2023 Workshop on Laboratory Safety:
Human Factors: Safety & Technology
September 17-19, 2023
About the Workshop
Where: UCLA Campus, Los Angeles, CA
The 2023 Workshop is a unique forum for researchers from academia, government laboratories, and industry to work together with EH&S experts and administrators from funding, regulatory, and other organizations to improve laboratory safety. Organizational policies, safety software, technology, and more work for and with humans. This year's theme, "Human Factors: Safety and Technology," will explore the complex and dynamic relationship between people, organizational factors, safety, and technology.
During the Workshop, participants formed Workgroups to collaborate and discuss topics at the intersection of laboratory safety and technology. After discussion, Workgroups had the opportunity to present their ideas to the greater Workshop and hear the conclusions of other Workgroups. I
The specific objectives of the Workshop were:
- Identify human factors design principles
- Explore common pitfalls of safety technology and software in the laboratory safety sphere
- Discuss best practices for human-centric safety technology
Proceedings of the workshop are published in the Journal of Chemical Health and Safety.
Sunday, September 17th
Location: Covel Commons
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM | Registration Open |
| 4:45 PM - 5:00 PM | Opening Remarks and Acknowledgement of the Gabrielino/Tongva Peoples | Craig Merlic (Executive Director of the UC Center for Laboratory Safety, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, UCLA) |
| 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM | Keynote: There Are No Accidents | Jessie Singer (Independent Journalist and Author) |
| 6:00 PM - 6:50 PM | Workgroup Icebreaker |
| 6:55 PM - 7:00 PM | Welcoming Remarks | Gene Block (Chancellor, UCLA) |
| 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM | Networking Dinner with Awards Presentation |
Monday, September 18th
Location: Covel Commons
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 7:30 AM - 2:30 PM | Registration |
| 7:30 AM - 8:30 AM | Continental Breakfast |
| 8:30 AM - 8:40 AM | Welcoming Remarks | Craig Merlic |
| 8:40 AM - 9:25 AM | Human Factors in Machine Learning for Laboratory Safety | Jessica Baweja (Social Scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)) |
| 9:25 AM - 10:10 AM | Human Factors, Design, and Safety in the Laboratory | Camille Peres (Associate Professor with Environmental and Occupational Health and an Associate Director of the ErgoCenter, Texas A&M University) |
| 10:10 AM - 10:30 AM | Coffee Break |
| 10:30 AM - 11:15 AM | Artificial Intelligence: Unleashing New Tools, Ethics & Risks, and Changes Coming | Janette Ducut (Director of Training & Education, UC Riverside) |
| 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM | Interactive Panel Discussion on AI in Safety | Alisha Klatt (Instructional Designer, Safety Training Consortium, UCLA), Justin Sabo (Information Security Officer, Risk and Safety Solutions), and Imke Schroeder (Research Project Manager, UC Center for Laboratory Safety, UCLA) |
| 12:15 PM - 1:30 PM | Lunch |
| 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM | AI and the Modernization of Chemical Hazards and Safety Data Management Systems | Kevin Fenton (System Engineer, Colorado State University Center) |
| 2:15 PM - 2:30 PM | Workgroup Sessions Introduction | Imke Schroeder |
| 2:30 PM - 5:30 PM | Workgroup Sessions & Coffee |
| 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM | Poster Session, Vendor Displays, and Reception |
| 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM | Networking Dinner |
Tuesday, September 19th
Location: Covel Commons
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 7:30 AM - 8:30 AM | Continental Breakfast |
| 8:30 AM - 9:30 AM | Decision Analysis Methods for a Strong Safety Culture | Tom Krause (Safety Consultant, Bell Krause Group) |
| 9:30 AM - 9:45 AM | Student-Led Safety Teams (LSTs): Strengthening Academic Lab Safety from the Bottom Up | Daniel Hu (Graduate Student, University of Notre Dame) |
| 9:45 AM - 10:45 AM | Panel on Student Safety Groups | Brayley Gattis (Graduate Student, Northwestern University), Daniel Hu, Kevin Koshiro (Graduate Student, UCLA), and Ethan Raffman (Graduate Student, UC Irvine) |
| 10:45 AM - 11:00 AM | Coffee Break |
| 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Plenary Session Part I: Summary Presentation from Workgroup Teams A - AI Solutions for Laboratory Safety B - Lab Safety Technology C - Fire Safety in the Laboratory D - Safety Best Practices for Maker Spaces |
| 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM | Lunch |
| 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM | Plenary Session Part II: Summary Presentation from Workgroup Teams E - Preventing Incidents F - Communicating Lessons Learned G - Addressing Human Factors H - Ethics, Obligations, and Lab Safety |
| 2:00 PM - 2:15 PM | Closing Remarks | Craig Merlic and Imke Schroeder |
Workshop Organizers
This Workshop is organized by representatives from the American Chemical Society (ACS), Division of Occupational Health and Safety at NIH, Harvard University, Michigan Tech University, Northwestern University, UC Center for Laboratory Safety, UC Office of the President, and UCLA. Thank you tremendously to the Workshop Organizing Committee, whose hard work made the Workshop possible:
- Michael Blayney
- Jack Bracken
- Mary Corrigan
- Marta Gmurczyk
- Craig Merlic
- Monica Nyansa
- Curtis Plotkin
- Imke Schroeder
- Ken Smith
- Sarah Zinn
Sponsors
And thank you to the 2023 WLS sponsors!
