Safety Committee Meeting
School of Engineering
December 2, 2020
In Attendance: Faisal Aqlan, Chris Bartlett, Phil Jones, Tim Kurzweg, Brian Lani, Lucy Lenhardt, Mario Loreti, Steve Nozaki, Nancy Study, Joy Armbruster
Members Unavailable: Glenn Craig, Dave Honard, Anne Gohn, Fred Nitterright
The meeting was called to order at 3:30 p.m.
The meeting began with a conversation with Dr. Kurzweg regarding the operation of the labs for the remainder of the semester and over break. Highlights of lab usage are noted as follows:
- Students with card access to the computer labs will be active for the remainder of the semester and during semester break. SOE faculty and leadership should only discuss computer lab usage with students on a case-by-case basis. Students using the computer labs should be the exception rather than the norm with all PPE and safety policies in place.
- Senior Design teams should meet via Zoom rather than face to face where possible. They should also make use of our technicians during break, as this is a good time to have things built. Brian Lani inquired about the Supermileage and Senior Design labs. Tim will check on these labs and update the committee.
- Paid student researchers can use engineering labs for the remainder of the semester on a case-by case basis under the responsibility of the faculty researcher.
- The campus is closed during the week of December 23, 2020 through January 4, 2021. Student researchers should not be on campus during this time. Faculty card access will still be active.
Each committee member covered their Lab/s Risk Assessment /Activity Report. Any reports of new, moved, or deleted equipment will be added to the equipment database. Any lab concerns/new business reported on the forms will be added to the January agenda.
- Brian reported several changes in AMIC 117/118/119/120. Please remember to always include the lab coordinators with any proposed changes to their assigned labs.
- Joy reported a proposed press move for the plastics lab. Lucy was not on the email. Joy will forward it to her.
Accident/Injury Report
No new injuries to report.
Continuing Business
There were no updates to the proposed changes to the "No Food, No Drink Policy." Discussion was tabled for further review. The committee will continue to pursue the possibility of adding trash containers to the hallways near the lab entrances, to eliminate the need for students to enter the labs before disposing of their food and drink waste.
New Lab Coordinators from the ECET Department have been assigned to serve in the SOE Electrical Labs as follows. The committee is hopeful that one of the faculty members also will join the Safety Committee as a new member.
- Burke 148 – Dave Loker
- Burke 144 and 151 – Hussein Abdeltawab
- Burke 140 and 146 – Hussin Ketout
- Mario was asked if he would be the lab coordinator for Burke 145 until a permanent replacement can be found.
New Business
COVID-19 Questions – Mitigation Action for Labs. Nancy Study asked if individuals who are working in the labs alone are required to wear masks. The committee could not confirm a policy, but agreed that if alone, they see no problem with no mask.
Unit Specific Plan (USP) certification pages were reported signed in all labs.
The next Chemical Waste Pickup is scheduled for December 17, 2020, and committee members reported that their waste lists have been sent to EHS.
The meeting concluded at 4:30 p.m. The next meeting will be scheduled for January 2021.