Faculty of Science workplace health, safety and environment award 2008

On behalf of the Dean and other members of the selection committee I am pleased to announce that the Faculty of Science Workplace Health, Safety and Environment Award for 2008 has been jointly awarded to the following;

Ros Gleadow and Kirstie Abbott, SCI 2010
While the majority of SCI2010 assignments are submitted electronically using Blackboard, one workshop activity is still paper based due to the fact that it is peer reviewed assignment. This presently consumes approximately 1500 pages of paper per year. The need for paper can be eliminated by developing and implementing an online reviewing system. The funds allocated through this award will be used for the development of an automated web based interface leading to educational improvements as well as benefiting the environment.

Janette Skoufis, Faculty Student Services Office
Common workplace injuries are often caused by a combination of muscle under-use and over-use which has been shown to be particularly related to the demands of computer based jobs. WorkPace is a software program developed by Balanced Ergonomics. It runs in the background on a staff members PC providing break and exercise reminders. Consequently it aims to help employees achieve positive behaviour change and reduce the risk of musculoskeletal or repetitive strain injuries. Proceeds from this award will fund a number of licenses available to all staff. Anyone interested in using the program are invited to download a trial version after which they can apply for a license via Sharon Lockhart. Further information and access to the trial program can be found at http://www.workpace.com/::bergo

Staff in first year chemistry (Phil Andrews, Miranda Phelan, Waldo Correa, Sania Jalal)
Presently students rely heavily on the use of burettes and bulb pipettes for the purposes of titration and preparation of a number of solutions. There are number of inherent problems with these items: breakages resulting in lacerations, students of diminutive stature filling burettes above eye level which has the potential for injury from spills and bulb pipettes being over filled and contaminated. Replacing burettes and bulb pipettes with ‘diji’ instruments will reduce the risk of injury by eliminating the potential for eye injury, the possibility of sucking liquids into pipette controllers and the risk of breakages when attaching controllers while allowing students to dispense far more precisely. A number of units will be purchased for use during practical classes with funds from this award.

The selection committee would like to thank all those who submitted applications and to sincerely congratulate the successful applicants on proposing initiatives which will have lasting benefits on the environment and the health and safety of staff.