HOW TO INCUBATE A CULTURE OF

SAFETY AND WELLNESS IN NUS

3rd NUS Safety, Health and Environment Conference,

27-28th July 2017

DEPARTMENT OF MICROBIOLOGY & IMMUNOLOGY

By Prof. Nicholas R. J. Gascoigne

A/Prof. Kevin S. W. Tan

Mrs. Phoon Meng Chee

As a Microbiology and Immunology

Department, it is vital that we instil and

establish a culture of safety and wellness

that supports and promotes excellent

teaching and research.

This is achieved through four pillars:

Introduction

P C I T

Pa

ss

ion

ate

Pe

op

le

Eff

ec

tiv

e C

om

mu

nic

ati

on

s

Co

nti

nu

al

Tra

inin

g

Inn

ov

ati

ve

In

itia

tiv

es

&

People (P)

Initiatives & Strategies (I)

Communications (C)

Training ( T )

P C I T

The Department• is committed to ensuring a high standard of workplace

safety and health for its staff, research partners,

students and visitors

• has established the Department Safety and Health

Management System (DSHMS) with the overall aim to

support and promote a safe and healthy workplace as

well as to meet or exceed regulatory requirements,

consistent with the NUS University Safety and Health

Policy.

Safety Slogan & Logo

OUR DSH VISION

Ultimately, our vision is:

To be a leading teaching and research department that provides a safe and

healthy environment for all

Expresses the Department of Microbiology and Immunology’s overall objectives

and commitment to preventing injury and ill health, improving Workplace

Safety and Health (WSH) performance

Complies with applicable legislation, NUS Safety & Health Management

System requirements and other requirements

Departmental Safety & Health (DSH)

Policy

Chairperson

Head of DepartmentProf Nicholas GASCOIGNE

CoordinatorA/P Kevin TAN SW

Deputy Coordinator

PHOON Meng Chee

Biological Safety

A/P Justin CHU JHDeputy Chairperson

PHOON Meng Chee Leader

THONG Khar TiangNG Geok Choo

LAU Suk Hiang, Kelly

Chemical Safety

Dr Volker PATZELDeputy Chairperson

Nalini SRINIVASANLeader

SEAH Keng IngLOY Boon Pheng

KOH Guat Nee, JuneLIM Peiwen, Vanessa

General Safety

Dr John CHEN YSDeputy Chairperson

HO Lip ChuenLeader

LEONG May LingTAN Yi Jie, Nikki

Fire Safety

A/P Kevin TAN SWDeputy Chairperson

CHAN Yue NgLeader

Faizal Bin MOHAMADCHUA Yen Leong, Benson

DEPARTMENT SAFETY AND HEALTH

COMMITTEE (DSHC)

ORGANISATION CHART

Milestones & Achievements

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

2013 2014 2015 2016

Nu

mber

of

Ach

ievem

en

ts

Year

Milestones & Achievements

over the years

Year 2012

& 2013

YEAR 2013: Prof Nicholas GASCOIGNE

as Departmental Safety and Health Chair

(DSHCh)

YEAR 2013: Mrs. PHOON Meng

Chee as Departmental Safety and

Health Deputy Coordinator (DSHDCo)

YEAR 2012: A/Prof Kevin SW TAN

as Departmental Safety and Health

Coordinator (DSHCo)

Formulated Departmental Safety and Health

Logo, Slogan, Mission and Vision

New Safety Notice Board

Milestones &

Achievements

Year 2013

Centralized chemical room, with

spark-proof safety features and

oxygen & hydrogen detectors

Centralized liquid nitrogen room with

oxygen detectors

Milestones &

Achievements

Year 2014

2. Inaugural safety website

3. New safety email account

(micsafety@nus.edu.sg) for

effective safety communication

WebsiteOur

Communication via Website

5. Department safety

induction training

1. Formulated

department safety

and health policy

4. Safety Day on 17 Nov 2014

Milestones &

Achievements

Year 2015

ASHPA 2014/2015 - Commitment Award of $10,000

17 Sept 2015 - Guided tour of the Department for 37

top safety management delegates from Universitas

Indonesia 22 Dec 2015 - Formation of a

General Safety and Wellness Team

Milestones &

Achievements

Year 2015

Official launching of our new

Bio-safety Transport Trolley

designed and fabricated by the

Department Bio-Safety Team-

27 Nov 2015

The trolley incorporates twelve safety

and ergonomic features:

• Biological safety features 4

• Ergonomic safety features 5

• General safety features 3

Milestones &

Achievements

Stainless steel

adjustable shelves.

Half extension

sliding base with

full length handle.4 Thermoplastic castor

wheels (2 with total brakes)

Year 2015

Ideal trolley

height of

1480mm.

Round stainless

steel containers.

Foldable handles.

See through window.

Stainless steel

3-point latch

locking system

Acrylic secondary

containers.

Biological safety trolley

Year 2016

Milestones &

Achievements

Additional Safety Features in Chemical Room Installation of Dual Door Handles on Lab doors

CLEAN HANDLE

DIRTY HANDLE

Additional Safety Features in Chemical Room Installation of Dual Door Handles on Lab doors

CLEAN HANDLE

DIRTY HANDLE

Jan 2016 -Installation of dual door handle system

to wooden lab doors without card access system.

25 May - Implementation of 5 additional safety

measures to chemical room

27 Jun 2016 – OSHE & Microbiology and Immunology

Department conducted the 2-stage fire drill in MD4.

13 Jul 2016 – Safety talk and induction training on gas

detection system by Safetech Devices Pte Ltd.

Milestones &

AchievementsYear 2016

DSHC Organised and Conducted Competency and Training

Activities for Staff and Students in the Department

Aug (Sem 1) Teaching of biosafety principles

to LSM2291 undergraduates by OSHE safety

officer and a 2 slides safety briefing before

commencing 1st practical of every teaching

module.

14 Jul 2016 – Biological spill clean-up training

conducted by department biological safety team.

14 Jul 2016 – Chemical spill clean-up training

conducted by department chemical safety team.

Year 2016

Achievements &

Milestones

Department Business Continuity Plan (BCP) Safety Transport Trolleys

Off-site BCP Freezer at MD1, Level 7

On-site BCP Freezer at MD4, Level 1

Bio-Safety Transport Trolley Chem Safe Transport Trolley

Year 2016

2 additional safety bulletin

boards on 3 Aug 2016

NUSMed Safety Day - Booth Excellent

Award. Theme: PUSH SAFETY, PUSH

SAFELY - 6 Sep 2016

Department Safety Day

Talk by Dr Vernon Seow,

NUSMed and Ellen Fong,

Counsellor with Counselling

and Psychological Services,

UWC on 18 Nov 2016.

New Lab Staff Induction

Programme Checklist on 23

Sep 2016

Revised Card Access

Request Application Form

for working after office hours

on 29 Sep 2016

Achievements &

Milestones

Milestones &

Achievements

Awards

1. NUS Safety & Health Commendation Award – 2016-17

2. NUSMed Safety Day – Booth Excellent Award on 6 Sept 2016

3. ASHPA 2014/2015 Commitment Award

4. NUS Building Fire Safety Compliance Award – Platinum in 2016

5. NUS Building Fire Safety Compliance Award – Platinum in 2015

6. NUS Building Fire Safety Compliance Award – Platinum in 2014

7. NUS Building Fire Safety Compliance Award – Platinum in 2013

8. NUS Building Fire Safety Compliance Award – Platinum in 2012

9. NUS Building Fire Safety Compliance Award – Gold in 2011

10. Participation in NUS OSHE SafetyMation Competition in 2011 :

• BioTerminator (Biological Safety Team) – Silver Award

• Chemibugs (Chemical Safety Team) – Consolation Award

• Firebuster (Fire Safety Team) – Consolation Award

11. NUS Building Fire Safety Compliance Award – Gold in 2010

• A robust DSHC

• Effective

leadership

• Good team

players

• Passionate

about safety

• Safety email

account

• Safety website

• 3 safety

bulletin boards

• Monthly

management

and committee

meetings

• Departmental

workshops

and talks

• Annual Safety

Days

• Fire Drills

• Departmental Safety KPIs

• Application of awards

• Establishment of a

departmental ‘On-site’ &

‘Off-site’ Business

Continuity Plan

• A novel Biosafety

Transport Trolley

• Centralized Chemical

Room and Liquid Nitrogen

Room

• Created 114 sets of

departmental SOPs & RAs

• New departmental card

access application form

ICP T

Like the process of microbial

incubation, safety excellence

is an ongoing process that

requires the right

environment for the culture

to grow and flourish.

HOW TO INCUBATE A CULTURE

OF SAFETY AND WELLNESS IN NUS……..

THANK YOU