Improving workplace health & safety through collaboration
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When you are working in a lab safety must always be your top priority. There is no room for mistakes or accidents in the laboratory. When you are working with highly combustible and dangerous chemicals you have to be thinking about safety at all times. Many people unfortunately are not thinking about safety in the lab and this is how the most common lab safety violations occur. Each person that is required to work in a lab setting must be required to pass a training course that covers common lab safety violations and what they can do to prevent them. It is your job as the leader to insure that everyone working is following lab safety procedures and guidelines. By keeping track of the accidents and injuries that occur in your lab you will be better suited to train employees to avoid lab safety violations and stay safe and healthy at work.
Top Safety Violations In The Lab
One of the most common lab safety violations of all time is food in the work area. There should never be any type of food or drinks in the actually laboratory area. You should have a designated lunchroom where all foods can be prepared and consumed. There has to be a separate refrigerator for foods than for chemicals and other lab products. Storing foods with or near chemicals could cause cross contamination. The same goes for eating food in an area where chemicals are used. Even if the table has been cleaned there is a possibility that something was missed and you could become sick or even die from cross contamination.
Communication violations can cause injuries to everyone in the building depending on the type of violation that has occurred. Failing to hang up the proper signs in doorways and rooms can make it impossible for people to know if there is something dangerous in the area. Anytime a laser is in use there must be a sign on the door warning people not to enter. This also goes for basically any testing area where a test is being conducted at the time. You must also make sure to correctly lab every chemical bottle in the lab. If a chemical is mislabeled or even worse not labeled at all there can be deadly consequences. A person may think they are mixing together to safe chemicals when they are really making a volatile combination.
Storage violations are more common than they should be. When you are working with chemicals you have to store them correctly. Some chemicals require a certain temperature or light setting. While others can only be stored in certain containers such as clear glass or colored to reduce the exposure to light rays. If you are unsure as to how to properly store a chemical after use do not be afraid to ask for help. A supervisor will be able to tell you the correct way to store the bottle and will be glad you asked because it will prevent an accident from happening in the future.
All lab workers should wear personal protective equipment it is the only way to be absolutely positive you are working safely. Many people forget to wear goggles while working with chemicals. If one should accidentally splash up you could be permanently blinded. A lab coat is also required at all times. It will protect your clothes and skin if a chemical should spill onto you while working. There are many different types of personal protection equipment. You should know what they are and when they are needed while working in the lab.
A none working or blocked eyewash station is useless to everyone in the lab. You must have a working eyewash station. Depending on the size of your laboratory you may be required to have several .They must be within so many feet of the work stations ans easily accessible to all workers. Keep the eye wash stations clean and clear of clutter. There is no time to be worried about tripping while trying to clean chemicals out of you eyes.
How To Prevent Lab Safety Violations
The best way to prevent safety violations in the lab is training. You should have annual safety meetings where you discuss the violations you have witnessed in the past. Explain how these may not seem like big violations now but once someone is injured they will. The plan is to reach them about the violations and prevent them from occurring again. This is the only way to prevent an accident in the lab form happening. During your meetings you should leave time at the end for any questions and concerns that employees have. If you cannot answer the question at that time tell the employee you will personal get the answer and let them know. You can also go over these topic at the next safety meeting once you have the answers.
Another great why to prevent violations is good housekeeping. A clean lab should be the top priority for all workers. Who really wants to work in a dirt lab. Teaching employees to keep work areas clean will help cut down on confusion. It will also help them to be more organized. When the person is thinking about staying clean and organized they are more likely to take the time to label chemicals correctly. They are also more likely to think through all task before hand and make sure they have all the proper safety gear in place. You should designate at least one person a week to clean to common food area. This will help keep dirty and germs out of the food.
Assigning one person or even a group of people to safety duty will help everyone in the lab. These people should be trained in all aspects of lab safety. They can help others that are having trouble following the safety rules and guidelines. You can even have them randomly quiz other lab employees on safety issues to be sure everyone is thinking about safety.
With the proper people and care their is absolutely no reason you should have to worry about safety violations again. Remember it is every persons job to work safely to the best of their ability and to help others stay safe as well. A team is no good without teamwork.
Top Safety Violations In The Lab
One of the most common lab safety violations of all time is food in the work area. There should never be any type of food or drinks in the actually laboratory area. You should have a designated lunchroom where all foods can be prepared and consumed. There has to be a separate refrigerator for foods than for chemicals and other lab products. Storing foods with or near chemicals could cause cross contamination. The same goes for eating food in an area where chemicals are used. Even if the table has been cleaned there is a possibility that something was missed and you could become sick or even die from cross contamination.
Communication violations can cause injuries to everyone in the building depending on the type of violation that has occurred. Failing to hang up the proper signs in doorways and rooms can make it impossible for people to know if there is something dangerous in the area. Anytime a laser is in use there must be a sign on the door warning people not to enter. This also goes for basically any testing area where a test is being conducted at the time. You must also make sure to correctly lab every chemical bottle in the lab. If a chemical is mislabeled or even worse not labeled at all there can be deadly consequences. A person may think they are mixing together to safe chemicals when they are really making a volatile combination.
Storage violations are more common than they should be. When you are working with chemicals you have to store them correctly. Some chemicals require a certain temperature or light setting. While others can only be stored in certain containers such as clear glass or colored to reduce the exposure to light rays. If you are unsure as to how to properly store a chemical after use do not be afraid to ask for help. A supervisor will be able to tell you the correct way to store the bottle and will be glad you asked because it will prevent an accident from happening in the future.
All lab workers should wear personal protective equipment it is the only way to be absolutely positive you are working safely. Many people forget to wear goggles while working with chemicals. If one should accidentally splash up you could be permanently blinded. A lab coat is also required at all times. It will protect your clothes and skin if a chemical should spill onto you while working. There are many different types of personal protection equipment. You should know what they are and when they are needed while working in the lab.
A none working or blocked eyewash station is useless to everyone in the lab. You must have a working eyewash station. Depending on the size of your laboratory you may be required to have several .They must be within so many feet of the work stations ans easily accessible to all workers. Keep the eye wash stations clean and clear of clutter. There is no time to be worried about tripping while trying to clean chemicals out of you eyes.
How To Prevent Lab Safety Violations
The best way to prevent safety violations in the lab is training. You should have annual safety meetings where you discuss the violations you have witnessed in the past. Explain how these may not seem like big violations now but once someone is injured they will. The plan is to reach them about the violations and prevent them from occurring again. This is the only way to prevent an accident in the lab form happening. During your meetings you should leave time at the end for any questions and concerns that employees have. If you cannot answer the question at that time tell the employee you will personal get the answer and let them know. You can also go over these topic at the next safety meeting once you have the answers.
Another great why to prevent violations is good housekeeping. A clean lab should be the top priority for all workers. Who really wants to work in a dirt lab. Teaching employees to keep work areas clean will help cut down on confusion. It will also help them to be more organized. When the person is thinking about staying clean and organized they are more likely to take the time to label chemicals correctly. They are also more likely to think through all task before hand and make sure they have all the proper safety gear in place. You should designate at least one person a week to clean to common food area. This will help keep dirty and germs out of the food.
Assigning one person or even a group of people to safety duty will help everyone in the lab. These people should be trained in all aspects of lab safety. They can help others that are having trouble following the safety rules and guidelines. You can even have them randomly quiz other lab employees on safety issues to be sure everyone is thinking about safety.
With the proper people and care their is absolutely no reason you should have to worry about safety violations again. Remember it is every persons job to work safely to the best of their ability and to help others stay safe as well. A team is no good without teamwork.
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References
http://workplacesafetyexperts.com/laboratory-safet ... ions/
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