Health and Safety

Health and safety is an important factor in all work carried out across the Faculty. We have a moral obligation to ensure that everything we do is carried out using the safest means possible. Alongside this, we have a legal obligation and each and every one of us has responsibility with regards to health and safety:

“It is the responsibility of students and employees to take care of their health and safety and of other persons who may be affected by their acts or omissions at work”

“No Persons will intentionally or recklessly interfere with or misuse anything provided in the interests of health, safety, or welfare.”

To assist the University in meeting these obligations, there is a central Health and Safety Group that manages health and safety across the University. To support this group and to ensure that correct procedures are followed at a local level, the Faculty has its own staff with health and safety responsibilities.

The ZI Health and Safety lead is Mike Bartlett - mhb@soton.ac.uk .

All staff and students are required to complete the online health and safety course at


Any person wanting to work in a laboratory or workshop area will be required to complete local induction or instruction on procedures to be followed. The ZI training is as follows:

New starter building induction. This is mandatory and should ideally be completed within 1-week of start date. An individual’s supervisor/line manager can book this directly with their local H&S officer/manager. The purpose of the induction is to familiarise new starters with their place of work and local H&S arrangements. The induction does not include laboratories, cleanrooms, workshops, laser use and chemical safety. New starter inductions for large groups e.g. Grad-School are sometimes delivered in a training room or lecture theatre.

Online H&S eLearning. This is the mandatory online training linked above and should ideally be completed with 1-month of start date. There are 8 modules which can be accessed via the Blackboard portal - use the links above. The modules are:

  • Induction
  • Fire Safety
  • Workstation Set-Up
  • Workstation Assessment
  • Slips, Trips and Falls
  • Manual Handling
  • Risk Assessment
  • Stress Awareness

    Laboratory induction. This is mandatory for all non-theoretical researchers and should be completed before starting any experimental work. The induction is delivered by the laboratory owner/manager/PI.

    Laser safety training. This is mandatory for all Class 3B & 4 laser users and should be completed before using any Class 3B & 4 laser. The training is delivered by the UoS Laser Safety Advisor, dates and an application form can be found HERE .

    Cleanroom Health & Safety/Good Working Practice training. This is mandatory for any researcher wishing to carry out experimental work in the Building 53 Mountbatten Cleanroom Complex. The training is delivered by the ZIPN Health & Safety Manager and the online application form can be found HERE . Please note that applications can only be made by an individual’s line manager.

    Mechanical workshop safety induction. This is mandatory for any researcher wishing to use the mechanical workshops in either Building 53 or Building 46. The training is delivered by and directly booked through the workshop managers in each building.

    It is your duty in law to work safely and to ensure the safety of others working with you. The same duty applies to the University, and is primarily vested in your main supervisor, who, in this context, is responsible for enabling your programme of study but will not normally be supervising your work in person. What this involves will depend on the nature of your work. You must always comply with local safety policy however inconvenient this seems. There is usually a way of undertaking the work you need to do within the Faculty's safety policy by suitable negotiation with those more experienced in the field, such as your supervisory team, the safety advisers and others with specialist technical knowledge.

    You are likely to be asked to undertake a risk assessment of any experiment where there are hazards present which have a significant risk of causing harm to people. This written statement of how to cope with the hazards in an acceptable way must be conducted in accordance with the Faculty's safety policy and procedures.

    Risk assessment
    Your supervisor(s) and laboratory managers will give specific training in completion of risk assessments and COSSH documentation where necessary for your research. It is your responsibility to abide by the institutional Safety Policies, to observe safe working practices at all times and to follow those procedures prescribed by your supervisor(s).

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    Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

    Contact

    Phone: 02380 593390
    Email: feps-gradschool@soton.ac.uk

    Building 13 | Room 2043 Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences The University of Southampton Highfield Southampton SO17 1BJ     		About Us
    The Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences Graduate School is here to support you from the day you arrive until the day you graduate. We manage the PhD programme as well as offering help and support for both academic concerns as well as pastoral support and guidance. The office operates an open door policy so if you have any concerns please don't hesitate to stop by and see us. Alternatively we are available on email or phone.