The use of warning signs to designate particular hazards is not just a good idea. It’s the law.

The practice of forbidding smoking, eating, and drinking in laboratories is one of the basic good hygiene practices. Unfortunately, it is often one of the most frequently disregarded. Too many people seem to have a "good reason" for continuing these bad habits. None of these reasons are good enough.

While having no accidents isn't necessarily a good indication that everything's OK, having them go unreported makes the matter worse. The reporting of all accidents is extremely important. Every accident is an opportunity to improve your safety program, to learn how to do a better job, and to protect your workers and facilities.

Can you identify the hazards that are present? Are they chemical, physical, biological, mechanical, electrical, radiation, noise, stress, or high/low pressure? Those are life’s nine hazards and you should look for them before beginning an experiment.

There are surely going to be times when experiments must continue running on their own while you do other things (go out to lunch or home to sleep). At these times, it’s important to consider all the things that could go wrong in your absence and to prepare for them.

Signing a rules agreement does several things. It makes you decide what the rules and policies are going to be. It shows everyone that you are concerned about health and safety. It keeps a permanent record of your safety standards.

Inspections get people involved in thinking about hazards and unsafe practices in the workplace. These should be done at least four times a year (monthly is better).

Everyone likes to receive a reward for good performance. It can be a merit raise, it can be a promotion, or it can be praise from a superior. Good performance deserves to be recognized and rewarded. Safety performance is no different. When it’s done right, it should be recognized.

There’s a tendency to think that if someone is appointed safety coordinator, they have to do all the work for the rest of us. False! A coordinator is just that. He or she is not a “parent.” Each person needs to be responsible for safety in general and for a specific part of the program in particular. Here’s a list of a number of different specific assignments:

Employees, faculty, staff, and students need to be encouraged to develop a genuine concern about their own health and safety. It’s too easy to care less and become careless.

 All new employees, students, faculty, and staff should receive a specially designed introduction to your safety program.

Your department should have a safety committee. Academic institutions and companies should all have safety committees. The committees should consist of employees, supervisors, faculty, staff, administration, and students.

This is the cornerstone of a good safety program. It’s a statement endorsed and supported by the administration that speaks to the fundamental responsibilities for health and safety in the academic institution or company.

For too many years at academic institutions and some companies, health, safety and the environment have been something extra. It’s time that it becomes part of the process.

One school accumulated 20 five-pound bottles of mercury. Each year they ordered from the same list that they had used the year before! Not a good idea. You need to know what you have, where it’s located, and who’s responsible for it.