BME Grad Student

Seminar

November 6, 2014
Amy Haberman &
(COE Director of Lab Safety)
So, what are our problems?

?
How are we operating?
SAFE SCIENCE!

Safety Science
Think about it…
 How many have been told to “not be stupid” and
accidents won’t happen?!

 Safety is a mindset, not a skill set…

 Learning to do a job safely is a skill –however, the mindset
to want to learn the safest way to do an task is intrinsic

 How do we change our mindset?

3 E’s of Engineering Safety

Ensure Compliance
Evaluate & Control Hazards
Enhance Safety Culture
Natural Hazard Analysis

 What could go wrong?

 How do I stop it?
 How do I protect myself?
 What if something happens,
how will I respond or
minimize the effects?
A hazard is any source of potential damage, harm or adverse
health effects on something or someone under certain
conditions at work.
(Formal)Job Hazard Analysis

 A step-by-step documented review of a job or

process to identify the hazards and determine
ways to control exposure to the hazard.
 Different than an SOP for a chemical

In our recent Safety culture Survey – only 25% of

respondents said they conduct a documented hazard
analysis before doing an experiment.
Advantages of a FORMAL hazard
analysis
 Documented
 Standardized
 Structured/Systematic
Before the JHA: need an understanding
of hazards which are present in the lab

 Pathways: n t–
here
e i n w h en
 Equipment ds ar elves o d to
r s o
e haza nt them o it’s g
 Utilities t : som rese n g .S
Hin only p oes wr o
 Energy e
som thing g ?”
e if
 Environment som What
“
ask
 Material
 Human Factors
Potential Hazards
 Equipment  Utilities/Energy
 Design  Power failure
 Defective  Automatic restart feature
 Malfunction  Shutdown process
 Inadequate guards/barrier
 Pressure
 Improper position for task
 Temperature
 Material/chemicals
 Too much material/too little material
 Environment
 Inadequate warning systems
 Incorrect material used
 Material used in improper way  Inadequate lighting
 Properties of material:  Inadequate ventilation
 Toxic, irritant, corrosive, flammable,  Poor housekeeping
radioactive, infectious, etc…
Potential Hazards cont’d
System Failures
Lack of hazard assessment
Lack of adequate controls for
identified hazards
Lack of SOP
Inconsistent enforcement of
rules or no enforcement at all
Inadequate training
Lack of training
Human Factors
Improper use of equipment?
Difficult job task
Rushing/frustration
Personal issues/distractions
Inattention
Preexisting injury
Lack of following SOP
Improper PPE
Ergonomic concern
How do we stop the hazards from
harming us? (Hazard control)
 Elimination or Substitution
 Engineering: fume hoods, biosafety cabinet,
guards, interlocks, programming
 Administrative: training, protocols, rules,
methods, and performing hazard analysis
 PPE: things people wear (safety glasses, gloves,
lab coats, etc…)
Effectiveness of Controls

Eliminate or Substitute E
F
F
E
Engineering Controls C
T
I
Administrative V
Controls E
N
PP E
E S
S
Job Hazard Analysis Process

 Break task/experiment down into steps

 Identify the hazards associated with each step
 Identify controls to be used for each step
 Identify any additional precautions to be taken

Using this process will tell you how to do the

science SAFELY!
When things go wrong
 A lot of incident investigations will point back to a lack
of hazard identification and control at the beginning.
 Let’s look at a few of the examples from the beginning:
 Texas Tech: lack of hazard assessment for change in
procedure – scale up
 UCLA – improper equipment (plunger), should have been
done in inert environment, improper PPE
 What would a JSA for these procedures look like?
 Using the Template
 GATORS CHOMP THE HAZARDS!
G – Gauge your surroundings for hazards
 A – Analyze what could go wrong
 T – Think about how to control the hazards
 O – Organize your experiment for safety
 R –Reduce or remove risks
 S – STOP if you can’t make it safe!
Call to Action!
 For every JHA formatted protocol submitted you’ll be entered into a
drawing to win pizza for your whole lab.
 Entries subject to review and may be dismissed if poor effort is made
 Resources for both can be found online: https://www.eng.ufl.edu/labsafety/resources/
 Submit it to ahaberman@eng.ufl.edu
 Deadline 12/6/14
 SOP template design
 Submit your template designs for a BETTER, more user-friendly SOP template
to be used by ALL of COE.
 What’s in it for you?
 Embroidered lab coat
 Fame and recognition! 
 Can you come up with better words for the GATORS CHOMP HAZARDS
acronym? Let me know!