This guide is a roadmap for a university-wide effort to strengthen a culture of research safety. The guide has action steps, resources, and recommendations to help navigate the challenge of changing the culture of the institution. The guide is intended for university presidents and chancellors who have made a renewed commitment to improve their institutional culture of safety, and it is intended for the campus leadership team that the president appoints to helm this effort. The task force encourages each institution to use the guide in ways that fits their unique institutional contexts. The task force has identified 20 recommendations for implementing and sustaining a culture of academic and research safety, primarily drawn from four foundational reports: Safe Science: Promoting a Culture of Safety in Academic Chemical Research (National Research Council, 2014); Creating Safety Cultures in Academic Institutions (ACS, 2012); Creating a Safety Culture (OSHA, 1989); and Texas Tech Laboratory Explosion Case Study (CSB, 2010). This guide includes an analysis showing the alignment of the 20 recommendations with these key national reports.
The recommendations are organized in four overarching categories: institution-wide dynamics and resources; data, hazard identification, and analysis; training and learning; and continuous improvement. For each recommendation, the task force has provided reading lists, tools, strategies, illustrative examples, and/or best practices drawn from a community of stakeholders for implementing these recommendations. These resources were selected to help an appointed campus team navigate the process of strengthening their culture of safety.
REFERENCE:
APLU Council on Research Task Force on Laboratory Safety (2016). A Guide to Implementing
a Safety Culture in Our Universities. CoR Paper 1. Washington, DC: Association of Public and
Land-grant Universities.
