EHS for Staff and Students
The Melbourne Dental School, in line with other off-campus departments of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, has implemented SafetyMAP(which stands for ‘Safety Management Achievement Program’). SafetyMAP is a safety audit system that provides a set of criteria used to measure current performance and identify areas where an organisation can improve its health and safety management system. SafetyMAP has been adopted by the University as its health and safety management system. It is crucial to the success of any health and safety management system that all staff and students be aware of procedures and of the resources available to them.
The clinics come under the jurisdiction of RDMH, not the School. EHS procedures in place within the clinics are therefore determined by the Hospital and posted within the clinical areas and must be complied with.
Environment Health and Safety (EHS) Notice boards
EHS notice boards are on floors 1, 3, 5 & 6. The 1st floor notice board is in the entry to the main classroom. The 3rd floor notice board is in the corridor outside the Preclinical Laboratory. The 5th & 6th floor notice boards are in the corridors running off the foyers. Environment Health and Safety notices, list of emergency personnel, emergency procedures, minutes of EHS meetings, etc. are displayed on these boards. Students should locate these notice boards and ensure that they consult them regularly for updates, new information, etc. Any suggestion as to what other useful EHS information might be added on the notice boards should be brought to the attention of Dennis Rowler (School Environment Health and Safety Officer, ext 1504) or Mr Alan Eddy (School Manager, ext 1502).
Emergency Procedures
The Royal Dental Hospital Emergency Evacuation Procedures are displayed on walls throughout the building. They are situated in the foyers on each floor near the lifts as well as other prominent places.
The displayed procedures consist of:
- A Standard Emergency Orders sheet.
- A Warden List.
- A floor plan of the Emergency Exits, Evacuation System and Assembly Points.
Emergency numbers are displayed on the EHS notice boards. Please make sure you know where to find them should you need them in a hurry.
You should know who the respective floor and area wardens are, as they would be the people directing operations in case of an emergency. From the floor plan, you can identify your area and look up the names of the wardens responsible for that particular block. Any instruction from a warden during an evacuation must be complied with.
Fire extinguishers, chemical spill kits, first aid boxes
Fire extinguishers are located in the corridors throughout the building and laboratories. There are clear signs on the ceilings or the walls indicating the location of fire extinguishers. There are two types of fire extinguishers:
- Water (red): flammable solids, NOT electrical or flammable liquids
- Dry chemical (red with white stripe): all purpose
Please ensure that you know the location of the dry chemical (all purpose) and water extinguishers nearest to your working area.
Chemical spill kits are located in the fifth floor Histopathology Storeroom and in the sixth floor Central research laboratory. In the event of a chemical spill, please consult Dennis Rowler (fourth floor, ext 1054) or Peter Riley (sixth floor, ext 1543) as there are different kits for different chemicals.
First aid boxes are located as follows:
| Floor | Location | Room No. |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Main teaching classroom | 1.420 |
| 3 | PreClinical Teaching Laboratory | 3.115 |
| 3 | Removable Prosthetics Laboratory | 3.108 |
| 4 | School Office | kitchen facility area |
| 5 | South corridor | |
| 6 | Main Entrance | opposite meeting room |
| 6 | PC2 Lab | south side between east & west lab |
Material Safety Data Sheets
Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) must be available for each pure and proprietary chemical or product used in any work area. Staff and students using chemicals should be aware of any risk associated with their handling and are expected to be familiar with the contents of the relevant data sheets. CHEMWATCH is a database chemical management system used by the University. Consult CHEMWATCH for MSDS’s, labels & other chemical information. http://www.pb.unimelb.edu.au/ehs/workplace_ehs/chemwatch/
Please consult your supervisor or the person in charge of the laboratory if you do not know where to find a relevant MSDS.
Safe Work Procedures and Risk Assessmentments
Safe Work Procedures and Risk Assessments of all procedures and equipment where a risk is involved is required under SafetyMAP. All users must be apprised of the risks associated with using particular pieces of equipment/procedures, and of the precautions that are to be taken. Again, consult with your supervisor or the laboratory/work area supervisor if you are unsure.
Preclinical Laboratories
Environment Health and Safety issues and rules of conduct are of specific relevance to the preclinical laboratories. Rules are clearly posted within the laboratories. Students must abide by these rules and follow safe procedures or risk being excluded from the preclinical laboratories.
Accidents and Incidents
Staff and students who suffer an accident on RDHM, School premises or in one of the outreach clinics must report the matter immediately to the person in charge of the particular area where the accident occurs (clinic, laboratory) or to the School Office (if the accident happens in non-specific areas such as corridors, stairs, etc.). The University of Melbourne Incident Report form is an S3 (blank copies are available from the School Office). The RDHM also has an incident report form. A completed form (S3 or RDHM) must be forwarded to the School Office as soon as possible (within 24 hours). Staff are required to complete an incident report online through THEMIS. Details can be found at http://www.pb.unimelb.edu.au/ehs/ehs/incidentreporting/
NB: Staff and students can be treated at minimal or no cost at the University of Melbourne Student Health Service in Cardigan Street.
Melbourne Dental School Environmental Health and Safety Webpage
You will find the Melbourne Dental School EHS WebPage at: http://www.dent.unimelb.edu.au/dsweb/info_staff/ehs.html
From the School’s Webpage, you can access the University Environment Health and Safety Information and the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences Environment Health and Safety webpage. The site also allows you to:
- download a number of EHS forms, such as Risk Assessment Form, Workplace Inspection Checklists, Accident Report Form, induction forms, etc.
- Consult/download information and guidelines on a number of EHS issues such as responsibilities of students, individual staff and supervisors, issue resolution procedures, etc.
- Read/download minutes of EHS Committees.
Obviously, the School EHS Webpage is an important resource established for the convenience and information of staff and students. It has far more information and details than can be given in this summary sheet, and you are invited to familiarise yourself with its contents.
After Hours Access
Business hours for the Melbourne Dental School are 8.45 am to 5.00 pm. Undergraduate students may not be on the premises outside these hours unless with the prior approval of the School Manager.
Please refer to Melbourne Dental School EHS WebPage for further information on After Hours Access.
http://www.dent.unimelb.edu.au/dsweb/info_staff/ehs.html
WHAT TO DO IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY:
Students in teaching facilities should follow initially the instructions of the lecturer/demonstrator and both must comply with any instructions issued by building wardens.
Should you have any concerns about Environment Health and Safety or Emergency Procedures matters, please discuss them with your supervisor (in the case of PG students), your year convenor or with the School EHS Officer, Dennis Rowler (4th floor School Office, ext 1504). The School’s Environment Health and Safety Committee has representation from students and issues could also be raised in that particular forum.