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Every member of the Department receives a written copy of this policy.
For the time being, your immediate superior in respect of your employment
or studentship with the University is YOUR SUPERVISOR (for visitors, your
host), and, in the first instance, you should refer any queries on health
and safety to this person. In their absence then THEIR DEPUTY will deputise.
Policy Aims;
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The Departmental policy aim is to implement, as a minimum standard,
the University Safety Policy in areas under the control of the Department.
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The Department will make available resources of both time and money,
so far as is reasonably practicable, so that the University Safety
Policy can be implemented.
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It will also arrange for training and instruction in safety matters
so that safe "systems of work" (i.e. the way in which the
work is organised) can be developed and maintained.
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The Department recognises that good health and safety practices
are an important part of the laboratory training of students.
Policy Objectives;
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To have a Safety Team, comprising representative members
of the Department, meeting at least 3 times a year (in May, September
and December) to discuss, and action, safety-related issues (including
training needs) and publishing notes of its meetings.
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To appoint a Department Safety Co-ordinator (DSC), (currently
Peter Jewell).
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The DSC to provide every member of the Department with a copy of
the safety policy.
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The DSC to provide mandatory basic health and safety induction
training for all new staff and postgraduate students, and to arrange
safety-related supplementary training and information where a need
has been identified. These are publicised via emails.
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To appoint a DSE (display screen equipment) co-ordinator (currently
Mrs Charlotte Studzinska) who will ask new members to assess their
computer workstation, will maintain workstation assessment records
and action remedial work to provide minimum workstation standards.
Every year the DSC will ask all departmental members (except undergraduate
students) to notify any significant changes to their computer workstations.
In areas under the control of the Department;
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The DSC to arrange safety inspections at least three times
a year, to record findings and set a time scale for remedying defects.
The Head of Department will attend part of each inspection. On at
least one such inspection every year a member of staff from another
Department within the University will accompany Department members.
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Supervisors (academic, technical and administrative) to ensure
that suitable and sufficient assessments are made of the risks
of all work activities involving hazards, that significant findings
of the assessments are written down, that the assessments are reviewed
at least once a year and that individual workers' competence to perform
the assessed activities safely are agreed and documented.
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Supervisors to ensure that undergraduate student practical
schedules include inherent risk assessments and that safe working
practices are incorporated in them.
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The DSC to ensure that arrangements are in place for regular
(at least annual) servicing and maintenance of safety related equipment
(such as autoclaves, fume cupboards and biological safety cabinets).
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The DSC to ensure that regular checks (3 times a year) are
made on safety-related equipment (the operation of emergency telephones,
the presence of relevant fire-fighting equipment and the checking
of emergency escape routes). The contents of first-aid boxes
are checked by Jackie Rawlings at least once every 3 months. The DSC
to update lists of first-aiders for display on FA boxes and
noticeboard. Mick Hurst to ensure that basic performance checks
on local exhaust ventilation equipment (such as fume cupboards)
and other hazard containment engineering controls, are made every
6 months (April and October). Emergency showers are checked
weekly by Gordon Mutch (in research labs) and Felicity Veazey (teaching
labs).
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The DSC to ensure that a fire drill is conducted once a year.
Scope. The policy encompasses;
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the work-related health, safety and welfare of all members of the
Department, including visitors, members on field trips and (to some
extent) undergraduate students on placement
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the physical environment under the control of the Department (laboratories
and offices in Building 4 South and associated facilities such as
glasshouses, insectaries, aquaria and workshop)
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the protection of anyone else whose health or safety could be affected
as a consequence of work activities or the physical environment under
the control of the Department.
A formal review of this Safety Policy will be carried out in May 2007.
Signed by Professor Jonathan Slack, Head of Department of Biology
and Biochemistry, 1st June 2005.
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