Guiding principles for students, professional engineers, and future leaders.
Updated Fall 2021
Information on this website is in no way exhaustive. Contents includes general guidelines for managing your space on campus and safety protocols for student organizations as established by the UCLA Samueli Engineering and UCLA Environment, Health and Safety. Ultimately it is the responsibility of the student organization, its faculty advisor, and sponsoring department to safely operate their facility, keep its users safe, and reduce the impact to our community and environment.
a message from Bruce Dunn, Associate Dean of Research and Physical Resources
As members of the UCLA Engineering community it is our responsibility to manage our physical space and activities to ensure the safety of our participants and reduce impact to our community and environment. As leaders, it is important to lead by example and emulate appropriate behaviors.
Safety, training, and ethical implications of your work will be a part of your life as a professional engineer. Entire courses have been created to review case studies of engineering design disasters, work-place accidents, and outcome of irresponsible disposal and dumping of harmful chemicals. The goal is to provide the education to propagate a more informed and responsible work-force of professional engineers.
An injury, death, damage to property, or a associated financial burden is an excellent way to end our activities (game-over). Our goal is to support the expansion of extra-curricular design activities, tinkering, DIY, and innovation that enrich the experience and professional training available to UCLA Samueli Engineering students. We need your help.
General Policies on Managing Space
Space Safety
Emergency Preparedness & What to do in the Event of an Emergency
Required Training for all Student Organization officers, project leads, and membership
Chemical Safety & Hazard Communication
Job Safety Analysis: when one is needed and how to create one
Personal Protective Equipment: when it's needed and where do I get it?
Policies on Waste Disposal, Painting and Sanding
Lab & Space Safety Protocols Agreement Form - due October 15 by all student organization and project teams
Safety Inspections - Faculty Walk-through & EH&S Safety Inspections
Access to the UCLA Engineering Innovation Lab (MakerSpace)
Maintenance Issues and Additional Resources
Lab & Safety at the Student Creativity Center
Tragedy at UCLA followed by requirements for protective gear, research into lab safety - https://dailybruin.com/2012/08/20/tragedy-at-ucla-followed-by-requirements-for-protective-gear-research-into-lab-safety/
Yale Student Killed as Hair Gets Caught in Lathe - https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/14/nyregion/yale-student-dies-in-machine-shop-accident.html
Violations at UCLA Engineering:
Particles from sanding fiber-glass disbursing through the air.
Passerby trips and injures ankle due to bollard not being replaced.
Infestation of bugs & rodents due to trash pile in the SCC.
Fumes enter building air-intake, Dean’s office evacuation ordered, sends one to the hospital.
Notification to student organization, faculty advisor, sponsoring department, and Associate Dean of Research and Physical Resources.
Notification to Dean of Students, administration, and law enforcement (where required).
Immediate shut-down on activities, access to your lab, space, and equipment until violation is resolved.
Financial reparation for any damages incurred by the violation,
Citations/fines from UCLA Police Department or LA Fire Department
Financial responsibility for retrieval or disposal of waste.
Violation is recorded by the School.
Could result in permanent restriction to resources for your organization.
All officers, project leads, lab/room managers understand and implement the Lab & Space Safety Policies and Protocols created by UCLA Samueli & UCLA Environment, Health & Safety that are listed in this website.
Assign to an officer or elect an officer who has the duties of day-to-day managerial oversight of operations and safety in your organization's space. This includes, but is not limited to the responsibility of maintaining a) a safe space for your membership, b) training other members and users of their space on Job Safety Analysis or Standard Operating Procedures for equipment or chemicals that could cause harm if used incorrectly, c) keeping a log on membership that has been trained and has access to use equipment and engage in processes that requires training, d) uphold University Policies with regard to safety and health. In AY 2021 - 2022, this also includes upholding university policies in relation to COVID-19 and reducing the hazard to avoid membership contracting the virus. Campus information on COVID-19 can be found here: https://covid-19.ucla.edu/.
Share this website with your membership and ask them to review it before beginning any activity that has the potential of causing harm.
Ensure that every activity begins with the "Before you Begin Check-list" (see below), an exercise that will help you think about the potential hazards involved in your activity.
Review, implement, and disseminate policies and information related to space and safety from Campus and the School of Engineering to your membership throughout the year. Organizations must make sure ESUC has your current contact information throughout the year to ensure information is being delivered to your organization. Contact ESUC Board: esuc.ucla.president@gmail.com, if your contact information has changed.
Schedule a quarterly 'walk-through' of your campus space with your Faculty Advisor to ensure your space is in compliance with EH&S Safety Regulations and any activities that could result in someone getting hurt.
In addition to the duties listed above, project leads must review activities to: a) identify, create, or update any trainings or Standard Operating Procedures for tools and processes that your organization will use, b) create a Job Safety Analysis to determine how to control hazards for any activities that could cause injury, c) review Safety Data Sheets for any chemicals that your organization uses, identify appropriate storage, use, and disposal of materials and chemicals, d) review these activities and materials with your faculty advisor before implementing, and e) determine a method to make this information accessible to your membership and EH&S at any point of the year.
Create an 'Authorized-use Log' or record of who has completed the necessary trainings and, should thus, have access to participate in the activity, use the tool/ equipment, or handle the supplies.
Create a repository where training tools, curriculum, and authorized-use logs are kept to pass on to next year's officers.
Faculty Advisors assume ultimate responsibility for the safety of the members of the student organization and the impact on our community of any activity that the organization takes on. Operationally, advisors will provide guidance to organizations on how to reduce the hazards in their activities to ensure no one gets hurt.
Faculty Advisors will ensure student organizations are in compliance with Space & Safety Protocols on this website and any UCLA Environment, Health and Safety policies. Advisors will help the organization to determine a solution to any activity or situation that is not in compliance.
Assist student organization to review activity, and identify tools, equipment, chemicals or substances that they use that requires the creation of a Job Safety Analysis, Standard Operating Procedure, or review of Safety Data Sheets.
Review and approve all Standard Operating Procedures and Job Safety Analysis for your organization’s activities.
Quarterly walk-through (at least) of the student organization's physical space to provide guidance on EH& S space and safety compliance and review activities.
Advocate with Department or School on behalf of the student organization for resources needed to reduce the hazards and impact on the community associated with their activities.
Address any violations regarding space & safety incurred by the student organization and ensure compliance with Space & Safety Protocols created by UCLA Samueli and EH&S policies on safety and managing space.
Cover any costs associated to violations of Lab & Space Safety by the student organization. Examples from the past include the cost of air filter replacements in the building when an organization uses toxic chemicals near the building air-intake or disposal fees for an organization dumping chemicals in the green-space around our buildings.
Review this website before starting an activity.
Compliance with all applicable health and safety regulations, policies, and work practices as stipulated by the University (including EH&S, UCLA Samueli, or your organization).
Approval to operate machinery, power tools, hand tools, equipment, or chemicals must be obtained by an officer or project lead prior to use.
Complete the required EH & S Trainings:
Lab Safety Fundamental Concepts Training (https://worksafe.ucla.edu/)
General Chemical Safety Training (https://worksafe.ucla.edu/)
Shops Training (https://worksafe.ucla.edu/)
Completion of specific training from organization
Any new activities must be authorized by completing the Before you Begin Check-list, having it reviewed by your officers or project leads and approved by your organization’s faculty advisor.
Contact:
EH&S: safetyandcompliance@ehs.ucla.edu
Daniel Lick, danl@seas.ucla.edu
Wes Uehara, student org helper-guy, wuehara@seas.ucla.edu,
Associate Dean Bruce Dunn, bdunn@ucla.edu