Safety

Safety Mission Statement

Within MRI we recognize the importance of our people and the diverse work they accomplish.  The safety of employees, visitors, and the environment is everyone's first and greatest responsibility.  MRI Management supports a workplace where safety is a core value of all operations and expects that safe work practices will be followed at all times.  The MRI safety culture is one that proactively strives to identify and address safety concerns before they result in a loss event.

MRI is committed through management leadership and employee participation to:

• Creating and maintaining a safe and healthful workplace.
• Continuously improving our safety program and performance.
• Complying with all applicable occupation safety and health laws, regulations, and University policies.
• Integrating safety into all laboratory and shop activities.
• Maintaining a Safety Committee that meets regularly and has MRI's support in implementing corrective actions and safety initiatives.
• Providing resources and training to employees and visitors so all are aware of MRI's safety policies.

Maintaining a safe work environment is a top priority of MRI leadership and must be a goal of all MRI personnel. All employees that work in MRI will make safety an integral part of their activities.  The Safety Committee encourages and is open recommendations to improve safety and health conditions.  MRI's commitment is to support a safety culture of mutual responsibility to operate safely and communicate effectively.  The goal is always to improve the organization through the creativity of our personnel working in a safety-centered building.

Introduction

The Materials Research Institute (MRI) is committed to providing a safe working environment for all MRI members. We insist that all members use safe work methods and practices at all times.

Purpose

MRI promotes a safety culture, making it our goal to have zero work related injuries and illnesses. We use periodic laboratory audits and Near Miss & Learning Experience Reports to continuously improvie our safety program. We maintain an open line of communication between the department members and our MRI Safety Committee to address any issues that might arise.

MRI Safety Policy

The purpose of MRI’s Safety Committee is to stress safety in its labs for all lab users and building occupants and to stress the educational value of safety. Therefore, MRI has established the following policy regarding safety violations.

Class I Violation

Occurs when someone is working in such a way that risks his/her own safety but not the safety of other users or staff of the facility. These violations typically occur in several different categories.

• The user is issued a warning.
• First time- a consequence analysis worksheet must be completed
  • Note* If not completed within 1 week, lab access will be removed until the worksheet is complete.
• Second time repeat violation- a consequence analysis worksheet must be completed
  • Advisor/Supervisor is notified via email of repeat violation
  • Note* If not completed within 1 week of violation, lab access will be removed until the worksheet is completed.
• Third time repeat violation- All of the above occurs and automatically becomes a class II violation.
  • See Class II violation consequences

Note* If there are multiple class I violations that occur at one time, each violation will be treated as a first offense unless it crosses three different violation categories or directly puts others at risk.

Class II Violation

Someone is working in such a way that he/she puts the safety of other users at risk. Or there have been 3 repeat Class I violations.

• The user is notified and an email detailing the issues will be sent to user and user’s PI.
• Meeting scheduled with PI and user to determine why this occurred and how to prevent it in the future. Meeting must be attended by person who is receiving violation, PI/supervisor and at least one member of the MRI safety committee or User Facility safety representative.
• Lab access immediately revoked until:
  • Repeat initial EHS safety training
  • Repeat user facility safety training and tool training if applicable
  • Complete Consequence Analysis worksheet 
  • Fix the problem or procedure if applicable (such as write SOP, fix SOP, obtain proper training on tool etc.)

Standard Operating Procedures

Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) are procedures written for lab users to ensure that everyone works in a safe and secure environment. MRI’s working library of SOP’s can be found by users with a Penn State Access ID or Friends of Penn State Access ID on Box.com (https://psu.box.com/mscsops).