An Approach To Enhance the Safety Culture of an Academic Chemistry Research Laboratory by Addressing Behavioral Factors

Abstract

Safety culture is often divided into three domains, which include personal, environmental, and behavioral factors. In order to improve the behavioral components of the safety culture in the research group of the authors (the Garcia-Garibay group, or GG research group), we implemented three safety practices intended to sensitize group members on the importance of best practices that depend on simple actions taken by individual researchers. These best practices include (1) a rotating twice-daily safety inspection to enhance an appreciation for the value of safety regulations that may be considered less significant and are frequently overlooked, (2) frequent safety discussions followed by quizzes to give researchers an opportunity to assess their safety knowledge on a range of topics, and (3) the use of an overnight reaction form that is posted on lab entryways as a safety communication best practice to ensure that other researchers in the laboratory and emergency responders are aware of the potential hazards associated with ongoing chemical reactions that do not require continual monitoring. To determine the impact of these measures we analyzed the UCLA Office of Environment, Health and Safety (EH&S) laboratory safety inspection records from the GG research group and compared the findings with those of all other experimental research groups in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCLA from the period of 2011 to 2013. We propose that in the absence of any other (either punitive or rewarding) actions, an accelerated improvement in the reduction of the number of inspection findings in the GG research group can be associated with behavioral components of a safety culture addressed by those measures.

Safety Climate and Safety Behavior in the Laboratory among University Students / Iklim Keselamatan dan Gelagat Selamat di dalam Makmal dalam Kalangan Pelajar Universiti

“…Gibson, Schrӧder dan Wayne (2014) mendapati insiden kemalangan di dalam makmal universiti masih meningkat meskipun makmal dilengkapi sistem kawalan kejuruteraan. Perkara ini memperlihatkan bahawa sistem kawalan kejuruteraan masih belum mencukupi untuk mencegah kemalangan di dalam makmal (Staehle et al, 2016). Oleh itu, Purohit (2018) menegaskan keperluan membentuk, mengukuh dan meningkatkan budaya keselamatan terutamanya melibatkan gelagat selamat wajar dimantapkan.…”

Safety in Medical Laboratories: Perception and Practice of University Students and Laboratory Workers

“…This finding implies the importance of implementing an approach for safety regulation, whereby students undertake mandatory testing for safety knowledge. Based on the outcomes, institutions should incorporate site-specific safety education throughout students' 16,20,21 Regarding biological and chemical samples, 97.7% of laboratory workers demonstrated a good understanding of spills in medical laboratories. Contrastingly, students showed low levels of knowledge, with 54.2% demonstrating less concern for policies and procedures that effectively deal with biological spill incidents.…”

Developing a culture of safety in biomedical research training

“…Second, in almost every major accident investigated, deficiencies in training and/or oversight have been identified as significant factors leading up to the event ( Menard and Trant, 2020 ). Third, while there have been isolated efforts to create a robust institutional culture of safety, particularly after a major accident ( U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, 2011 ; Hill, 2012 ; Safety Culture Task Force of the ACS Committee on Chemical Safety, 2012 ; APLU Council on Research Task Force on Laboratory Safety, 2016 ; Staehle et al , 2016 ; University of California Center for Laboratory Safety, 2016a , b), there is still an urgent need to be proactive and make these efforts widespread. For training programs, for example, safety should not be thought of as separate from the didactic and mentoring activities provided to the students.…”

“…Weak laboratory safety cultures have been repeatedly identified as significant contributors to accidents ( U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, 2011 ; Hill, 2012 ; Safety Culture Task Force of the ACS Committee on Chemical Safety, 2012 ; National Research Council, 2014 ; Staehle et al , 2016 ; University of California Center for Laboratory Safety, 2016a , b ). What can institutions themselves do to transform an inadequate safety culture into a culture of safety?…”