Lab design considering safety and importance of training to the lab users -

Do not cross the road before looking first to your right and then left. You must have heard these instructions bounce upon you when you first started walking outside your safe home perimeter. I would say this is one of the first safety training that your parents give you to ensure you are safe.

Likewise, has someone provided you with the safety practices that you as a lab user have to follow in the lab? Or have you thought of it as an essential element of your occupation? Are you completely aware of the safety elements that are installed in your lab?

Lab facilities are designed with various safety elements and products that would be available to all lab users at all times. Safety components like safety showers, eye-wash, spill kits, PPE cabinets, emergency hit buttons, emergency exits, panic bars, safety symbols and signages etc form inherent part of our design. It is very importance that the lab users have the complete knowledge of their location, their usability and when they can be used. Knowing emergency action plan and the location of safety equipments in lab could prevent a minor emergency from turning into major accidents.

Safety is not a single person responsibility. Neither it is the sole responsibility of the lab head, facility manager, admin manager or the maintenance guy. Thus, in order to be safe always, the lab users should be aware of safety protocols and should undergo safety training programmes before commencing any lab activities.

Training should include presentations on laboratory emergency response procedures, along with a lab tour and a “mock drill” of the usage of safety shower and eye wash. These trainings will help knowing how and when to use emergency response equipment.

Infographics or short videos can be made available to lab users when they need the immediate information. It doesn’t have to be a separate activity that takes them away from productivity in the lab—training can be incorporated into daily laboratory processes. These will be very handy to use and practice. For example, if researchers need reminders on how to use a fume hood safely, then an infographic showing proper sash height can be posted on the fume hoods. We often access menu through QR codes. Similarly short videos showing how to do a pre-inspection for an equipment can be posted on or near the equipment using a QR code.

Lab premises are hazardous especially chemical labs and hence fire extinguishers of right compositions should be placed at strategic locations. Training should be given to all users on its operating systems and should not be limited only to facility team. Another example that can be cited is, demonstrating the use of a spill kit. Users could practice cleaning up water with the spill kits. Knowing the locations of power and gas cut-off switches by lab users is important as we never know when emergency would pop up. Training on glassware usage and discarding broken ones may seem to be an unimportant activity however needs to addressed with properly defined guidelines. Similarly setting up safe discarding practices for bio-hazard material, defining their specific bin locations and route and making the analysts aware of the discard procedures will give clarity and avoid confusion.

Training the team on good housekeeping practices and forming it as a part of work culture will further enhance safety in lab. These practices will engage the user effectively and will always be a reminder to operate in safe manner. Well-structured trainings can be used effectively for changing the behaviour and thinking pattern of the users.

When we design labs, we follow a very meticulous process and it has been standardized with experience since we understand the importance of safety in a lab environment. We look into workflow, ergonomics, placement of equipment at appropriate locations and ensure that there is easy accessibility to it. Labs are planned with clear circulation spaces without any obstructions and all access doors are block free. Safety signages are placed at all strategic locations which are easily visible. Fire safety is paramount and so planning for emergencies is an inherent part of our design.?