Department Safety and Maintenance

Safety Guidelines

The goal of the Physics Department Safety Team is to provide and maintain a safe, healthful and efficient work environment for all, including faculty, staff employees, students and visitors to the Department of Physics. To this end we offer a number of useful documents and links:

The Physics COVID-19 Prevention Plan (PDF) defines policies and guidelines to maintain safe work conditions at the Physics Department for all phases of the state's Safe Start plan. The Research Recovery Plan (PDF) established rules and requirements for the resumption of research during the initial phase of the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Accident Prevention Plan APP (PDF) covers occupational hazards that generally apply to employees, and outlines policies and procedures implemented to reduce or eliminate these hazards. It also includes useful information regarding how to respond to emergencies, how to contact your local safety representatives and the minutes of the meetings of the safety team.

The Fire Safety and Evacuation Plan FSEP (PDF) explains how to evacuate the building and how to respond to fires, bomb threats, chemical spills, earthquakes etc. A copy of the plan may be obtained from this site or from the physics department office. A handy list of brief building emergency procedures can be found here.

The Workplace Security Plan WSP (PDF) plan is intended to provide specific on-site workplace violence prevention and response procedures to Physics-Astronomy Building (PAB) faculty, staff, students, and visitors. The purpose of this plan is to protect the rights of all persons in the PAB to a safe and inclusive work and learning environment. Every person in the PAB is responsible for maintaining safety. Therefore, everybody is responsible to report and take action in response to workplace violence, harassing, threatening or other inappropriate conduct. SafeCampus and the departments will support you in such situations. This policy is intended to support the UW Policy and Procedure on Violence in the Workplace.

The New Employee Safety Form (PDF) must be completed by all new employees, with the assistance and guidance of their supervisor. The aim of this document is to effectively bring a new employee up to speed regarding the safety issues of their new position and the department as a whole.

If you plan to engage volunteer workers, please refer to the Procedures and guidelines for engaging volunteer workers (PDF) which explains your responsibilities when engaging volunteers and will assist you in satisfying University and State requirements relating to volunteers.

A wealth of useful safety information can be found on the web site of the University of Washington Environmental Health & Safety. At this site one can find listed all of the safety courses offered as well as experts to advise on specific problems.

The University created the Administrative Policy Statement 11.8: Reporting Suspected Child Abuse to ensure that University employees and volunteers are informed of their obligations to report suspected child abuse under Chapter 26.44 RCW, the Abuse of Children Law. Additional information and resources can be found on the University's Safety of Minors website. Everyone in our community needs to be aware of their duties to report and respond appropriately. With all of our involvement, we can continue to provide a safe experience for everyone involved with the University.

No safety plan is perfect and we welcome your feedback, comments and observations on how we can improve please send your comments to Peter Doe. Remember, the most effective tools in guaranteeing your safety and well-being is your own alertness and common sense.

See the list of Floor Wardens (PDF) and responsibilities of Evacuation Floor Wardens.

Click here to Report an Accident.

Supplying Feedback/Concerns

The Physics Department is committed to promoting a productive and positive experience for all department members: students, staff, and faculty. All department members are expected to behave in a manner consistent with the department Code of Conduct. Should difficulties occur, the Department will make every effort to respond appropriately to reported concerns.

Multiple avenues are available to anyone wishing to discuss or report instances of problematic behavior, academic issues, or other workplace concerns. These include: SafeCampus; the staff of Physics Student Services; the Undergraduate Faculty Advisor (Prof. Marjorie Olmstead, ufaphys@uw.edu), Graduate Program Coordinator (Prof. Marcel den Nijs, gpcphys@uw.edu), and Department Chair (Prof. Laurence Yaffe, chair@uw.edu).

SafeCampus staff are available 24/7 (at 206-685-7233) to discuss safety and well-being concerns for one's self or others, provide guidance, and connect to other resources as needed. For issues involving classroom behavior or course grading, it is generally appropriate to first discuss matters with the course instructor. Should that not lead to a satisfactory resolution, students are encouraged to discuss their concerns with any of the above contacts. The Office of Community Standards & Student Conduct provides an online reporting form for students to report alleged violations of the UW Student Conduct Code, including behavioral misconduct and academic misconduct such as plagiarism and cheating. Additional resources include:

• Bias incident reporting;

• UW Counseling center for mental health services;

• Husky Health & Well-being including medical care and counseling;

• Graduate School academic grievance procedure;

• Office of the Ombud, (ombuds@uw.edu or 206-543-6028);

• Office of the Vice President for Student Life;

• Office of the Title IX Coordinator. Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender expression, pregnant or parenting status, and LGBTQ+ identity;

• University Complaint Investigation and Resolution Office (UCIRO) which handles complaints involving university employees;

• Student governance and policies and the university's student conduct code as detailed in Washington Administrative Code 478-121.