A Risk Assessment Method and Safety Plan for a University Research Lab

Risk management processes follow relatively well established steps, but the hazard identification and risk assessment steps often depend heavily on “experts” with relevant expertise and operating experience. This paper presents a tool developed to help novice researchers identify and assess hazards more efficiently. The hazard identification tool was developed in the form of an updatable algorithm, based initially on previous risk assessments for similar situations as well as checklists and guidelines available from academic texts, Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), and industry. Major risk categories included in the algorithm include: a) Ergonomics and Mechanical, b) Chemical, c) Physical (including Electrical Hazards, Fire Safety, Noise Hazards, and Radiation Hazards), d) Psychological and Organizational, and e) Biological. In the initial test of the algorithm, a team of non-experts used the algorithm to identify risks for two Ohio Coal Research Center (OCRC) projects dealing with solid oxide fuel cell and electrostatic precipitator testing. Their results were comparable to the list of risks generated by a group of “research experts” without the algorithm. Future plans include making the algorithm available on a wiki platform to collaboratively develop it with the combined knowledge, experience and perspectives of all participating researchers. This paper also describes the overall safety plan for the Ohio Coal Research Center (OCRC), which operates within the Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment (ISEE) at Ohio University. An OCRC safety flow diagram is presented that has been successfully used to improve the safety of new research projects being led by new researchers.