Safety & Health Specialist - Laboratory Safety Division

 

Primary Purpose of Organizational Unit:

Duke University and Duke University Health System are committed to fostering excellence and leadership in education, healthcare delivery, medical teaching and research. The Occupational and Environmental Safety Office (OESO) exists to support this Institutional effort by promoting a safe environment for the Duke Community that is conducive to achieving such excellence while providing the highest level of customer service possible. OESO is committed to providing expertise in safety and health in a friendly, responsive and enthusiastic manner.

 

Specific to the Laboratory Safety Division:

The Laboratory Safety Division coordinates the programs for recognizing, evaluating and controlling health and safety hazards in the laboratory environment. The Lab Safety Division collaborates extensively with the other Divisions within OESO to provide guidance for lab personnel who handle or who could potentially be exposed to hazards in the laboratory. This is accomplished through the development of policies and training programs that are based on regulatory requirements or current safety guidelines. The Laboratory Safety and Health Specialist supports these programs and reports directly to the Director of the Laboratory Safety Division of the OESO.

 

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Serve as a primary resource regarding health and safety within the laboratory environment.  Will be able to recognize deficiencies and hazards independently and research unfamiliar situations. Provide technical leadership to Duke Departments and personnel. Serve as expert consultant for safety issues within the institution.
• Conduct laboratory safety audits in research, clinical, and teaching laboratories.
• Communicate federal, state and local regulations accurately and effectively to insure safety compliance.
• Perform accident investigations and work with departments to correct safety hazards and develop preventative procedures. 
• Develop reports documenting observations, sampling results, and recommendations for OESO and Duke independently.  Assist lower level employees in developing reports and recommendations.  Compile and present reports to management related to safety and health activities.
• Provide solutions to a variety of problems where analysis of data requires evaluation of identifiable factors. Exercise judgment within defined policies and/or parameters in selecting methods and techniques for obtaining solutions.
• Review planned expansion, modifications, or closures of facilities that affect occupational safety.  Contribute to the design of new laboratory facilities where hazardous materials will be used or hazardous processes will be located.
• Determine sampling priorities for the institution and request the necessary budget resources to accomplish goals.  Develop comprehensive sampling strategies for specific project and work areas, and perform sampling to evaluate personnel exposures and engineering controls.  Review sampling strategies and results for Safety Technicians and level 1 & 2 Specialists.
• Determine priorities for safety and health investigations in Duke's diverse work areas.  Identify personnel, institutional and material resources needed to accomplish objectives.
• Recognize injury and illness trends within the organization and develop and implement Duke-wide solutions (policies and training strategies, etc.), working with Employee Occupational Health and Wellness, Workers’ Compensation and other departments as appropriate.
• Develop and implement University-wide policies with minimal input from Division Director.
• Perform Job Hazard Assessments and recommend measures to control exposures, including substitution of less hazardous materials, personal protective equipment (PPE), work practice changes, and engineering controls.  Provide input to engineers for development or improvement of engineering controls.  Develop and recommend appropriate engineering or work process modifications to prevent worker illness or injury. Provide follow-up assessment of recommendations.
• Prepare training classes and materials and deliver training courses that have already been developed.  Determine training needs and develop new programs and training materials as necessary. Contribute to and oversee training development and delivery by lower level employees.
• Provide leadership and direction to professional and technical staff and participate in the professional development of staff.
• Work with departments to develop new safety committees or take a leadership role in enlarging the focus/scope of the safety committee's activities, advocate improvements to department safety policies, direct safety committee concerns to the appropriate divisions of OESO and act as a technical advisor on safety and health issues.