Responsibilities.
Everyone has responsibility for their own safety and the safety of others.
Your responsibility is to assess all the risks associated with your work,
this might include completing a COSHH assessment, in instructing others, in
monitoring the work of others or simply in working sensibly and properly in
a safe manner. Each type of worker has some particular responsibility.
The Chain of Responsibity.
The University Your employer has overall responsibility for your safety while
you are carrying out your work but the responsibility is delegated to individuals
and committees as stated in the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974).
The University Laboratory
Safety Committee.
This committee concentrates on the general principles of safety in the science
departments. It is made up of representatives from each department (the Safety
Officer and the Lab Supers), union delegates, representatives from Maintenance,
etc. All the departmental Safety Committees report to this committee.
The University Health
and Safety Committee.
This committee discusses all aspects of non-laboratory safety.
The Head of Department
(HoD) (Prof B R Fulton)
The HoD is ultimately responsible for the safety of everyone working in their
department but their responsibility is usually delegate to other staff.
The University Safety
Advisor (USA) (Gary Tideswell)
The University Safety Advisor advises university committees and individuals
about all aspects of safety on campus.
The Departmental Safety
Officer (DSO) (Prof Kevin O'Grady, kog1)
Appointed by the HoD, the DSO has to decide on the departmental safety policy,
in consultation with the Head of Department and the Physics Safety Committee.
The DSO must also ensure that the policy is effectively implemented. Although
the Safety Officer has an advisory role, it is not expected that they should
possess specialist knowledge on all aspects of work.
The Academic Supervisor
Being experts and being familiar with all aspects of their work, supervisors
must accept full responsibility for those that work with them. They are responsible
for all aspects of safety of the work which they are supervising, whether
that work is being conducted by research fellows, visiting researchers, post-docs,
graduate students, research assistants, undergraduates, technicians or others.
Supervisors must
The Senior Technician
Teaching
Academic supervisors are responsible for the overall safety of both undergraduate
practicals and undergraduate projects. However, the Chief Technician in Teaching
shall be responsible for the monitoring and implementation of general safety
policy in the teaching laboratories (i. e all aspects of the activities of
those laboratories which are not specifically linked to any one practical
or project).
The Senior Workshop
Technician
They will be responsible for the safety of all aspects of the work being conducted
in the workshops or by workshop staff.
The Senior Technician
Stores
They will be responsible for all aspects of the safety policy as applied to
stores.
The Adminstration Staff
Supervisor
They will be responsible for monitoring safety as related to all office work.
The Individual Worker
- that must mean YOU!
Every person working in the Department of Physics has a responsibility to
others and themselves, making sure that their work is conducted in a manner
which presents no hazard to others as well as themselves. It is the responsibility
of each worker to consider the appropriateness or otherwise of the safety
training and safety equipment they have been given. Should any person be in
doubt as to the safety of any aspect of work assigned to them, they should
consult their supervisor or the DSO for advice.
The Trade Unions or
Professional Bodies
Many Trade Unions on campus have an enviable record in helping to maintain
the excellent safety record of the University. Some have professional safety
advisers available for consultation and they can be a very useful source of
safety advice. Your local representative can advise you on obtaining advice.