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Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2008 13:06:59 -0500
Reply-To: List Moderator <ecgrants**At_Symbol_Here**UVM.EDU>
Sender: DCHAS-L Discussion List <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU>
From: List Moderator <ecgrants**At_Symbol_Here**UVM.EDU>
Subject: 4 RE: [DCHAS-L] FW: Measuring chemical safety program
effectiveness
From: "Hadden, Susan [PRDUS]"
Date: December 11, 2008 9:01:39 AM EST (CA)
Subject: RE: [DCHAS-L] FW: Measuring chemical safety program
effectiveness
I feel that lab inspections do provide a measure of the safety
culture. How the occupants maintain their lab is a good indicator of
their safe behavior.
Think about the labs you inspect. Are the folks in the neat, well run
labs more inclined to be safety concious and follow the rules or the
ones in the sloppy, poorly maintained labs?
Look at your lab inspection questions. They tend to ask about things
that require a person to perform or maintain (is the hood closed, is
there evidence of spills, are waste cans appropriately labeled).
Performance is behavior.
Those who tend to be sloppy and disorganized with their work space are
usually sloppy and disorganized in their work habits.
From years of experience, I know that a well maintained lab usually
has a better safety culture than labs that are not.
==
From: ILPI
Date: December 11, 2008 9:23:35 AM EST (CA)
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] FW: Measuring chemical safety program
effectiveness
A program is effective if it promotes a culture of safety. As Kim
describes below, if safety is an integral part of everything that you
do in the laboratory, then you have an effective program.
That kind of success requires effective leadership. In an academic
setting the front line of that means a faculty member who promotes the
safety ethic. As we are all too painfully aware, we know there are
some professors who do not Get It when it comes to safety culture.
That's where the second front of leadership from the department chair,
safety committee, and/or EHS department comes in. A big part of
making that second part work is to establish that EHS leaders are
working *with* faculty to help them be more effective rather than
being a bureaucratic gadfly.
Of course, a good measure of how your program is to make *informal*
visits to some random laboratories and see what's going on. Are cords
dangling, are hoods cluttered, is safety equipment blocked, that sort
of thing. And if you see there is room for improvement, you can do
things like give folks self-inspection checklists/templates, or sign
them up for email or iCal reminders to do a self-inspection etc.
etc. Non-adversarial, proactive prodding can go a long way.
Rob Toreki
==
From: soyke.eg**At_Symbol_Here**pg.com
Subject: RE: [DCHAS-L] FW: Measuring chemical safety program
effectiveness
Date: December 11, 2008 9:36:36 AM EST (CA)
Using a Behavior Observation system works the best. Create a critical
behavior check list, train observers on correct behavior and
appropriate feedback to correct unsafe behaviors, setup observation
schedule, conduct observations and tabulate data. May need to do re-
training or revisit your current safety policies if you find that your
safe behavior percentage is lower than 95%.
==
From: Carolyn Sampson
Date: December 11, 2008 9:41:02 AM EST (CA)
Subject: RE: [DCHAS-L] FW: Measuring chemical safety program
effectiveness
About culture change -- I think you have really achieved safety when a
chemist chooses to miss a critical deadline (which might harm their
career) or decides not to do something (which might advance their
career) because they do not believe it can be done safely. When
safety trumps career or funding -- wow!
Carolyn Sampson
General Mills
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