Inspections + Maintenance
Inspection and maintenance are key elements of the Health, Safety and Environment Management System (HSEMS).
U of A senior administrators, supervisors, staff and students have legislated and university-mandated roles and responsibilities related to inspection and maintenance. Review the Inspection and Maintenance Assignment of Accountability and procedure to learn more.
Regular Maintenance
Lab Principal Investigators (PIs) should complete the laboratory safety checklist on a monthly basis and conduct eyewash testing weekly to maintain safe, healthy and environmentally-responsible practices in the workplace.
For office or administrative areas, use the office inspection template to conduct a monthly or quarterly safety inspection.
Annual Inspections
Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) conducts annual inspections of laboratories (including shared spaces, storage rooms, cold rooms and autoclave rooms) to verify safe work practices and answer questions. If you are a new researcher or have a new lab on campus, complete the New PI Survey to declare the work you plan to do.
HSE generally schedules inspections with PIs by email several weeks in advance. To prepare for an inspection:
- review the inspection checklist and address any outstanding issues.
- check your lab registry on ARISE to ensure it is up-to-date.
- be prepared to accompany the HSE representative during the inspection (approximately 60 minutes). If you are unavailable, assign another member of the research group who is familiar with the lab and is able to register the lab in ARISE (or make updates to the registry).
- assemble the documentation that is part of the inspection process.
- write down questions you (or your research group) have for HSE.
Following the inspection, HSE will send you a report with any outstanding items that may need follow-up.
In addition to annual inspections, HSE also conducts inspections related to the use of biohazardous materials, nuclear substances and lasers or x-ray equipment.