The University of Massachusetts is now offering a unique 12 credit (4 course) Online Graduate Certificate in Laboratory and Biological Safety designed to introduce the principles of identification, evaluation and control of biological and laboratory hazards. This program is geared toward scientists responsible for biological and/or laboratory safety, practicing occupational and environmental hygienists or biosafety officers and those interested in embarking upon a career in biological and/or laboratory safety.

More information is found at: http://continuinged.uml.edu/online/biosafety.cfm

Online Courses available for Spring 2012 (as part of the certificate or standalone registration):

• 19.516 Laboratory Environmental Health and Safety (required for certificate)
• 36.580 Clinical Applications of Molecular Genetics (Elective)
• 36.613 Infectious Disease (Elective)

As you may know, we suffered the tragic loss of our founder and Chair Pete Seal this year. He is sorely missed but we are determined to continue his great work and go from strength to strength.

We see our main functions as the sharing of industry specific knowledge and the development of fire safety across the sector. We are currently completing a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ with CFOA (the lead body for Fire Services) which will advance these aims. This has already effectively gained us recognition as what in H&S terms would be called a National Interest Group enabling us to influence policy and challenge local decisions if necessary.

We have close to 150 actively participating members from across the UK and as far afield as Hong Kong. Although our institutions vary widely we all share responsibility for fire safety, and property protection to varying degrees, in respect of academic and support service activities involving large amounts of people.

Our main conduits are our section of the USHA website, the HASNET-Fire email system, our annual two day conference and one day meetings. This year’s Conference held in June at Burleigh Court at Loughborough saw a record attendance and the support of sponsors and exhibitors. All attendees found it extremely worthwhile; we are already planning for next year and intend to introduce a training element.

We have working groups who produce guidance; current ones are considering: training for HE fire risk assessors; reduction of false alarms; reduction of student cooking fires; statistics. There are common frustrations we face which we are aiming to address in the near future; these include: late or lack of consultation from within our own institutions on building works and changes of use of areas, the almost automatic dismissal of sprinkler installations as not being cost effective, insufficient fire safety training for staff and students.

Government backed guidance on the competency required to conduct Fire Risk Assessments is soon to be published and will challenge many of us. We are exploring the possibility of a bespoke modular training course, suitable for all levels of current knowledge, completion of which would provide a nationally recognised qualification verifying competency for fire risk assessors in the sector.

John Crust
Chair USHA Specialist Fire Group

Our university is currently coming to terms with its revised structure and grappling with unexpected issues as the students arrive back.  As things settle down the unknowns from the restructuring are reducing and we are able to steadily restore our confidence in the H&S management system and the understanding of it by the restructured organisation.

Within USHA the task of hosting the 40th anniversary April 2012 conference in Bristol requires concentrated splurges of output but through liaison with the conference organising committee the arrangements are coming together nicely, and the programme is starting to look mightily impressive.

I have put some time aside in my calendar to prepare a presentation on the financial forecast for USHA over the coming years to inform what is sure to be a lively debate on the association’s financial strategy at the meeting later this month.

Day-to-day administration of the accounts is easing through the use of on-line banking, and the fact that our Executive Officer Lynda Couch-Smith now does most of the work, but the work steadily continues in areas such as tackling the bureaucracy involved by the banks in setting up businesses and getting administrative authority onto bank accounts, setting financial limits on activity and informing & influencing the Executive Boards decision making based on realistic financial forecasting.

As ever, if any members have any financial questions I am more than happy to answer.

Best wishes
Pete

Peter Adams
Director of Health and Safety
University of Bristol

For example the Birmingham H,S & E Association, Leicestershire Occupational Safety and Health Association or the Scottish Chamber of Safety to name just three.

Indeed are you aware that there are local safety groups?  A full list of local groups which come under the Safety Groups UK umbrella is here
http://www.safetygroupsuk.org.uk/affiliatedgroups/index.htm

Safety Groups UK http://www.safetygroupsuk.org.uk/aboutus/index.htm has approached USHA to see if any mutual benefit can by achieved by some sort of formal or informal ‘partnership’ or ‘memorandum of understanding’ or similar between us.

I have volunteered to look into this for USHA, partly because as I am an active member of the local Birmingham group, and the group’s representative for SGUK, and partly because the representative I will be dealing with from SGUK is based in Birmingham.

However, before going any further, it would be good to gauge USHA members’ current involvement with their local safety groups and SGUK.

Could I ask you, (as the primary USHA contact for your institutions), to answer, as far as you can, the following questions?  Please send the replies back directly to me This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

1. Have you heard of local safety groups?
2. Do you know of your local safety group?
3. If you do, which group is it?
4. Do you and/or your staff attend meetings and events put on by your local group?  (Occasionally or regularly.)
5. Are you and/or any of your staff on your group’s organising committee?
6. Have you/your staff any other involvement with your local group?
7. Have you heard of SGUK and had any involvement with it?
8. From your experience are local safety groups ‘useful’ and worth supporting?
9. Any other comments?