‘Safe working Is especially important for yourself’
‘Safe working is a form of professionalism,’ says Hugo M. Nijhof, head of the Health and Safety department. Starting next year, there will be more focus on this topic. As part of the '24/7' project, new opening hours will be introduced for the buildings, along with new rules for working outside office hours. Nijhof: ‘Together, we ensure a safe working environment.’
‘Outside opening hours, the safety situation is not the same as during the day,’ Nijhof explains. ‘For instance, after closing time, there is no emergency response team present, and there isn’t always someone nearby to see or hear you if something happens. If someone does need to be in the building after hours, we must ensure it happens as safely as possible.’
Gorlaeus Building soon open until 23.00 hrs.
Project 24/7 will introduce new opening hours for the faculty. The Gorlaeus Building, including the Oort/Huygens/LMUY, will be open until 23.00 hrs. The Sylvius and Snellius buildings will be open until 20.00 hrs. ‘For safety reasons, most university buildings are closed after 20.00 hrs.,’ says Nijhof. ‘Our faculty is a bit different. A small group of people needs to be present outside regular hours, for instance, because of scientific setups, or because they work with animals or plants that need care.’
Who is where?
Until now, it was never clear who was in the building after closing time. That needs to change. ‘You can no longer enter the building anonymously. For everyone’s safety, we need to know who you are and where you are,’ says Nijhof. ‘So that, if something happens, responders know you are still in the building.’ Employees must therefore register by checking in and out with a QR code and can only be present in pairs after closing time, so there is someone to help in case of an emergency. You will also encounter security guards in the building.
‘Quite a big task’
It's quite a big task to arrange all this, Nijhof explains: ‘We will need to register everything - of course, all in accordance with privacy regulations - figure out how everything will work practically, create a protocol... Only during the process will we see how many people are involved. We may need to fine-tune some details then.’
More focus on safe working
A step-by-step plan will be implemented to phase in all changes. An important step will be education. Nijhof: ‘Everyone who starts at the Faculty of Science already receives standard fire and safety training. We want to implement this more precisely. It’s also important to repeat such safety instructions occasionally.’
‘You're helping yourself and the faculty as a whole’
According to Nijhof, we need to start viewing safety differently. ‘In many top universities worldwide, like Harvard or Stanford, safety is a sign of professionalism and an important part of your work. It’s a quality aspect that comes with working in an environment like ours. As a professional, it’s important for yourself to learn what safe working entails. This helps you and the faculty as a whole. Only together can we ensure a professional faculty where we work safely and look out for each other.’
What's changing?
In the new academic year, we will gradually implement the following changes:
- Opening hours will change: Gorlaeus (including Oort/Huygens/LMUY) until 23.00 hrs., Sylvius and Snellius until 20.00 hrs.
- Working outside regular opening hours will only be possible with the permission of the Operational Director of your institute and, in exceptional cases, the Director of Operations.
- You must check in upon arrival and check out when you leave.
- All registration will take place in accordance with GDPR (privacy regulations).
- You can only be present in pairs, so help can be provided in case of an emergency.
- There will always be two security guards present in the building outside regular opening hours.