Berkeley Lab

Multilab Safety Week 2022: October 31- November 4

Fermilab, Brookhaven Join with ATAP for First Multilab Safety Week

Berkeley Lab’s ATAP-led Safety Week was too good an idea to keep to ourselves! In the spirit of collaboration and knowledge-sharing, two organizations that work closely with us — Brookhaven National Laboratory’s Magnet Division and Fermilab’s High-Luminosity LHC Accelerator Upgrade Program — joined ATAP.

Multilab Safety Week builds on the successful tradition of Safety Day, which ATAP adopted on a pilot basis in 2015, with a fullfledged effort in 2016. Berkeley Lab’s Engineering Division and the ALS Upgrade Project joined us during subsequent years. It became a weeklong event, with one or two hours a day of activities, to add flexibility during the pandemic. Multilab Safety Week 2022 was held October 31 through November 4.

Scenes from Multilab Safety Week

Here are some highlights of our work.


Man (Wes Tabler) putting thing into salvage container
Salvaging excess while maintaining tagged-asset accountability?  Wes Tabler can play it like a fiddle
Jessica Rivas tips e-waste into a bin
Jessica Rivas finds that getting e-waste out of one's office is a pleasure
Liona Fan-Chiang disposes of broken space heater
Liona Fan-Chiang sends space heaters that failed a safety check to a better place
Two women on QUEST inspection: Marge Rowan (l.) and Maria Nappi
Marge Rowan (l.) and Maria Nappi participated in laser-lab management walkthrough
An optical table in BELLA before and after tidying-up
Screen shot of six people on Zoom call
These multi-lab Zoom meetings were fun and productive.  "What is 'Preparing for Not-Jeopardy'"?
Woman (Stephanie Chan) on safety inspection
Stephanie Chan conducts management walkthrough in superconducting magnet assembly area
LHC AUP team at Safety Week
High-Luminosity LHC Accelerator Upgrade Project team in magnet assembly area
Cleanup team in B58
Building 58 cleanup team takes a break from their efforts
James Nunez (l.) and Brent Henderson on management walkthrough
James Nunez (l.) and Brent Henderson conduct management walkthrough in HL-LHC AUP magnet assembly area

 

 

Screen shot of the four main planners of Safety Week

Clockwise from top left: Shown in one of their numerous Zoom meetings leading up to Multilab Safety Week are ATAP EH&S Coordinator Pat Thomas, ATAP Deputy Division Director for Operations Asmita Patel, Fermilab EH&S Professional Amy Pavnica, and Brookhaven Magnet Division EHS Coordinator Marteenio Samms, key organizers of the event

Besides extensive physical clean-up of labs, shops, and offices, Multilab Safety Week 2022 comprised a series of seminars and management walk-arounds that focused on opportunities for eliminating, minimizing, and re-using/recycling waste materials and equipment. On Monday, October 31, 2022, over 300 attendees from the three national labs participated in kick-off meetings launching the event.

 

L-R: Andrew Peterson, Edward Sierra, and Angela Aparicio

L-R: Andrew Peterson, Edward Sierra, and Angela Aparicio

On Tuesday, November 1, 2022, Andrew Peterson (Berkeley Lab), Edward Sierra (BNL), and Angela Aparicio (Fermilab) co-presented a seminar on the processes, procedures, and responsibilities underpinning the Occurrence Reporting and Processing System (ORPS). The seminar was attended by over 200 participants, who learned about the importance of capturing safety events in the ORPS.

 

Five people: L-R: Melanie Alexandre, Michael Kincaid, Fred Horn, Amy Pavinca, and David Cathey

L-R: Melanie Alexandre, Michael Kincaid, Fred Horn, Amy Pavinca, and David Cathey

The focus turned to material handling on Wednesday, November 2, 2022, with Melanie Alexandre and Michael Kincaid of Berkeley Lab, Fred Horn from Brookhaven, and Amy Pavnica and David Cathey of Fermilab delivering a seminar entitled “Material Handling and Ergonomics.” The seminar covered the correct way to handle materials, highlighted some key handling statistics, conveyed lessons learned from Berkeley Lab, and also shared tips and resources from the ergo.lbl.gov website.

 

Three men: L-R: Kurt Ettinger, Michael Clancy, Robert Bushek

L-R: Kurt Ettinger, Michael Clancy, Robert Bushek

Attendance was strong again on Thursday, November 3, 2022, with over 200 attendees hearing from Kurt Ettinger (Berkeley Lab), Michael Clancy (Brookhaven), and Robert Bushek (Fermilab), who provided their perspectives on the proper Personal Protective Equipment to use when working in labs and shops.

 
Screen shot of Not-Jeopardy game

The essence of safety: not jeopardy

Picture of two goats

Greatest Of All Time at removing light fuels from steep hillsides… adorably. [Kelly Owen/Berkeley Lab]

Closing out the week, LBNL’s Asmita Patel, Patricia Thomas, and Joe Chew co-hosted “Not Jeopardy” on Friday. The game provided the over 150 participants with a fun opportunity to test their safety knowledge and to learn more about their sister labs: who knew, for example, that goats are employed as an effective wildfire prevention measure in the steep terrain of the Berkeley hills? Not Jeopardy was more than just a trivia game — it was a great team building event.


The material below was the “Save the Date” announcement

Save the dates and visit this page often for the latest information!

Poster describing Safety Week 2022

Click for full-size PDF

Screen shot of four safety related managers in Zoom meeting

Clockwise from top left: Berkeley Lab’s Pat Thomas and Asmita Patel, Fermilab’s Amy Pavnica, and Brookhaven’s Marteenio Samms are key organizers of the first multi-lab Safety Week

Word is getting out regarding the benefits of Safety Week! It will be a joint multi-lab activity this year, with the High-Luminosity LHC Accelerator Upgrade Program team at Fermilab and the Magnet Division at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and possibly other Berkeley Lab divisions, joining ATAP Division.

Safety Day/Week has been a successful tradition in ATAP. This year, the weeklong format will allow us a total of a work day’s worth of activities while accommodating hybrid work schedules in an all-hands, all-hazards event.

Throughout the week, ATAP Programs will be setting aside times that work best for them to participate in specific safety activities; including special safety seminars, workplace cleanups and chemical stewardship, workplace self-assessment, and management walkthroughs. Safety themes will be: Housekeeping, On-the-Job/WPC Training, LOTO and Electrical Safety, and Machine Shop Maintenance.

Safety Week Zoom Background

Show your Safety Week spirit in virtual events with this custom Zoom background.