In celebration of June as National Safety Month, ATAP and matrixed Engineering staff led Multi-Lab Safety Week June 9-12, 2026. Additionally, colleagues from the Security & Emergency Services Division held a Safety During Emergencies Fair on Friday, June 12, 2026.
Safety Week has become a successful tradition in ATAP since 2015. This year, our overall theme was “Safety during Experimental Planning and On-Boarding” with an emphasis on the importance of training our stakeholders–employees, students, sub-contractors, and affiliates before performing work. Multi-Lab Safety Week is an all-hands, all-hazards event with ongoing learning and education opportunities. During this annual event, ATAP Programs set aside times that worked best for them to participate in specific safety activities. This year’s kick-off meeting featured a special speaker, Department of Energy Accelerator Safety Program Manager, Michael Epps, Sr., who presented the history and evolution of the Accelerator Safety Workshop, highlighting how it has developed from a 1991 workshop into an annual event that brings together safety professionals from across the Department of Energy complex to share best practices and address common challenges.
Berkeley Lab Facilities Division Director Brent Henderson said, “With a 78% engagement rate, Multi-Lab Safety Week showed that safety isn’t just a compliance box for Facilities. It’s a practical focus embedded in our daily routines. Seeing teams organically adopt these safety messages in their morning huddles proves we are successfully moving safety concepts from the classroom to the shop floor.”
Henderson added, “Because our environment requires us to constantly manage changing facilities and diverse hazards, the week served as an essential reminder that safety drives the work we do daily.”
Multi-Lab Safety Week is highly effective, he said, “Because it provides dedicated, in-person training opportunities that allow employees to step away from their day-to-day responsibilities and focus on workplace safety. Taking time to pause routine activities and concentrate on safety topics reinforces the importance of safety and strengthens our overall safety culture across the Lab.”
The hands-on activities at the Safety During Emergencies Fair provided significant benefits by reinforcing safety through practical, interactive experiences rather than relying solely on standard presentations. An earthquake simulator allowed employees to experience a Richter 7.0 earthquake, similar to the Loma Prieta quake that struck the Bay Area in 1989. The go-bag station demonstrated how easy it is to be prepared with essentials should you have to move quickly and decisively in an emergency. Participants also had the opportunity to learn the correct way to use fire extinguishers, perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, use an automated external defibrillator, and use Stop the Bleed kits; all of which highlighted the benefits of being prepared. The addition this year of a PG&E booth on power line hazards made emergency preparedness tangible and relatable for our staff. For added fun, a safety-themed escape room involved searching for clues. A passport stamped at each of these stations made participants eligible for prizes.
A Safetygram gave a thematic start to each day. Scroll down to see more Safetygrams.
The week also included daily themed safetygrams, completing upcoming or overdue training, attending seminars and the safety emergency fair, and self-performing housekeeping activities. “We also noticed multiple teams and individuals independently using the provided daily safety messages as their safety share topics during regular huddles,” he said. This widespread participation and direct integration into routine meetings demonstrate that the event supported on-site safety protocols and maintained safety as a practical focus across the division. routines.
“Multi-Lab Safety Week is very effective because it provides dedicated, in-person training opportunities that allow employees to step away from their day-to-day responsibilities and focus on workplace safety,” said James Nunez, head of Berkeley Lab’s Emergency Services Department. “Taking time to pause routine activities and focus on safety topics reinforces their importance and strengthens our overall safety culture across the Lab.”
“I believe this training is extremely valuable because it helps better prepare our Lab community to respond effectively during emergencies. Building awareness, preparedness, and resilience across the workforce contributes directly to the safety and well-being of our employees and supports the Lab’s mission.”
Multi-Lab Safety Week 2026 in a minute
Scenes from Multi-Lab Safety Week 2026
ATAP-specific focus areas included ongoing learning and education, as well as housekeeping, which offers the safety and efficiency benefits of clean, organized workspaces.
- Ongoing learning and education:
- Completing overdue and upcoming training
- Learning from the safety-themed seminars
- Attending the Safety During Emergencies Fair
- Housekeeping:
- Reviewing work practices and organizing work areas
- Completing workplace cleanup and conducting self-assessments
- Participating in cross-divisional management walkthroughs and having peers review labs, shops, and offices
The cross-divisional walkthroughs and peer reviews are extremely valuable, said Henderson. “They provide an important opportunity to strengthen partnerships across divisions and reinforce our shared responsibility for maintaining safe, functional work environments across the Lab. These interactions also give us unique insight into how other divisions view and utilize various spaces.”
“Understanding their operational, research, and safety priorities helps us assess overall facility needs more effectively and make more informed maintenance decisions, ultimately leading to better service, stronger relationships, and improved stewardship of our laboratory resources.”
To learn more…
The 2026 Multi-Lab Safety Week featured expert presentations on important safety-related topics. We encourage you to review these videos and maintain the momentum throughout the year.
Check out these daily Safetygrams from the week:
Introducing Multi-Lab Safety Week
Best Practices for Pre-Job Briefings
Onboarding with a Safety Mindset
Emergency Preparedness: Earthquake Response & Recovery @ The Lab
As we wrap up another successful Multi-Lab Safety Week, we plan to hold another event in this important and popular series in 2027. In the meantime, here’s to another year of conducting state-of-the-art science safely!
