July 22, 2013 Minutes
JOINT HEALTH AND SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
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DUNLAP INSTITUTE FOR ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
HELD ON JULY 22, 2013, 11:00A.M. – 12:00P.M., CONFERENCE ROOM AB101-H
Minutes respectfully submitted by Alice Chow, Recording Secretary
ATTENDANCE: A. Choi, A. Chow, M. Millar-Blanchaer, D.S. Moon, G. Patel, S. Wright, M. Williams, H. Zhao
1. Approval of Agenda: Approved.
2. Welcome and Introduction of Max Millar-Blanchaer, new member of DAA/Dunlap HSC: H. Zhao welcomed M. Millar-Blanchaer as the GASA representative at HSC.
3. Approval of Minutes of Meeting February 6, 2013: Approved. As a follow up of Item 5, H. Zhao reported that after last HSC, B. Netterfield inquired about the inspection of the crane. D.S. Moon has then provided the information. H. Zhao has also sent out instructions to all lab supervisors and to be posted in the labs. M. William suggested having a health and safety binder, including all the relevant information. H. Zhao and A. Choi will work on the binder.
4. Report from Joint Health and Safety Committee (South) (M. Williams): M. Williams reported that there is a health and safety online orientation for employee. In theory, all new employees should complete it. All agreed that all employees at the UofT should complete it at some point.
5. JHSC Inspection Report (H. Zhao): H. Zhao reported that a JHSC yearly inspection has been conducted on March 26, 2013. We have met all the safety requirements and the report has requested us to put additional information on the health and safety bulletin board. The Chair has signed and returned the report to FAS. H. Zhao added that the inspection focused on the workplace safety and no inspection has been conducted for the labs. M. Williams commented that JHSC should inspect the labs as well. Because of liability reasons, all agreed that HSC should check with JHSC if they inspect the labs.
6. Inspection Report, Plan and Assignment (A. Choi, M. Williams, G. Patel): A. Choi reported that an inspection has been conducted in January 2013 for MP 12th, 13th, 15th and 16th floors by M. Williams and G. Patel. It was found that one of the fixtures for the overhead lights in MP1212 was looseand has already requested Facilities and Services to fix it. M. Williams and G. Patel will inspect. Since Physics did the inspection themselves, H. Zhao would pass our MP inspection report to Physics HSC. A. Choi recommended conducting the inspection every six months on 12th (MP1203 – 1212B), 13th (Library), 15th and 16th floors and D.S. Moon suggested inspecting the Astronomy Building (including labs) ourselves. All agreed. The next inspection will be conducted in August 2013.
7. Training and Certification (H. Zhao): H. Zhao reported that he has forwarded the training information to M. William. M. Williams was planning to attend the CPR training in August 2013 plus level 1 Health and Safety training.
8. Building Security: A. Choi reported that someone has broken into the Astronomy Building through the lady washroom window on the 1st floor on June 21, 2013. The window screen inside the washroom has been broken and all the windows on the corridor were opened. Fortunately nothing has been stolen. This incident has been reported to the Campus Police. It is suspected that the suspect came from the fire route stairs and walked along the roof. In terms of security measure, the Property Manager said nothing can be added along the route as it is the fire route; however, screws have been installed on the windows in the lady washroom and two windows on the corridor such that the windows can only be opened for 6 inches only.
9. Other Business: S. Wright reported that during the thunderstorm on July 8th, 2013, there were arcs in AB73B and AB52. The 6-inch arc in AB73B hit the crane while the one in AB52 hit the metal bars. The incident has already been reported to the Property Manager. [After meeting note: An electrical specialist from the Electrical Safety Authority came and inspected AB73A, B, C on July 24th regarding the electric arc. Based on his knowledge, the arc should be induced by the stream plant on 17 Russell, in which its chimney has been attacked during the thunderstorm on July 8th. He said the arc should be grounded within the stream plant instead of transmitting to other buildings. He suspected something has been changed inside the stream plant during the shutdown/renovation last year which led to the transmission of the arc. He said our building should be safe and that was likely a once in a life time event. However, he will write a report regarding this matter and recommend the university to inspect if necessary.] Regarding the thunderstorm and flooding on July 8th, 2013, H. Zhao alerted the committee that all the computer servers will die if there is flooding in AB as they are not in UPS. D.S. Moon concluded that these are power issues as well as location issues. Since there is no solution in changing the location of the servers, it is suggested that H. Zhao to discuss with the Chair and the Dunlap Interim Director regarding UPS. S. Wright also suggested putting the servers on racks for better protection.
S. Wright reported that Lab 73C has been converted to a mini machine shop. There were large equipment inside the lab; anyone who wants to access that room requires safety training.
10. Next Meeting: The next meeting will be held in January or February 2014.
11. Meeting adjourned at 11:48 a.m.