School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine

Safety Organisation

The Director of Institute is responsible to the University Court for health and safety within the Institute. In this they are assisted by the Institute Safety Committee, which is convened by the Institute Safety Adviser. The duties of the Committee are set out in the Institute Safety Policy Statement and members of the Committee, and their responsibilities, are set out below.

Safety responsibility is further devolved to members of the academic staff and senior members of the technical staff. These members of staff are responsible for health and safety in their own offices and research laboratories. They also have responsibility, with regard to safety, for work carried by their research students and junior technicians in other laboratories. Research Supervisors have a responsibility to make sure that risk assessments have been carried out for all their research activities, including fieldwork and that all appropriate documentation has been completed. All those involved in the research, i.e. research students and technicians, must be aware of the outcome of the risk assessments and the safety procedures that have to be adopted. Teachers of undergraduate classes must ensure that risk assessments are carried out for the practical work in the classes they are in charge of and ensure that the students are aware of the safety procedures that must be followed.

The Institute is divided into a number of discrete areas. Members of the academic staff have responsibility for carrying out safety checks of these areas, reporting any deficiencies and taking steps to rectify these. Details of those responsible for area safety checks are given in the Hierarchy of safety management‌. The Institute Safety Adviser will ensure that these checks are carried out by having a yearly inspection.

Undergraduate students and visitors are not subject to the same legal obligations as employees, but they still have certain legal responsibilities. All visitors involved in laboratory research work must be registered formally with the Secretaries office: Room 205, Graham Kerr Building or Room 214, Level 2, Henry Wellcome Building. The University expects that senior undergraduates who work independently and postgraduate researchers will exercise due regard to those working around them and who may be affected by their work. It is also an offense for any person to interfere with or misuse anything that is provided in the interests of health and safety. Non-members of IBAHCM or unauthorized personnel within IBAHCM should not enter laboratories with hazard warnings. Authorization (e.g. for service engineers) must be given by the designated person, who will ensure that safety requirements are fulfilled.

Always follow safety guidelines given by a laboratory supervisor, fire officer or member of staff with specific responsibilities for safety in the Institute.

The Fire Adviser is responsible for ensuring that fire wardens are appointed for specific areas of the Graham Kerr Building, SCENE and Henry Wellcome Complex, and that they are aware of their duties. The Fire Adviser arranges regular training of fire wardens and organizes fire drills, in consultation with the University Fire Officer.

The Electrical Hazards Adviser or Local Safety Coordinator is responsible for ensuring that all electrical equipment is tested at appropriate intervals. Electrical safety checks in the main teaching laboratory are the responsibility of the Undergraduate School.