Health and Safety in Civil Engineering
The Department of Civil, Structural & Environmental Engineering is proactive in its approach to health and safety issues for both staff and students. This document outlines the basis of safety management and procedures in the department. Modelled on the College Safety Document, it addresses relevant issues, provides guidance on management of safety, emergency procedures and contact personnel, assembly points etc. and appoints individuals with responsibility in all geographic zones within our department. The department has also initiated a number of compulsory training courses for staff and students. These include:
- Laboratory safety training
- Fire safety training
- Safe Pass Scheme for site safety
- Computer use health and safety training
It was felt that these courses provided the minimum training necessary for staff and students working/studying within the department. Of particular significance is the Safe Pass scheme, which was adopted in line with the requirements of contractors prior to students/staff being permitted to visit sites around the country. In line with the scheme, students are required, upon entering the department, to purchase site boots while the department provides hard hats and high visibility bibs. Laboratory and fire safety training are compulsory for all demonstrators before they are permitted to supervise undergraduate laboratories/tutorials. Computer use health and safety training is available through the college for all undergraduate and postgraduate students.
At College level, departmental issues of health and safety are raised with the Engineering School Safety Committee which meets once each academic term. This committee, of which the departmental safety officer is a member, provides a useful channel for communication with college safety officials.
The department regularly organises a safety audit which is conducted by the college safety officer. The purpose of the audit is to highlight any issues of concern and to schedule any necessary work to ensure compliance with health and safety requirements.
Overall Health and Safety are prioritised within the department as is apparent from our proactive approach to all issues.
This document is intended to improve the general and specific level of safety within our work/study environment. Safety is an issue which affects us all, and we should all be proactive in ensuring the successful implementation and future improvement of this departmental safety manual.
While it is recognised that a large amount of safety management is the responsibility of the department, significant issues of safety or of violation of best practice, fall within the remit of the college. As such, it is expected that the college safety officer will play a major role in ensuring and facilitating safety compliance within our department.
While this document attempts to be comprehensive in its treatment of current safety issues, it is recognised that some issues may have been overlooked, or new issues may arise in the future. As such individuals are encouraged to take responsibility for their own safety where possible.
This safety manual adopts both a best practice and a common sense approach to management of safety issues within our department. It recognises that while individuals are appointed as officers with areas of geographic responsibility within the department, clearly safety management is an issue for everyone within the department, including both staff and students.
This document outlines the basis of safety management and procedures in the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, Trinity College Dublin. Modelled on the College Safety Document, it addresses relevant issues, provides guidance on management of safety, emergency procedures and contact personnel, assembly points etc. and appoints individuals with responsibility in all geographic zones of influence within our department.
Emergency Information
- FIRE, extension 1999
- EMERGENCY, ext 1999
- COLLEGE SAFETY OFFICER, Ext 1914
General Information
- Head of School: Prof. Brian Foley, Printing House, extension 1774
- Departmental Safety Officer: Dr. Sarah Mc Cormack, Simon Perry Building, extension 3321
- Chief Technician: Mr. Chris O’Donovan, Civil Eng Building (Old), extension 1010
| Workshop & Laboratory with Geographical Responsibility | Name | Location | Extension |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carpentry | Mr. Eoin Dunne | Simon Perry Bldg | 2386 |
| Computing | Mr. Chris O’Donovan | Red Brick Bldg | 1010 |
| Concrete Lab | Mr. Eoin Dunne | Simon Perry Bldg | 2386 |
| Environmental Lab | Mr. Pat Veale | Simon Perry Bldg | 2045 |
| Hydraulics | Mr. Chris O’Donovan | Red Brick Bldg | 1010 |
| Lecture Theatre | Mr. Mick Harris | Simon Perry Bldg | 2388 |
| Main Workshop | Mr. Dave Mc Cauley | Simon Perry Bldg | 2386 |
| Soils Lab | Mr. Martin Carney | Simon Perry Bldg | 1009 |
| Structures | Mr. Chris O'Donovan | Simon Perry Bldg | 1010 |
| Surveying | Mr. Eoin Dunne | Simon Perry Bldg | 2386 |
| Vibrations | Mr. Chris O’Donovan | Red Brick Bldg | 1010 |
| Demonstrator Coordination | Dr. Brendan O’Kelly | Simon Perry Bldg | 2387 |
| General | Mr. Chris O’Donovan | Red Brick Bldg | 1010 |
| SHP Building and Soils Lab | Mick Harris | Simon Perry Bldg | 2388 |
| First Aid Officer(s) | Mick Harris | Simon Perry Bldg | 2388 |
| Eoin Dunne | Simon Perry Bldg | 2386 |
- Fire Assembly Points: Museum Building B Simon Perry Building & Civil Eng Bldg (Old) D
| Control Measures | Person Responsible |
|---|---|
| All personnel holding safety appointments should be qualified by proper training & have a full knowledge of their duties and terms of reference. All other personnel using specialised equipment should have conducted an induction safety course | Head of Dept |
| The Head of Department is responsible for appointing the Safety Officer(s) for the various sections of the department and a Fire Warden. | Head of Dept |
| The Head of Department is to appoint deputy safety officers to act in the absence of the principal safety officers, to ensure the continuance of all relevant Health and Safety control measures. | Head of Dept |
| The Head of Department is to periodically review and monitor the Departmental safety statement. The Head of Department should be made aware of risk assessments performed and of all technical functions carried out in the Department. | Head of Dept |
| A copy of this document to be given to each member of staff. | Dept Safety Officer |
| Appropriate safety equipment, e.g. hard hats, high visibility bibs and boots should be worn when appropriate when conduction experiments/site visits inside/outside college. | Demonstration/Visit Coordinator & Supervisor |
| Where possible all staff/students should complete a Site Safety Pass course (or equivalent) prior to conducting site visits | Dept. Safety Officer |
| All accidents and dangerous occurrences are to be reported to the Head of Department, who is to forward the information to the College Safety Officer and Jennifer Gill in West Chapel ext. 1914 | Head of Dept |
| The Departmental and Section Safety Officer(s) is to inform the Head of Department of any problems implementing his/her respective Health and Safety duties. | Dept Safety Officer & Section Officer(s) |
| The Section Officer(s) is/are to carry out a weekly check of their area of geographic responsibility to ensure escape routes are not obstructed, can be opened from the inside in the direction of escape and free from combustible materials. | Section Officer(s) |
| All staff to report suspicious packages or persons to the security centre ext. 1999 as soon as possible. | Building Users |
| All staff are requested to challenge as far as is reasonably practical and without placing themselves in harm, any person unknown to staff or not in building on official business. | Building Users |
| All staff to keep their offices locked when not in use. Laboratory heads and Section Safety Officer(s) are to ensure their work areas are adequately secured and locked. | Head of Dept |
| Trailing cables are not to be left in any circulation routes as far as possible. Cables in circulation routes must be kept as short as possible and covered with a cable guard mat. This also applies to bags etc. | Building Users |
| All items of disrepair to fixtures, fittings, flooring, stairs or fabric of the building are to be reported to the Chief Technician for repair as soon as possible. | Chief Technician |
| Adequate lighting must be present to allow the function to be carried out safely. The site must be clear, tidy, safe underfoot, free from electrical or chemical hazards as far as possible. | Head of Dept |
| All problems in implementing safe work practices are to be reported as soon as possible. Issues relating to technical operations should be reported to the Chief Technician. Issues relating to teaching to be reported to the Head of Department. | Head of Dept Chief Technician |
| All visitors who are present in the building for more than a brief period are to become the responsibility of the host. The hosts is to take charge of the visitor(s) in the event of an evacuation or if any specific procedures apply. | The Host |
| Staff are to have access to a telephone in the event of an emergency. The emergency college number is 1999. | Head of Dept |
| Purpose built lecture theatres become overcrowded when the number of students exceeds the number of seats. This should be avoided as far as possible. In multi purpose rooms the number of desks available will limit the number within. | Head of Dept |
| All new practices, functions or equipment to be risk assessed prior to implementation | Head of Dept & Chief Technician |
| Control Measures | Person Responsible |
|---|---|
| The Fire Safety Officer is to visually check on a weekly basis all relevant fire extinguishers, fire panels and that break glass unit keys and machinery guards are in place. Any defects or faults found are to be reported to the college safety officer. | Fire Safety Officer |
| Staff are reminded that fire exits, corridors access & egress routes are not to be obstructed by equipment materials or tools. | Building Users |
| Staff are reminded that the assembly point in the event of an evacuation is the “Flat Iron”, the triangular lawn next to the Rugby pitch. | Head of Dept |
| On hearing the fire alarm (a continuous ringing bell) staff are instructed to; 1-Leave the building with any student(s) and/or visitor(s) you are responsible for. 2Go to the assembly point. 3- Re-enter only when the alarm is turned off. | Building Users |
| On discovery of a fire staff are instructed to: 1- Raise the fire alarm. 2- Leave the building with any student(s)/visitor(s) you are responsible for. 3-Inform security centre on ext. 1999. 4- Go to the assembly point. 5- Re-enter only when the alarm is turned off. | Building Users |
| No alterations or repairs to any electrical items fixtures or fittings. The Buildings Office technical staff, qualified mains electricians or appointed contractors only are to carry out any alterations or repairs. | Building Users |
| All equipment introduced into the Department is to be tested for electrical integrity prior to use. | Chief Technician |
| Open bar electrical fires are not to be used. | Building Users |
| All electrical items to be turned off last thing at night, as far as practicable. | Building Users |
| Smoking is prohibited in the building. Smokers should ensue they do not form an obstruction to exits from the building and waste should be disposed of responsibly. | Head of Dept |
| All mains electrical items are to be periodically inspected as far as possible for any signs of damage or wear to cords flexes cables mouldings etc. Any defects are to be reported to the Chief Technician. | Dept Safety Officer |
| The use of extension leads, adaptors is to be minimized as far as possible. Electrical sockets are not to be overloaded. | Building Users |
| All fixed electrical machinery to be provided with a labelled isolator. | Director of Buildings and Buildings Office |
| Only110v equipment to be used or otherwise protected by a 30mA ECLB or RCD | Chief Technician and Buildings Office |
| All plant and equipment is to be arranged so that safe access egress and clear circulation routes are provided. | Chief Technician |
| All demonstrators to be trained in Fire Safety | Head of Dept and Fire Warden |
| Control Measures | Person Responsible |
|---|---|
| Medical assistance is available from Student Health located in House 47 (beside rugby pitch) Ext. 1556. After hours contact ext 1999 | Head of Dept |
| The first aid cabinet is to be kept fully stocked | Chief Technician |
| Control Measures | Person Responsible |
|---|---|
| Staff and students are in general not to interfere with chemicals used by housekeeping staff | Building Users |
| Instructions supplied with all chemicals used during work are to be followed at all times. All chemicals used by the Department will be subject to a risk assessment. | All Staff |
| All those using chemicals in this laboratory must ask the Section Safety Officer for appropriate safety data sheets and to adhere to their prescriptions. The Laboratory is to be left clean and tidy at all times, with chemicals correctly stored. | Section Officer and Laboratory Users |
| An inventory of all chemicals and quantities (including paints) to be compiled. | Chief Technician |
| Chemical storage to be conducted in accordance with the college chemical safety policy | Dept. Safety Officer |
| All chemicals including waste oils are to be disposed of via the Chemical waste disposal system operated by the Chemistry Department. The Section Safety Officer will arrange their transfer to Chemistry. | Chief Technician & Section Officer |
| All technical staff as far as possible to be trained in manual handling techniques by the College Safety Officer. | Chief Technician |
| All persons handling biological materials must register with the Department and College according to procedures administered by the Departmental Environmental Safety Officer. Biological materials will be handled and disposed of as specified by the Departmental Environmental Safety Officer Manual. | Section Officer |
| Control Measures | Person Responsible |
|---|---|
| No member of staff or student may use equipment without satisfying the Chief Technician of their competence. All those using such equipment must obey the prescriptions of the relevant Safety Manual. | Chief Technician |
| The Section Safety Officer is to periodically ensure that all laboratories and storerooms are, as far as possible, kept in a tidy manner, free of excess combustible items, and that fire doors are not left constantly wedged open. | Section Officer |
| No member of staff or student may use equipment without satisfying the Chief Technician of their competence. All those using such equipment must obey the prescriptions of the relevant Safety Manual. | Chief Technician |
| All plant and equipment is to be arranged so that safe access egress and clear circulation routes are provided. | Chief Technician |
| All students/researchers embarking on a program of experimentation should carry out (as far as is reasonably practicable) a risk assessment and provide a safety statement if required. Copies of which are to be circulated to the Chief Technician, Supervisor and any other responsible parties. | Head of Dept |
| Any substantial changes involving the introduction of potentially hazardous materials, equipment or situations is to be risk assessed and control measures adopted prior to use. The College Safety Officer will advise as to assessments. | Head of Dept, Chief Technician and Dept. Safety Officer |
| Personal protective equipment is provided and is required to be worn at all necessary times. Staffs are reminded to follow instructions on correct use at all times and to report any defects or missing items. | Chief Technician |
| Without exception all guards to be in place prior to use. | Chief Technician |
| More than 5 persons cannot use the workshop, structures lab, hydraulics lab, soils lab etc. at once, without prior agreement of the Head of Department or relevant Section Safety Officer. | Head of Dept & Section Officer |
| Welding is to be carried out in the open air or well ventilated areas only. Cylinders are to be stored in the open air. | Chief Technician & Section Officer |
| All workshop store-rooms, material and equipment stores are to be kept clean tidy and free of excess combustible materials. Section heads to review and inspect. Inaccessible areas are to paid special attention to. | Chief Technician & Section Officer |
| Ear defenders to be worn when appropriate. | Chief Technician |
| All students and demonstrators must familiarize themselves with the Department’s Safety Guide before conducting experiments. | Chief Technician |