Biology Safety Management System

More Accessible Viewing	\| Bio Safety Home \| Uni Search \| Uni News \| Uni A-Z Index \| Bio Contacts


	"Our system" of managing health and safety
		Search bio safety: Help

Safety home page

Our system of managing safety

New lab workers are invited to use this checklist to prompt them (and their supervisors) about what they should be doing to comply with our system.

Project students can download the notes and proforma to enable them to complete the risk assessment for their project work.

The idea of being hurt by what we do in this Department is not appealing, but in the UK an estimated 2.3 million people suffer from ill-health caused, or made worse, by work. In addition, around 250 people lose their lives and about 158,000 non-fatal major injuries are reported every year.
Don't imagine that such incidents happen only in highly unusual or exceptional circumstances - they don't. Almost every incident could easily have been prevented by a little basic thinking or some small action beforehand.
In a nutshell "health and safety" is about preventing injuries and harm to our health caused by work or the workplace. Managing health and safety requires some commitment and financial cost. Badly managed the situation is far worse - the human cost of injuries and ill-health, not to mention low morale and the consequences of disrupted work.

Controlling dangers at work is no different from tackling any other task - recognising the problem, knowing what to do about it, deciding what to do and putting the solution into practice.
The law requires us to have health and safety policies and risk assessments, but they do have a practical purpose.
If you would like to know the legal basis for us asking you to do things in the name of "health and safety" then refer to the "Legal requirements" link.

"Safe systems of work" are crucial to prevent adverse incidents and should fully identify the hazards, safety precautions and safe working practices performed by departmental members.
To develop such safe work systems it is necessary to provide;

safe design, installation and maintenance of plant, equipment, machinery and premises
safe use of all equipment through proper training and instruction and adequate and competent supervision
health and safety information
a safe working environment (ventilation, temperature and lighting)
enforcement of the safety policy and associated rules and
regular reviews of the systems

The safety documents (both paper- and web-based) produced by the Department are important. Under health and safety Regulations we have a duty to inform and instruct our members (staff, visitors and students). Departmental members also have a responsibility to co-operate with arrangements made to comply with such regulations. Please read these pages and follow the guidance they contain. We have attempted to keep the bureaucracy to a minimum.

Safety policies. We must have a written, up to date, health and safety policy. The University and departmental policies can be viewed from the "Safety policies" link.
The Departmental safety policy outlines the way we organise ourselves to manage health and safety issues which are under the Department’s control. Every member of the Department receives a paper copy. Undergraduate students receive a simpler version via their personal tutor.

Risk assessments. Every aspect of life involves risk. In order to minimise risk in work situations the Department must assess the risks to people who could be affected by the work performed in the Department. We must also inform Departmental members of the results of the assessments, which include the measures deemed necessary to minimise the risks. This is because we must provide a safe place of work and safe 'systems of work', i.e. the way we organise the work. Not only is this a basic legal requirement but our moral responsibility to train people in safe practice is undeniable.
Our "Risk assessments" pages contain all our generic assessments and details of the special assessments we use as well as how to compile new assessments.

University of Bath | Department of Biology & Biochemistry | Useful Bio Links

"Our system" of managing health and safety