Hop on board with safety

Summary form only given. It is only possible to maintain a safe laboratory if all users accept the importance of safety protocols. At the Microlab at the University of California at Berkeley, there is a structure of peer training for users on new machines; this also serves as a conduit to maintain a culture among lab users to encourage one another to be safe. In addition, there are a number of ways that users keep in touch with lab managers about safety concerns: a suggestion box, reports of unsafe usage via the standard problem reporting method on the computer, and a safety committee, comprised of lab staff and lab members. It was from this safety committee that the suggestion of a safety video came. Committee members were concerned about common mistakes made by many current users and they wanted to demonstrate proper procedure to them and new users alike. One person was hired by the lab to shepherd all aspects of the project: script writing and editing, managing the filming, and assisting in post-production. With input from the safety committee, the lab manager and the film's director, plus a sense of what makes information easily retainable (mnemonics, review sections, multiple modes of communicating key ideas) the film was completed in a little over 2 months. The 20 min. safety video, Hop on Board: Safety and Chemical Hygiene in the Microlab, is the result of these efforts.