Laboratory Safety Coordinator Program Description
Laboratory Safety Coordinators (LSCs) are laboratory members who help the Principal Investigator (PI) or lab supervisor manage health and safety in the laboratory. They are often research staff, post-docs, or graduate students. While PIs and laboratory supervisors are responsible for the health and safety of their laboratory personnel, they may delegate certain safety tasks to LSCs.
Laboratory Safety Coordinator Core Responsibilities:
- Attend a Laboratory Safety Coordinator orientation meeting provided by EH&S to become familiar with EH&S resources and Research Safety program requirements.
- Attend the periodic Laboratory Safety Coordinator group meetings.
- Support the PI by helping to ensure safety program elements are addressed.
- Serve as a conduit for information exchange between laboratory personnel and EH&S to help communicate safety and regulatory information.
- Improve the laboratory health and safety culture by overseeing the development and implementation of the laboratory safety moment program for all laboratory group meetings.
- Work with EH&S to coordinate periodic laboratory inspections conducted by EH&S.
- Distribute communications about required corrective actions resulting from periodic laboratory inspections.
- Engage with EH&S to develop laboratory-specific and process-specific standard operating procedures (SOPs), and ensure all laboratory personnel review, sign and comply with SOPs.
- Report all incidents and near misses to EH&S and facilitate in corrective actions and development of a Lessons Learned.
- Inform individuals about the requirement to obtain necessary training as identified by their supervisor, department, college, and EH&S. Promote safety, health, and environmental training programs and workshops.
- Develop the laboratory safety moment program to ensure laboratory health and safety is discussed at the beginning of each laboratory group meeting.
