take a chance and risk getting it wrong … Ask!

Security*


If in doubt at any time regarding any aspect of personal or corporate security, please do not hesitate to contact the on-site Security team (which has a 24/7 presence) – Phone ext. 29289/90.* See Section 20 (Security) of the site’s

Safety Manual

Sustainability


• Take a personal interest in energy (and cost) savings

• Individual initiatives taken across the whole campus willtranslate into very significant cost-savings

• Champion energy savings within your own offices and laboratories

Training and Awareness


• Study the site’s Safety Manual:http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/medicine-vet-

medicine/staff-students/staff/health-and-safety

• Consult the UofE safety Intranet:http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/health-safety

• Read the site’s Safety Bulletin andperuse notice-boards.

• Ask your H&S Advisor.


Some safety training is offered and delivered in the form of classroom sessions, including ….

H&S Training @ Little France*


• Induction training (labs, offices andsupport staff)

• Accident investigation• Audits and safety inspections• Contingency planning• COSHH (substances hazardous to health)• Display screen equipment safety• Fire safety (including Fire Wardens etc)• Late and lone working• Liquid nitrogen and compressed gas safety* Events held regularly or upon request


Some is offered in the form of web-delivered, self-paced, self-taught material ….


e-Training*• Induction training • Fire safety • Mobility impairment• Risk assessment• Autoclaves• Safety cabinets• Safety in offices• Road risk• Compressed gas

cylinder safety • Incubators* http://www.mvm.ed.ac.uk/LittleFrance/trgpres.htm

• H&S law• Pipetting safely • Sharps injuries • Spill management • Ethidium bromide• Cleaning labs• Centrifuges• Fume hoods• Infection control• Skin protection• Slips and trips


And, finally, please become familiar with the safety web site for University Buildings on the Little France campus (and preferably bookmark it on your web browser) ….

Safety Web Site


http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/medicine-vet-medicine/staff-students/staff/health-and-safety

Where’s it at?


What does it look like?


If you click here …


If you scroll to here …


And please register your email address with the Building Secretaries so that you may receive copies of the site’s Safety Bulletins, although these are also available to review on the web site.


It’s worth emphasising that none of the arrangements described in this presentation absolve any of us from the need to exercise personal responsibility and common sense.

And finally …

You have now completed this on-line training package summarising

key aspects of health and safety arrangements for the Little France

site. Please attend a formal induction training presentation as soon as you can; dates and venues

will be advertised.


Thank you

If you can conceive of any ways in which this training package might be improved, please do not hesitate

to direct your comments to the author, the contact details for

whom are indicated on the final page of this presentation.


This document is uncontrolled when in hard-copy or stored in any format other than on the College of Medicine and Veterinary

Medicine's web site for Little France.

Lindsay MurrayHealth & Safety Manager,The University of Edinburgh,College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine(Chancellor’s Building, Medical School and Queen’s Medical Research Institute, SCRM and CDP), Little France


Room SU225, Chancellor’s BuildingExt: [email protected]

health & safety @ little france induction training …

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