Mechanics and Materials Labs Safety Information & Forms
Download Forms
These downloads can either be printed out and completed by hand,
or modified
in Microsoft Word.
Introduction
This document presents a summary of key safety issues. Please
refer to
the
CUED Safety Office
web page, and in particular the
Safety
Policy
document , for further details. This policy document describes in
detail the various responsibilities of everyone to maintain a safe
environment. If you have any concerns or want help, please don't
hesitate to contact your supervisor (where appropriate), or the Local
Officer Responsible for Safety (LORS):
A few items from the safety policy are highlighted below.
Risk Assessments
Risk assessments are needed for all experimental activities,
including undergraduate labs, 4th year projects and for research
projects. If you are taking over someone else's activity, then you
should review their risk assessment, modify it as necessary, and sign
it. As well as a legal requirement, the
idea of this activity, to my mind, is to ensure that 'the brain is in
gear'
both in designing an experiment and in its execution. Although it may
seem
like a chore, I am sure that you will recognise that this extra
paperwork is an excellent way of ensuring that we all maintain a safe
working environment in the labs. Please don't hesitate to contact
the relevant LORS or the Safety Office for advice. Indeed the
risk assessment is an ideal way of helping you identify where advice
should be sought! Further helpful guidance, though applicable to
physical chemistry, is available at
//physchem.ox.ac.uk/~hmc/safety/riskassessmentoverview.html .
Once completed the forms should be sent to Ian Slack in the
Safety Office, copied to the relevant LORS. We may have further
comments or
suggestions of ways to avoid hazards that you have identified, and the
final iteration should be signed off by yourself, your supervisor
(where appropriate) and the LORS. These forms will be stored in a
folder in the
relevant lab, which can be consulted to get an idea of what is
required. Some
template forms are included in the folder
(e.g. heat treatment). Where significant modifications are needed to an
experiment,
the form should be updated.
Chemicals
The dangers associated with chemicals may not always be obvious.
For this reason where you are using chemicals you always need to attach
a
COSHH form and Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) to the risk assessment
to check
that any potential problems will have been identified. Before
completing your risk assessment you should obtain the relevant MSDS
from the material supplier. Use this to outline on the COSHH form how
you
will be using the chemicals to avoid hazards. This MSDS should be sent
automatically with
chemicals that you have bought or they can be found by a web search.
Oxford University have a web site giving examples of
chemicals needing COSHH forms,
//ptcl.chem.ox.ac.uk/~hmc/safety/whatneedscoshh.html , and data
sheets to indicate problems
//physchem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/ and to help interpret these sheets
//ptcl.chem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/interpretingmsds.html.
Storage of flammables (e.g. solvents) which should be left in special
containers and not be left out overnight.
Lasers
Out-of-Hours Working
The hazards of working alone with potentially dangerous equipment
are obvious. During working hours special arrangements may need to be
made to ensure that a minor accident does not become serious.
Out-of-hours working should not be undertaken without written
permission, and then only when safeguards are made. Although it is
tempting to 'take a risk', please don't! Where
potentially hazardous equipment is left on overnight a contact sheet
should
be completed. See the policy document for further details
//www.eng.cam.ac.uk/safety/appendices2.shtml#appendixM .
| CUED Safety Office
| MMD | CUED | University |
Michael Sutcliffe , David Cole
April 2009