Imagine yourself arriving at CERN for the first time; you probably know very little about how CERN is organised, the location of the different buildings and the types of installations and equipment. As a newcomer, you are keen and motivated and want to start working as soon as possible. However, it is important for you that you know your workplace, the equipment, the infrastructure, the risks that are present, and the behaviour that you should adopt in the event of an emergency. You should, therefore, receive safety training and be made aware of any safety issues concerning your work.

Presently at CERN, safety courses are given either online or in class depending on the activities in which you will get involved. Though these courses do offer some knowledge concerning a number of safety issues they may not be tailored to your specific workplace.

Prior to joining the CMS Safety Office I worked in the TE-VSC group. It was here that I first developed and implemented the procedure whereby a safety visit is arranged, by the supervisor, in the building/laboratory where the newcomer will spend most of his/her time. In this way the newcomer receives the important safety information and the safety awareness and responsibility of the supervisor are also reinforced.

The main objectives of this safety visit and procedure are the following:

• Newcomer
  • learn about the risks present at his/her workplace
  • get a list of any protective equipment that may be needed
  • know which safety training needs to be followed
• Supervisor and/or laboratory-workshop responsible
  • refresh him/her about the risks present at the workplace and the safety equipment
  • can identify some safety discrepancies (for instance no assembly point or first aid box empty)
• Safety Link Person
  •  have an overview of the risks, equipment and safety trainings for each newcomer
  • can more easily ensure that the newcomer has  followed the safety trainings required and is well equipped

The supervisor plans and performs the safety visit of the workplace with the newcomer. Depending on the building/laboratory the visit lasts between 30 min and 1 hour. With the help of the document, which is a general safety check-list, the supervisor shows all safety equipment, systems and risks which might be present at the newcomers workplace. The document includes as well a list of safety courses and Personal Protective Equipment. At the end of the visit, the supervisor and the newcomer complete the document. Then the newcomer scans/copies it to the Safety Link person and keeps the original version. This visit is also the occasion for the newcomer and the supervisor to spend time together, have an exchange about safety and for both persons to ask questions on any topic they want.

In July 2015 I suggested to the PH safety office that they adopt a similar procedure for the PH Department whereby every newcomer meets the Department’s secretariat who will hand over the new “Safety for newcomers” document and briefly explain its purpose. The above procedure with the supervisor is then performed.

I think that this approach could be easily implemented in the PH department and the Large Experiments –where it can be extremely useful given the large number of users hosted by this department - as well as to other departments at CERN. The PH safety office supports this initiative and will now see how and when these proposals may be developed further.