Laboratory Maintenance

Over the summer, I was involved in maintaining and improving health and safety measures in the laboratories in St Thomas Aquinas.

One of the improvements I made in the laboratories was the signage in the rooms. I printed out and laminated a copy of the laboratory safety rules from the Science Safety File (Appendix 1) and ensured there was a copy visible on the wall in each room. I also made bold signs indicating the location of the glass bins and the safety goggles to ensure that they were easily identified in the laboratories. I identified the health and safety improvements as important health and safety equipment and regulations (safety goggles, sharps bins, laboratory safety rules) were not clearly visible in rooms. I discussed making these improvements with the senior technician and we both agreed that these changes should be made to improve the safety of the laboratories.

In addition, I also maintained the health and safety measures already in place in the laboratories. I followed the guidance of the senior technician to maintain the health and safety and used the school inventory form to document the maintenance. To ensure that any broken glass could be cleaned up safely, I ensured that there was a brush and shovel in each room along with a glass bin which I emptied. The glass bins were emptied in to a cardboard box and tightly sealed before being disposed of with the general waste. Also, in case there is an accident or spillage in the classroom, I placed 3/4 pairs of nitrile gloves and 3/4 pairs of disposable surgical gloves in the cupboard under the sink in each room. Using the gloves in the case of an accident or spillage would help prevent injury from chemicals and any infection/contamination from any injuries that might occur.

For class experiments, there should be 22 pairs of safety goggles in each room (1 for each pupil, 1 for teacher and one for class assistant), so I counted the goggles in each room and replaced any that were broken, missing or scratched.

Over the summer, I was involved in maintaining and improving health and safety measures in the laboratories in St Thomas Aquinas.

One of the improvements I made in the laboratories was the signage in the rooms. I printed out and laminated a copy of the laboratory safety rules from the Science Safety File (Appendix 1) and ensured there was a copy visible on the wall in each room. I also made bold signs indicating the location of the glass bins and the safety goggles to ensure that they were easily identified in the laboratories. I identified the health and safety improvements as important health and safety equipment and regulations (safety goggles, sharps bins, laboratory safety rules) were not clearly visible in rooms. I discussed making these improvements with the senior technician and we both agreed that these changes should be made to improve the safety of the laboratories.