CUED Safety Office

Part I - Safety Responsibility

Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, Statement of Policy: 

1. General Policy
   It is the policy of the Department to ensure so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all its staff, students and any other persons who may use/visit Department premises.
2. Legal Responsibility
   The Head of Department has the duty and legal responsibility for the implementation of this policy.
3. Delegation of Duties
   In order to fulfil her obligations to carry out these responsibilities, the Head of the Department has delegated duties in writing to Heads of Divisions and other Officers, as follows:
   
   Heads of Divisions
   The Head of Division has similar responsibilities for safety to those of any member of Teaching staff but at a Divisional level.
   
   Their additional responsibilities are to:
• Appoint suitably competent Local Officers Responsible for Safety.
• Implement the Departmental Safety Policy, by ensuring that appropriate procedures are in place for regular inspections and risk assessments of the 'areas' in their Division.
• Seek advice when required from the Departmental Health, Safety & Environmental Office, Safety Committee Chairman or Head of Department, and bring to their attention any inadequacies of the system, and any staff in their Division who refuses to cooperate in implementing safety procedures or policy.

Local Officer Responsible for Safety
Within 'areas', suitably competent members of staff will be designated by their Head of Division as Local Officers Responsible for Safety. Such officers carry the same responsibilities as all staff members but in addition they are expected to:

• Co-ordinate the risk assessments by staff members of the various activities within their area.
• Carry out a general risk assessment for safety in their area, take action based on the assessment and revise it regularly or whenever known changes occur.
• Cooperate with the Departmental Safety Committee Chairman, Radiation Officer, Laser Officer, Biological Officer and Safety Office and seek their advice on appropriate occasions.
• Bring to the Head of Division's attention any unsafe practices and breaches of safety instructions in their area.
• Co-ordinate the reporting and investigation of all accidents or near misses occurring in their area with the Departmental H.S.&E Office and take any necessary action to avoid a recurrence.
• Agree a Deputy with the Head of Division if absent for more than 2 weeks.

Local Officers Responsible for Safety, in clearly defined geographical areas, as listed in Appendix A.

Radiation Officer - Dr G Parks (gtp@eng.cam.ac.uk)

Laser Officer - Dr T Wilkinson (tdw@eng.cam.ac.uk)

Biological Officer - Dr M Oyen (mlo29@cam.ac.uk)

4. Involvement
   Maintenance of safe and healthy working conditions requires the active involvement of ALL staff and students, each of whom has a duty of care for his or her own safety and that of others, and to cooperate with staff to enable them to carry out their responsibilities.
5. Example and Training
   The aim of the Department is that, by example and training, staff and students are encouraged to develop an attitude of mind which accepts good safety practice as normal. All those persons having a supervisory role in the Department, at whatever level, are expected, so far as is reasonably practicable, to identify and give warning of the hazards associated with any premises, plants and substances for which they are responsible to those who may be affected by them and to take steps to ensure that their health and safety will not be endangered. They must accept the responsibility for engaging the commitment of all persons under their supervision to healthy and safe working practices and instructing persons under their supervision in safe working practices. All new members of the Department are issued with safety advice in the form of leaflets and an induction checklist (Appendix F), and to attend a mandatory Safety Induction Presentation contact the Safety office on safety-office@eng.cam.ac.uk
6. Continuous Obligation
   Academic staff must accept their continuous obligation to ensure by enquiry or otherwise, that they and those who work under their supervision, work in as healthy and safe a manner as is reasonably practicable.
7. Competent Advice
   Members of academic staff are to seek competent advice when necessary, and to take particular care when initiating a piece of work, referring to codes of practice and standards laid down in the University and Departmental Safety Document.
   
   
8. Notification of hazards

All staff and students are to bring to the attention of supervisory staff any potential hazard of which they know or learn by observation, during the course of work, or arising from faults in equipment.

9. Competence
   Employees and students are to carry out their work in a safe and responsible manner, commensurate with their level of skill, training, knowledge and attainments.
10. Conforming to Rules
    Students are to conform to any rules the Head of Department considers it is necessary to make, to ensure their health and safety
11. Visitors
    Visiting Scholars or Research Workers must register with the Administration Secretary on the Office floor, completing an Induction Checklist and attending the mandatory Department Safety Induction Course, as well as signing a statement that they have read the Safety Policy and will comply with it.
    
    All contractors, service engineers and /or company representatives are to report to reception and identify a contact name in the department. That contact person will then be responsible for the conduct of the contractor, service engineer and /or company representative whilst on site. The contact person must also ensure that they have drawn the attention of their visitor to any local conditions that may affect their health and safety, and that any work the contractor carries out does not affect the health and safety of other departmental users.
    
    Casual visits should be discouraged. Friends, immediate family and relatives are the responsibility of the member of the Department who has invited them. For school parties, or parties of other organizations, formal arrangements must be made to ensure their safety and be adequately supervised at all times. Restricted areas must be kept secure at all times.
12. Safety Committee
    The Departmental Safety Committee meets at least four times a year and consists of representatives from the Teaching Officers, Technical and Clerical Staff, Research and Post doc., Undergraduates and Trades Unions. The Head of Department shall appoint its Chairman. Its Secretary shall be the Departmental Safety Adviser/Safety Technician. Representative members shall be appointed by the various sections of the Department and are listed in Appendix G.
13. Teaching
    Local Officers Responsible for Safety within the defined areas of the Department, are responsible for ensuring so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of all experiments carried out by undergraduates whether in the laboratories, workshops or outside the Department. Responsibility for class safety falls to the Teaching Officer in charge with postgraduate students and casual demonstrators ensuring class safety. They have responsibility as individuals to conduct their work safely, advise undergraduates of safe practices and inform the Teaching Officer of any deviations from those safe practices.