Physics Division
Integrated Safety Management Plan
Revised 4/6/2012
Section 1 – Integrated Safety Management
ISM Guiding Principles
To achieve our safety goals and for continuous improvement or sustained excellence in the quality of all environment, health, and safety efforts, the Physics Division of LBNL has adopted this Integrated Safety Management (ISM) plan which is founded on the ISM principles below. This plan covers all Physics Division employees and affiliates in the management of their work activities. While these principles apply to all work, the exact implementation is flexible and can be tailored to the complexity of the work and the severity of the hazards and environmental risks.
- Line Management Responsibility for Environment, Health, and Safety.
- Clear Roles and Responsibilities.
- Competence Commensurate with Responsibilities.
- Balanced Priorities.
- Identification of EH&S Standards and Requirements.
- Hazard Controls Tailored to Work Being Performed.
- Operations Authorization.
ISM Core Functions
These guiding principles are implemented through the following core EH&S functions, which must become a part of every aspect of employee, contractor, and affiliate work at LBNL:
- Work Planning – What will I be doing?
- Hazard and Risk Analysis – What are the hazards (ergonomic, electrical, chemical exposure, cryogen, compressed gas, etc.) and what could go wrong?
- Establishment of Controls – Do I have everything I need to work safely including training, personal protective equipment (PPE), tools, time, and authorization?
- Work Performance – Am I doing the job safely and using established controls?
- Feedback and Improvement – What could I do better next time?
These core EH&S functions apply at all levels of the Laboratory – at the institutional level, at the division level, at the group level, and at the level of individual projects or work activities. All Physics workers are expected to recognize their responsibility for their own safety and the safety of co-workers.
The guiding principles and core EH&S functions are closely related. Each level of Physics management will be evaluated by determining (1) if each of the core EH&S functions is implemented at every level, and (2) by evaluating how well each of the guiding principles is incorporated in work.
Section 2 – Roles & Responsibilities
The principal activity of the Physics Division is research in theoretical and experimental high energy physics and astrophysics aimed at understanding the basic forces and constituents of matter and the universe. This section contains a summary of the safety roles and responsibilities for supervisors, work leads and workers in Physics. There are links to resources which provide more guidance. It is expected that work leads and supervisors can use this section to help orient employees and affiliates to LBNL safety expectations and evaluate the safety performance of workers. In Physics, the work lead is often, but not always, the same person as the supervisor. The work lead is the person who oversees daily work and approves the worker’s Job Hazard Analysis (JHA). The work lead generally serves as the Area Safety Leader for technical areas (non-office areas).
Physics Division Management Responsibilities
- Perform annual walk-through of technical areas, including discussion of safety with staff.
- Appoint members to the Physics Safety Committee.
- Assure Division adheres to the principles and functions of Physics ISM Plan.
- Foster healthy safety awareness within Physics.
- Meet monthly with Division Safety Coordinator to discuss safety in division, including self-assessment topics.
- Charter investigations of safety incidents within division and oversee corrective actions to prevent future similar problems.
Supervisor Safety Responsibilities
- Perform quarterly walk-through of technical areas, including discussion of safety with staff.
- Appoint Area Safety Leader for technical areas (if not self).
- Appoint Work Lead for direct reports including affiliates (if not self).
- Oversee job hazard analysis and training completion for direct reports, including for off-site work.
- Supply proper personal protective equipment (PPE) for direct reports and guests.
- Complete a Project Safety Questionnaire for any new or significantly modified project.
- Develop and maintain any formal work authorizations (Activity Hazard Document, radiation authorization) which are required for high hazard work.
- Determine if any of the work under supervisor’s control requires a work alone prohibition, and include controls in the work authorization (Activity Hazard Document, radiation authorization, JHA) to prevent working alone. Working alone is performing work when no one is within earshot or eyesight who can help rescue the worker. Work is too hazardous to work alone when:
- If there is an accident, the worker could be unable to self-rescue due to the hazards of the work.
- The worker is an undergraduate student. Undergraduate students are not allowed to work alone except for computer or office tasks.
- The worker is using the machine tools in the machine shop. Personnel may not work alone using machine tools in the machine shop.
- Report work-related:
- Injuries of direct reports (report to Safety Coordinator),
- Ergonomic discomfort of direct reports (report to Safety Coordinator),
- Near Hits (report to Safety Coordinator), and
- Safety problems (report to Safety Coordinator).
Work Lead Safety Responsibilities
- Oversee JHA and training compliance for direct reports, including annual review and approval of JHAs.
- Prevent direct reports from working until JHA is complete and accurate.
- Require direct reports to work with direct supervision for tasks where the required training is incomplete.
- Provide On-the-Job Training (OJT) for direct reports.
- Oversee safety of matrixed workers in Physics space, including OJT as needed.
- Assign work lead duties when away from Lab for an extended time.
- Along with supervisor, determine if any of the work under work lead’s control requires a work alone prohibition, and include controls in the work authorization (Activity Hazard Document, radiation authorization, JHA) to prevent working alone. Working alone is performing work when no one is within earshot or eyesight who can help rescue the worker. Work is too hazardous to work alone when:
- If there is an accident, the worker could be unable to self-rescue due to the hazards of the work.
- The worker is an undergraduate student. Undergraduate students are not allowed to work alone except for computer or office tasks.
- The worker is using the machine tools in the machine shop. Personnel may not work alone using machine tools in the machine shop.
- Report work-related:
- Injuries of direct reports (report to Safety Coordinator),
- Ergonomic discomfort of direct reports (report to Safety Coordinator),
- Near Hits (report to Safety Coordinator), and
- Safety problems (report to Safety Coordinator)
Area Safety Leader Responsibilities
- Determine minimum PPE for technical area, and enforce requirements
- Maintain entrance signs with correct hazards, PPE requirements, and contacts
- Maintain chemical inventory up-to-date in the Chemical Management System (CMS) database and properly label and store chemicals
- Maintain good housekeeping in technical area
Worker Safety Responsibilities
- Complete an accurate JHA (annually) and complete training.
- Use controls listed in work authorizations (JHA, Activity Hazard Document, radiation authorization), including PPE.
- Ask questions of your work lead if you are unclear on your task and its associated hazard controls.
- Store hazardous materials properly in a laboratory, not an office.
- Refrain from work without proper authorization (JHA, radiation authorization, Activity Hazard Document).
- Stop any work for any worker that poses an imminent danger.
- Participate in investigations of safety incidents within the division as directed by Division management.
- Follow safety requirements for LBL and host location when working off-site.
- Report work-related:
- Injuries to self (report to Work Lead, Supervisor or Health Services),
- Ergonomic discomfort (report to Work Lead, Supervisor or Safety Coordinator),
- Near Hits (report to Safety Coordinator), and
- Safety problems (report to Supervisor or Safety Coordinator).
Other Division Staff Safety Responsibilities
- JHA Work Group Owner – Complete annual review of work group hazard profile and members.
- Requestor of onsite subcontractor non-construction work – Develop Subcontractor Job Hazard Analysis (SJHA).
- Physics Safety Committee member – participate in monthly meetings and serve as a conduit for safety information to and from co-workers.
- On-site meeting coordinator – arrange for safety briefing at start of meeting for visitors (discuss with Safety Coordinator).
- Safety Advisory Council member – participate in the LBNL Safety Advisory Council and find a substitute when unable to attend. Report to Division Safety Committee on issues which will affect the division.
Section 3 – Resources
Except in special circumstances, all EH&S costs are covered by the staff member’s project and are integrated into the project budget. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is to be furnished by the project.
This section shows the resources made available to staff in Physics at no cost to the project for help with safety issues.
Physics Safety Coordinator
The Physics Division Safety Coordinator is the programmatic lead for EH&S with responsibilities including:
- Creating and implementing systems, programs and procedures in the areas of
- Work planning and control
- Self-assessment and Corrective Action Tracking
- EHS documentation
- Contact for Near Hits, EHS questions, work-related injuries (including ergonomic discomfort)
- Communication of lessons learned
- Chair of the Physics Safety Committee
- Promotes the functions and principles of the Division ISM plan
- Checks technical area signs for accuracy at least once a year.
Physics EH&S Liaison
The Physics Division EH&S Liaison is the liaison between Physics and the EH&S division with responsibilities including:
- EHS lead for developing Activity Hazard Documents (AHD), which are required for high hazard work
- Contact for EHS issues
- Member of the Physics Safety Committee
- Communication of pending EH&S program changes
- Backup for Safety Coordinator
- Promotes the functions and principles of the Division ISM plan.
Physics Safety Committee
The Division Director appoints a Safety Committee which includes staff scientists, technical and administrative staff, the division Safety Coordinator, and the EH&S Liaison. The committee meets approximately monthly and serves the following functions:
- Recommends policies and procedures to the Division Director
- Reviews new and significantly revised activities
- Communicates safety issues inside and outside the division
- Identifies safety inadequacies in Physics and at LBNL
- Participates in self-assessment activities
EH&S Subject Matter Experts
In addition to the Safety Coordinator and EH&S Liaison, division staff has access to EH&S staff who are experts on EH&S subjects, including topics such as ergonomics, industrial hygiene, hazardous waste, cryogens and pressure systems. Subject matter experts are listed at the following link: http://www.lbl.gov/ehs/html/subject_matter.shtml
Experts in radiation protection are listed at the following link:
https://ehswprod.lbl.gov/rpg/who_to_call.shtml
Section 4 – Controls and Identification of EHS Standards and Requirements
The following EH&S standards are incorporated into the Physics ISM Plan by reference:
