Labs and Studios Minutes – November 2016

Date: 
Friday, November 18, 2016 - 9:00am
Agenda: 

Present:           T. Moore, A. Diochon, J. Sylvestre, W. Gao, B. Adhikari, C. Surette, M. Sorokopud, S. Girvin. T. Alderson

TIME Commenced:     9:04 AM

1.0   Agenda : Approved

2.0   Review of Minutes : Accepted September 23, 2016 minutes with date correction.     

3.0   Inspection Report:

3.1   NRM

3.2   Anthropology

3.3   Civil Engineering

3.4   Chemical Engineering

“A” and “B” coded hazards from this year’s inspections were tabulated and distributed to members to follow up on.  Most items have been addressed.

4.0   Incident Report :

4.1   Chemical Engineering – Oven that caught fire when heating samples earlier in the year caught fire again.  Oven has been taken out of service.  Committee suggested a new method of heating these samples, such as water bath with a reflux condenser in a fume hood.  T. Moore to communicate to Supervisor.

4.2   CB loading zone – Gas delivery person was concerned that propane is being stored in the zone with oxygen, with is against Federal regulations.  Additionally, there are many multiple tanks with the same contents that have been in the zone for some time.  Better control in the ordering process and delivery notification is needed.

4.3   Biology – A lightbox was constructed with wiring that would not pass code.  C. Surette has some suggestions to set-up a light box easily.  He will contact the technician responsible to provide some advice.

4.4   Greenhouse – CO2 generators were found to be a potential risk of fire.  Plant has taken one out of service and started repairs on all units.

5.0   Old Business:

5.1   Asbestos Committee

5.1.1         Have had a couple meetings.  Room locations for testing have been determined, HVAC test locations have yet to be determined and schedule for sampling is outstanding.

5.2   Field work Safety Committee

5.2.1          Committee met earlier this month with a greater cross-section of stakeholders.  Draft policy, training documents and risk assessment forms were reviewed.  Plan for the field safety program will be approval of these documents, creation of a template field safety guidelines (with input from member departments), training for stakeholder departments on risk assessment forms and creating their own specific field safety document to be used as a training materials (as well as due diligence).

6.0   New Business:

6.1   WHMIS 2015 Transition

The time is approaching to start the transition to the new WHMIS which will require everyone to begin using the inventory system, and re-labelling any old materials they are keeping.  T. Moore developing a presentation to outline changes and introduce ErPortal to departments to assist in meeting the December 1, 2018 deadline.  A new ErPortal training manual is under development which will hopefully be more user friendly.

7.0    Other business

7.1   Laboratory Security

Several members have been noticing labs unlocked in the morning, with some items missing.

  • T. Moore to talk to Plant Supervisor and ask all housekeeping staff to be reminded that doors must be closed and locked after they have accessed the lab.
  • Department Chairs to remind all department members (including graduate students) to ensure that they secure doors and report any suspicious circumstances or missing items promptly.
  • T. Moore to request that Security officers on night patrol check doors more frequently.

 8.0   Adjournment:  10:03 AM