safety newsletter january 2015

School of Engineering Safety Newsletter 1

School of Engineering Safety Newsletter

January 2015

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E

2 Accident Prevention – Slips, Trips and Falls

2 SPOTLIGHT on Standard Operating Procedures

3 Kettering Laboratory Evacuations

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New On-line Safety Training Now Available

Safety Calendar

Crossword Puzzle

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Message from the SoE Safety Coordinator As we celebrate the start of 2015, it is a great time to refocus our attention on safety. Over the past year, we have made great strides in continually improving our safety program and addressing safety incidents and concerns. I am currently working on a Lean Improvement team that is looking at health and safety programs across all academic and research programs at UD. The team has identified areas within the School of Engineering safety program that are considered best practices and are taking steps toward implementing these practices in other areas on campus. I appreciate your great effort and cooperation in making our safety program a success and a model for the entire university. Keep up the good work.

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SURVEY SAYS CEE and CME Safety Audits

Faculty, staff and students in the CEE and CME/MAT were asked a number of safety-related survey questions as part of their safety audits. Here are some highlights:

Reader Rewards A prize from the UD bookstore will be given to the first five faculty and staff members who successfully complete the crossword puzzle located on page 4 and send the answers to [email protected].

HINT: All of the words can be found in the articles of the newsletter.

of CME/MAT graduate and undergraduate students surveyed agreed that the Health and Safety program offered by the School of Engineering meets their needs.

of CEE undergraduate students surveyed agreed that health and safety policies and expectations in their engineering courses have been clearly explained to them by their instructors.


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Accident Prevention - Slips, Trips and Falls

As the weather turns cold and snowy, it is important to be aware of the conditions and take your time when

walking around campus. Second only to motor vehicle accidents, slips, trips and falls are the most frequent

accidents leading to personal injury (head and back injuries, broken bones, cuts and sprains). In fact, the

Bureau of State Risk Management has identified slips, trips and falls as one of the top five causes of workers'

compensation claims over the last six years.

A slip occurs when there is too little traction or friction between the shoe and walking surface and can result in a

loss of balance. A trip occurs when a person’s foot contacts an object in their way or drops to a lower level

unexpectedly, causing them to be thrown off-balance. A trip most often results in a person falling forward,

whereas, slips most often results in the person falling backward.

There are many situations that can cause slips, trips, and falls, such as wet or slippery surfaces (grease spots,

polished floors, loose flooring or carpeting, loose gravel), environmental conditions (ice and wet spots),

insufficient or inadequate lighting, changes in elevation (uneven walking surfaces, bumps, potholes, curbs),

climbing or descending stairs or ladders and poor housekeeping (clutter, electrical cords, open desk drawers

However, most of these incidents are preventable with general precautions and safety measures. The best way

to prevent injuries such as these is to be aware of where you are going and pay attention to your walking

surface. Report even a minor fall as it could prevent someone from experiencing a more serious injury down the

line. This article was originally posted on February 3, 2014 on UD’s Environmental Health and Safety/Risk

Managements website.

SPOTLIGHT: Standard Operating Procedures

Faculty, staff and students are required to have hazard-specific training, in addition to general safety training, that is tailored to the types of hazards associated with their work. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are good tools for communicating hazard-specific information.

The following SOP templates have been developed for the use of engineering faculty and staff:

• Compressed Gas

• Nanomaterials

• Biohazard

• Carcinogen, Acute Toxins, Reproductive Toxins

• Laser (under development)

SOP templates can be found on the Engineering Porches page under Safety or by contacting Stephanie McChesney at [email protected]


Kettering Laboratory Evacuations How to Safely Leave the Building When the Fire Alarms Sound When a fire alarm is triggered in Kettering Labs (and all buildings on campus) all faculty, staff and students are required to evacuate the building. Evacuation procedures are provided to all engineering students, faculty and staff during safety training. In general, it appears that most building occupants follow these procedures.

While evacuations are always mandatory, it is also important that we conduct them in a safe and orderly manner. Below are a few things that faculty and staff should keep in mind during an evacuation:

• If a fire alarm sounds during the middle of a class, you may allow your students to quickly gather their belongings before they leave the room. EXCEPTION: if you see or smell smoke, fire or gas, please instruct students to leave immediately and leave their belongings behind.

• Please instruct your students to exit the building using the closest stair well. Due to the large number of classrooms that are located on the north side of the building, the stairwell leading to the main building entrance gets very congested during an evacuation. If you are teaching in a classroom or lab that is located near the south or east stairwell, please make sure that your students take those stairs to evacuate the building. This will relieve some of the congestion in the north stairwell and will allow all occupants to leave the building more quickly.

• If you are working with a faculty/staff or students that cannot easily evacuate the building during an evacuation due to a permanent or short-term disability, please call Public Safety at 937-229-2121 and give them the location of that person so that they can come and assist them.

• If you have a student or student worker taking a test or working in a low-visibility area of the building, please be sure to check and make sure that student leaves the building during an evacuation. In the fall, a student taking an exam in a department office did not leave the building during an evacuation because the student was unclear on what to do.

Evacuation routes will be placed in engineering classrooms and laboratories this spring. Your cooperation in following these procedures and reviewing this information with your students is appreciated.

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LABORATORY INSPECTIONS February 20, 27 and March 6

ECE, MEE AND ET SAFETY AUDITS March 2nd through April 2nd

SC H O O L O F EN G I N E E R I N G SA F E T Y C A L E N D A R UNDERGRADUATE GENERAL SAFETY TRAINING TUESDAY, JANUARY 20TH AT 7:00 PM WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21ST AT 7:00 PM NEW GRADUATE STUDENT SAFETY TRAINING This training is currently available on-line for Graduate Students. Please contact [email protected] to gain access to the training on Isidore. New graduate students must complete this training before they are given key or key card access to laboratories or shops.

NEW FACULTY AND STAFF SAFETY ORIENTATION Please have new faculty and staff contact [email protected] to schedule a safety orientation.

STUDENT WORKER SAFETY TRAINING All non-engineering student workers must complete on-line safety training. Please send student name and ID # to [email protected] to enroll in training.

New On-Line Safety Training Now Available Engineering faculty, staff and students can now take the following safety training on-line:

• Biohazard Safety Training

• Laser Safety Training

Contact Stephanie McChesney at [email protected] to get access to these trainings on your Isidore site.

SoE Safety Newslette 5

safety newsletter january 2015

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