Health and Safety Management is part of your undergraduate training.

Please remember it is the responsibility of everyone to think about the safety of their work before they start it.

You are not to start project work until a Risk Assessment is completed.

This is important and must be completed by Friday Week 3, term 1.

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and by Department policy demand that a Risk Assessment is completed BEFORE you start your project work. The University and Department must ensure the work you do and the way you do it is safe to both yourselves and others. The Risk Assessment helps you do this and helps the Department ensure that this happens.

On completing the Risk Assessment, you and your supervisor must sign and date it. By doing this your supervisor has approved the project work that you can do, and you have stated what hazards are associated with your project work. Initially you will be unfamiliar with this type of work, so you must follow your supervisor's guidance. If in doubt you must ask for advice from your supervisor or the Department Safety Officer.

You are required to:

Read the safety advice;
Listen to instructions;
Follow the instructions you are given;
Think about what is needed to carry out work safely;

Ask if you are unsure how to carry out any tasks.

Complete a Risk Assessment (the database is currently not available, please use this assessment form).

The Risk Assessment asks you to identify 3 aspects of your work

1. Hazards (activities that may harm)

2. Controls (ways of working that minimize exposure to any hazard)

3. Risks (the likelihood of harm occuring)

The risk you are exposed to MUST be a low risk of a normal risk. If you believe the risk is higher, then DO NOT proceed with this aspect of your work. You must ask for further advice (from your supervisor or the Department Safety Officer).

Note: on typing the date, follow the exact style of 'two numbers'/'three letters'/'four numbers', e.g. 21/Oct/2004

Read the Department Safety Handbook

The safety implications of many of the Department's activities are described in the Department Safety Handbook. Following the guidelines in the Department Safety Handbook will ensure that a risk never exceeds norma risk.

ALL students are required to read the following sections in the as part of their Risk Assessment

Fire safety (alarm, prevention, disabled)

First Aid help (accident)

Use of mains powered equipment

Use of Display Screen Equipment - On-Line Training Course for Computer Users

Manual handling of computers and other loads

Working outside normal hours - undergraduates are NOT permitted to work outside normal hours

Repair/modification/construction of electrically powered equipment

Working with lasers and laser devices

Working with ionising raditation

Using cryogenic liquids and dewars

Ultraviolet radiation

Mechanical workshop safety

Access to ceiling spines

Use of hazardous substances (COSHH)

Issue, transport and disposal of oil, solvents, and other chemicals

Use of hydrofluoric (HF) acid

Use of printed circuit board facility (PCB)

Disposal of batteries

Working at another institute

Overnight running of apparatus

If there are activities not covered by the Physics Safety Handbook, then you must complete an assessment, i.e. think about and comment on the

1. Hazards (activities that may harm)

2. Controls (ways of working that minimize exposure to any hazard)

3. Risks (the likelihood of harm occuring)

as requested on the Risk Assessment form.

Finally, you may only proceed with your work if the assessment of risk is LOW or NORMAL risk.

The Physics Risk Assessment pages are found on the Physics Intranet under General Information.

Safety Responsibilities within the Physics Department

Safety links

Keyword search

Nigel Woolsey,
ncw2@york.ac.uk
29 September, 2004