Thank you for the clarification. But, I think you will confuse or sidetrack the research scientists/community when you add the phrase “risk assessment” to a
message around situational mindfulness and avoiding complacency in routine tasks. This reminder is very important and I really like your video as a means to raise awareness.
But, “a risk assessment” in almost all labs I visit (we have more than 1000) is a formal, documented safety process for their work—and at this stage of maturity
in our safety culture, not generally embraced or even welcome. We are working through this challenge as I write. So, I think brining that concept into the message may resonate with safety folks, but will send academic research labs running.
From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
On Behalf Of Kennedy, Sheila
Sent: Thursday, May 3, 2018 8:33 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Draft lab risk assessment video comments requested
Are the comments from the UK similar? Did they raise different concerns?
Sheila Kennedy
Safety Coordinator
CHEM Teaching Labs
UC San Diego
From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
on behalf of DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
Sent: Thursday, May 3, 2018 6:01:28 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Draft lab risk assessment video comments requested
>It seems like that means: do a risk assessment every time you do your experiment. Is that the message? Or, are you asking researchers to consider doing a risk assessment every time they change something
in the experiment?
I don't believe that these important questions will have a blanket answer. My vision of the use of this video is not as a stand alone guide on to how to be safe in the lab; rather I hope that will start and support safety discussions, either in training sessions,
classes or even casual hallway conversations on the topic between lab-mates as their work proceeds.
The initial inspiration for the video was simply to raise the specific issue of ongoing situational awareness on a daily basis. However, as we worked on the original script, simply saying "be alert to everything at all times" felt like it was asking superhuman
powers of the lab worker. So we added the concept of risk assessment and RAMP to raise the point that it was important to think ahead of time about what signals were most important to be alert to. Similarly, the connection between good science and lab safety
practices as a concept was added at a later stage. I agree that we should raise it earlier in the video as well as at the end.
One point that I would like to add to the video, but which I don't think will fit is that a risk assessment should be a team effort. My feeling is that if there are any hazards that are more complicated than the GHS information on a chemical's label, assessing
the risks of the work should be done by a group of people rather than a single person. One could read that into the video when assistance comes to deal with the overheating beaker, but I don't think we want to further complicate the videos message at this
point (plus we're nearing the end of the project's budget). My hope is that this video will be valuable enough that we can find funding sources to address other aspects of lab safety in a similar format, again to raise specific issues (lab vent, PPE, risk
assessment practices) for discussion rather than to provide complete training on a specific topic.
My sincere thanks again to everyone for their feedback on the video. It gives the project team (which is international, we have a similar suite of comments from the UK) confidence in moving forward.
- Ralph
Ralph Stuart, CIH, CCHO
membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Membership chair
American Chemical Society
Division of Chemical Health and Safety
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