School of Medicine and Dentistry
H&S Peer Review Laboratory Inspection Report
Guidance
DO NOT PRINT THE FOLLOWING PAGES OUT WITH
REPORT
Guidance for completing Inspection Report for Laboratories
1
Introductory details
Fill in the required information for the Unit / Centre / Institute / location, time and
date of inspection, inspection team names and roles and those who
accompanied the team and their roles, date of report, the responsible person that
the report is to be submitted to (Head / Director / Senior Manager), any other
responsible person that the report needs to be copied to (e.g. Vice Principal,
Chief Operating Officer, Director of Estates).
2
Introduction:
Give a brief description of the laboratory and Centre / Institute / Unit that is being
inspected (names of key staff, number and type of staff employed (permanent,
short term contract, contractors), type of work undertaken in the laboratory (can
be obtained from College intranet), location(s), type of facility occupied.
This should be one or two paragraphs at the most.
3
Summary of main recommended actions:
This is the ‘executive summary’ for the Head / Director / Senior manager. List the
high and medium priority actions here (5 or 6 actions at the most) and any low
risk actions that apply widely across the Unit / Centre / Institute. More ‘trivial’ Low
risk actions need not be listed here but can be noted in the main report. The
recommended action time line should also be noted.
Eg Portable appliance electrical testing to be conducted (Medium risk, action
within one month)
The following estimation can be used to prioritise the actions:
SIMPLE RISK LEVEL ESTIMATION
RISK LEVEL = POSSIBLE SEVERITY OF HARMFUL EVENT FROM HAZARD
X LIKELIHOOD OF HARMFUL EVENT OCCURRING
Version 2 (April 2013). SMD H&S Peer Review Laboratory Inspection Report Guidance. Status: V1 Approved by SMD H&S Sub-committee.
Page 1
POSSIBLE SEVERITY OF HARMFUL EVENT
1 = Minor harm (eg minor injuries)
2 = Moderate harm (eg days off work (< 3 days off), partial / minor loss of facility)
3 = Serious harm (eg loss of limb, major injury, RIDDOR reportable incident (> 3 days off), major
loss to facilities)
LIKELIHOOD OF HARMFUL EVENT (taking control measures into consideration)
1 = Harm of that severity is unlikely to occur
2 = Harm of that severity is reasonably likely to occur
3 = Harm of that severity is very likely to occur
A RISK LEVEL OF
6-9 = High Risk (Immediate Action)
4 = Medium Risk (Action within one month or less if possible)
1-3 = Low Risk (Action within three months or less if possible)
4
Summary of good practice conducted in the Institute / Centre /Unit:
Good H&S practices, management and awareness should be noted here to
congratulate management and staff on good H&S performance.
5
Detailed report – the main H&S topics to address are listed below. These
topics are also listed in the inspection checklist. The action priority and
timeline should be noted after the recommendation. If applicable, more
than one recommendation for a topic can be noted.
eg
Recommendation x: Portable appliance electrical testing to be conducted
(Medium risk, action within one month).
Additional topics can be included as required.
Generally, two or three sentences of detail are sufficient for each topic.
5.1
H&S Management
Local H&S arrangements:
E.g.
Local health and safety procedures, rules and arrangements (ie
exist at local level or part of Institute level), accident and incident
reporting (i.e. do they know how to report A&I’s)
Communication of H&S issues to/from staff (ie exists / does not
exist, mode of communication – email, face-to-face, notice board
etc)
Local H&S roles & responsibilities:
Version 2 (April 2013). SMD H&S Peer Review Laboratory Inspection Report Guidance. Status: V1 Approved by SMD H&S Sub-committee.
Page 2
E.g.
Local safety committee / group / departmental safety advisers
Local safety representatives, First Aid, Fire Marshalls
Risk Assessments, Safe systems of Work:
E.g.
Check that they exist for significant hazards and tasks (not required
to inspect in detail, can sample one or two if time permits).
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): are staff wearing suitable and
sufficient PPE for the tasks undertaken (eg standard laboratory
work would require lab coat, gloves and suitable eye protection;
specific hazards like liquid nitrogen would require thermal gloves,
visor and suitable overall / lab coat).
5.2
Physical & General Hazards
The first course of action is always to eliminate the hazard. If this is not
reasonably practicable, then address adequate control of the risks from the
hazard. Suggestions to improve safety in the area can be noted.
The following general H&S issues are the main topics listed in the inspection
checklist. Follow the points noted on the inspection checklist for the specified
hazard topic. Further H&S topics can be included as required.
i
ii
iii
iv
v
vi
vii
5.3
Temperature and humidity:
Lighting:
Workspace and storage:
Emergency / Fire Hazards / Access:
Electrical safety: check that portable appliance testing in date
Housekeeping issues incl slips, trips and fall hazards:
Manual handling:
Laboratory Hazards
Follow the points noted on the inspection checklist for the specified laboratory
hazard topic. Note any hazardous conditions and practices that are unsafe and
provide recommendations to remove the unsafe condition / practice and if not
reasonably practicable, to adequately control arising risks. Suggestions to
improve safety in the area can be noted.
i
ii
Hazardous substances (eg toxic / hazardous chemicals, solvents, liquid
nitrogen):
Gas cylinders, piped gas and pressurised equipment
Version 2 (April 2013). SMD H&S Peer Review Laboratory Inspection Report Guidance. Status: V1 Approved by SMD H&S Sub-committee.
Page 3
iii
iv
v
vi
Local exhaust ventilation (eg fume cupboards, microbiological safety
cabinets)
Biological hazards and genetic modification
Radioactive substances
X-ray, UV, Laser safety
5.4
Staff H&S issues.
The following H&S issues can be noted if they arise but detailed
inspection is not required during SMD inspections.
Lone working, violence and aggressive behaviour:
Stress, well-being and workplace ill health:
New and expectant mothers
Disabled persons
Young persons
6
Summary
This should contain a summary of good H&S practice conducted and
congratulations to any individual or group who have excelled in H&S issues. The
main recommendations for action can be re-iterated here and the benefits that
completion of these actions can bring (eg good staff morale, financial gain,
reduced insurance/legal costs, reduced incidents / accidents, reduced staff
sickness /absence) could be noted.
A timeline for a written response /acknowledgement from the Head / Director /
Senior Manager can be noted here (this is not the timeline for completion of
actions).
Suggested timeline: one month from date of report.
Version 2 (April 2013). SMD H&S Peer Review Laboratory Inspection Report Guidance. Status: V1 Approved by SMD H&S Sub-committee.
Page 4