Quote From jepsonclough:
I can't believe that you think it is "ridiculously complicated" and that you "don't have time for it" - that sort of attitude results in short cuts and sloppy practices and can, and does, lead to injury and death (and I speak from experience of losing a relative abroad because a risk assessment was not adequately done - four years on we still have not had the inquest and there is a long legal process going on to ensure that rules are changed). If you were my student I would question your maturity and ability to undertake independent research.
Thanks for that... sensitive subject I see...
To my opinion, making people write RAs does not prevent injury or death... proper training does. So I therefore think writing a RA for every little procedure you do, and then not following it up with a safety course, is not the most effective way of preventing accidents. Where I come from, laboratory safety training courses are mandatory, as are an annual refresher training and training with every major piece of equipment before you can use it of even enter a lab. And with "ridiculously complicated" I meant that writing a RA for proper use of scales or fridges is pushing it too far... dangerous stuff, fine, but every stupid knows that if you drop a glass beaker it will break and as such you should be careful.
Don't get me wrong here, I do believe H&S are very important! Lab work can be dangerous... I simply come from a country where things are done differently, and we don't have more accidents than the UK does, but our H&S implementation just seems less time consuming! Instead of sitting behind my computer for hours writing RAs, I can also do safety courses and equipment training in those hours... As for not being mature and able to do independent research... we'll see. Perhaps I'm not, but I do picked up the habit of being critical, questioning everything and trying to find better ways, that's a start isn't it?
