Uytengsu Teaching Lab Policy

Jump to: Access Priority List || Reservation Deadlines || Student Club || Access || Clean -Up || Ordering || Equipment Usage || Cold room || Tissue Culture Room || Machine Shop

The Uytengsu Teaching Center is an important learning resource for the students, faculty, and staff in the School of Engineering. Usage of the facilities by faculty, staff, and students for class and independent projects requires oversight and prior approval by the Teaching Center management team. This approval process includes a review of the course/project activities, as well as the faculty sponsor agreement to adhere to relevant lab policies and procedures.

Safety is an important issue when working in any lab. Therefore, the Uytengsu Teaching Center’s main priority is to keep all occupants safe while conducting their work. This policy document is intended to provide guidelines for working safely in this teaching lab. As such, be sure to read all guidelines thoroughly, including guidelines for rooms that you may not be planning to use.

A key feature of this shared Teaching Center space is the diversity of lab work and equipment that may be accessed for the benefit of your intended projects or classes. Thus, this requires that all occupants be aware of the lab’s surroundings and policies that govern different spaces.

If there are any questions or concerns, the lab management team is here to help. Do not hesitate to ask and provide suggestions to improve this wonderful shared laboratory space.

A. Access Prioritization List

1) Courses

(a) BioE/ChE Core courses with lab content that warrants usage

(b) BioE/ChE Non-core courses with lab content that warrants usage

(d) Stanford non-SOE courses with lab content that warrants usage

(e) Courses that do not have lab content that warrants usage (falls below student clubs in section "2.a" and "2.b" )

2) Student Clubs and independent projects with content that warrants lab usage

(a) BioE/ChE sponsored

(b) All other SOE department sponsored

3) Workshops with lab content that warrants lab usage

(a) BioE/ChE sponsors and BioE/ChE participants

(b) All Stanford sponsors and Stanford participants

(d) Primarily non-Stanford participants but with Stanford sponsor (organization has formal Stanford affiliation)*Fees will apply

(e) Primarily non-Stanford participants but with Stanford sponsor (organization is not formally affiliated with Stanford) *Fees will apply

*Fees will be applied to these activities according to the fee structure below.

Workshop Duration	Fee
Daily (5.5-10 hours)	$1500/day
Half Day (1-5hours)	$750/half day

B. Course Reservation Deadlines:

1) Reservation Requests: all requests for laboratory usage need to be submitted by the deadline listed in the chart below. After the deadline, all requests will be considered on a first-come first-serve basis. All requests will follow priority list in Section A.

2) Instructor Form and TA Safety Orientation Deadlines: once request is approved, the additional deadlines shown below must be met in order to guarantee that your course will be allowed to use the reserved lab space.

A summary chart of all important deadlines is listed below:

Quarter	Reservation Request Deadline	Reservation Request Approval	Instructor Form Deadline*	TA Safety Orientation**
Fall	June 1	July 1	September 1	1-3 weeks before class. Dates will be sent to TAs.
Winter			December 1
Spring			March 1
Summer	January 2	January 10	June 1

* The instructor form contains information such as names of TAs, times, and dates that will help get your class running smoothly.

** TAs will be contacted 2 weeks before the quarter starts to attend a safety orientation. All TAs must complete this before access or keys cannot be granted.

3) Student Safety Forms Deadline: Student safety forms must be received prior to the first day of any hands-on activities in lab space. Please note that students will not be allowed to participate in any lab activities until their safety forms have been turned in. Completion of safety forms include several online EHS safety training courses.

(a) If the duration of a workshop/course is under 2 days, non-Stanford lab participants must read and sign a hardcopy of the safety form provided by Lab Management. The course instructors are responsible to educate participants of all hazards (chemical, biological, physical, etc) in the space and all hazards (chemical, biological, physical, etc) they will be working with.

(b) If the duration of a workshop/course is 3 days or longer, all non-Stanford lab participants must complete safety form and complete all required online EHS trainings through Stanford’s AXESS.

i) It is the responsibility of the course instructors (have to be a Stanford faculty or Staff member) to sponsor SUNet IDs for all participants. Note that the lab personnel do not perform this task.

ii) Details on how to sponsor a SUNet ID can be found here: https://uit.stanford.edu/service/sponsorship/process

C. Workshops:

1) Please note that all workshops must take place during Teaching Laboratory business hours (M-F 8am-4pm).

2) Reservation Requests: all requests for workshops need to be submitted by four weeks prior to the start of the workshop.

3) Additional Deadlines: once request is approved, the additional deadlines listed below must be met in order to guarantee that your workshop will be allowed to use the reserved lab space.

(a) Instructor Forms: must be received by 2 weeks prior to the start of the workshop.

(b) Instructor and TA Safety Orientation: must be completed prior to the start of the workshop.

(c) Participant Safety forms: must be received prior to the start of the workshop. Please note that participants will not be allowed to take part until they have completed this form, which includes several online safety training courses.

(i) If the duration of a workshop/course is under 2 days, non-Stanford lab participants must read and sign a hardcopy of the safety form provided by Lab Management. The course instructors are responsible to educate participants of all hazards (chemical, biological, physical, etc) in the space and all hazards (chemical, biological, physical, etc) they will be working with.

(ii) If the duration of a workshop/course is 3 days or longer, all non-Stanford lab participants must complete safety form and complete all required online EHS trainings through Stanford’s AXESS.

1. It is the responsibility of the course instructors (have to be a Stanford faculty or Staff member) to sponsor SUNet IDs for all participants. Note that the lab personnel do not perform this task.

2. Details on how to sponsor a SUNet ID can be found here: https://uit.stanford.edu/service/sponsorship/process

D. Independent Projects/Student Clubs ( Quick Guide to Student Club Access)

1) All student groups working in the labs must have a faculty sponsor who assumes final responsibility for ensuring that the usage policies are followed. These include:

(a) All lab spaces and equipment used are cleaned and returned to their original condition by an agreed upon date. All materials including chemicals are removed or disposed of by the agreed upon date.

(b) All lab protocols must follow best practices in terms of safety. Note: faculty sponsor should review lab protocols and chemicals to be used prior to student activities in the lab.

2) The faculty sponsor should have a guided walk-through of the Teaching Laboratory space requested with the Teaching Laboratory management team. It is recommended that this is done together with the participating student(s), but this can be at a separate, arranged time.

3) The faculty sponsor should be aware that a lab manager may not be present while students are using the labs. Therefore, the faculty sponsor should ensure that he/she feels confident that the students are capable of handling chemicals and equipment in a safe way and have prior lab experience before agreeing to sponsor the group.

4) Student Safety Officers (Optional): Students may only work in the UTL when there is a designated Supervisor present. Each club/project group has the option to nominate a Safety Officer from its members. The Safety Officer should have prior experience in the space and receives a higher level of safety training to be able to act as a Supervisor of work for the Project/Club. The number of safety officers per club will be determined by lab management (usually is dependent on number of members). These officers will:

(a) Have completed at least one quarter of prior work in the UTL

(b) Attend a safety orientation held by lab management.

(d) Always be present in the lab when members are working and enforce safety policies and practices for all Project/Club students.

(e) Log in number of hour student club spent in lab on a weekly basis via Google Form.

5) Information on minors: Minors in Laboratory and Protection of Minors

E. General Guidelines for all

1) Safety and Access

(a) STUDENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BE IN THE UYTENGSU LABS ALONE. Students may ONLY be in the lab with a buddy present in the same room. Buddy can be another student, postdoc, staff, or faculty. This Buddy System policy is in effect 24/7.

(b) All students must take the appropriate safety training for the space used.

i. Doors to the specified lab rooms will be automatically unlocked 15 minutes before start of class and locked 15 minutes after the end of class. (Make sure you indicate correct dates and times on the instructor form).

ii. A supervisor (TA, Instructor, lab management, lifeguard, safety officer) is required to be in the Uytengsu Teaching Lab space when students are working in the labs.

1. In rare cases, an instructor may request that students be permitted to work without a supervisor present. This is handled on a case-by-case basis and is only approved for students who have had extensive experience working in the Teaching Lab spaces in previous courses. Note that the Buddy System rule still applies.

iii. Teaching Assistants are expected to complete all preparation work during Teaching Lab business hours. Under certain circumstances specific to course needs and with instructor approval, a TA may work without a buddy after business hours as long as the TA “checks in” and “checks out” with the instructor via email, phone, text, etc.

iv. Key card access:

1. Key card access permits the card holder to access the lab space 24 hours a day for the duration of the quarter or otherwise agreed upon range of dates.

2. Instructors and TAs are granted key card access for the duration of the intended lab use.

3. Students will only be granted key card access in the rare case that students are approved to work in the lab unsupervised after business hours (see note above).

(b) NO EATING OR DRINKING in the Teaching Lab at any time. This includes water bottles, gum, candy, etc. Leave all food and drinks on food cart provided by the Teaching Lab management. CLOSED beverage containers are allowed in the cubicles, but you must step outside to drink. Do not keep any beverages on bench tops.

(c) Please ensure that proper PPE are worn at all times when lab course is in session. Students will be dismissed from lab without proper attire.

i. Ensure that all students are dressed in long pants (covering ankles) and closed-toe footwear (covering entire foot) for all lab sessions.

ii. Lab coats are mandated in all labs, except rooms 112, 132, and 134.

iii. Lab coats are located in Room 132 and outside of Room 118. Place dirty coats in hamper to be laundered on a weekly basis.

iv. Goggles are located in the goggle rack by external doors.

v. Gloves and facemasks can be found throughout lab.

vi. It is the instructor’s responsibility to make sure all necessary PPE required for class are available in the lab. Let lab management team know if they can assist in ordering more.

(d) Users should take note of the locations of all exit doors, fire extinguisher, safety shower, eye wash, chemical and first aid kits, and be knowledgeable of the emergency assembly point for the Shriram Center (in the Quad by the blue emergency sign)

(e) Always ensure that safety shower areas are clear of any items (e.g. card boxes or bag packs).

(f) All student items, e.g. back packs, should be placed in the cubicles. Bags are not permitted on floors, chairs or tables due to accidental chemical spills, tripping hazards, etc.

(g) All lab users agree to use only the specified rooms and areas that they have permission to use. Users also agree to keep other users and property safe by refraining from propping open doors to permit unauthorized access.

(h) Never work when you are impaired. This includes times when you are too tired, stressed, or otherwise inhibited from exercising appropriate caution.

(i) Do not enter the teaching labs when you are under the influence of any intoxicants or medications that might make you drowsy or alter your ability to be alert to reality.

(j) Emergency contact information is located by the lab phones in rooms 116 and 114.

(k) Familiarize yourself with the chemical and solvent safety data sheet before handling them: http://web.stanford.edu/dept/EHS/prod/MSDS/ or http://www.msds.com/

(l) Due to health and safety concerns, animals are not allowed in the teaching lab.

i. Please refer to SOE policy and the Diversity and Access site for further guidance on service animals. Contact lab management for more questions.

2) Clean Up:

(a) All BSL-1 biologicals can be disposed in regular trash or poured down the sink once properly treated with 10% bleach. If you are unsure, please check with your TA or instructor.

(b) Wipe down lab benches that have been in contact with biological materials with 70% ethanol.

(c) It is the responsibility of the instructors and TAs to make sure that the lab is clean after students use the lab space. If you find the lab is in an unacceptable state before your class, please take a picture and send it to lab management and the lab instructor(s). Pay particular attention to chemical/biological waste, hoods, and weighing balance areas.

(d) Please put items back into the drawers or shelves after each lab course. These include putting goggles back in the proper place. Lab coats should be hung on the coat racks. Soiled lab coats should be placed in the dirty hamper.

(e) Trash will be collected daily. Please put all trash into the trash cans. Please note that cardboard boxes must be taken to the green bin down the hall by the first floor restrooms, and collection from the janitor will take place Tuesdays. Put filled glass trash bins in hallway Monday nights to get picked up Tuesday mornings.

(f) The identity and amount of all solvents poured into waste carboys must be clearly indicated in the waste tags.

(g) Gloves must be worn when touching communal equipment, including internal door handles. Refrain from touching external door handles by taking gloves off before leaving lab. Gloves can be disposed in regular trash bin, unless it has touched biohazardous material.

3) Ordering/Inventory

(a) Common consumables and lab supplies, including but not limited to gloves, tubes, Kimwipes, glassware are available for use. If any items are running low, let management know so it can be replenished.

(b) An inventory map is available on the website and shows the location of equipment and supplies in the lab space.

(c) Instructors/TA are responsible for purchasing lab items that are needed to support their course beyond what Teaching Lab supplies, i.e. media, DNA samples, etc. At the end of the course, you can choose to take back the items purchased by your department or leave them in the teaching center to share with other users.

(d) If you would like a drawer in which to store your course supplies, please contact the teaching staff.

(e) The lab manager must be informed of newly arrived chemicals and biologicals. These will be tagged with a storage sticker and entered into the main inventory (i.e. ChemTracker). They will be stored in either Rm 116A (Fridge & Freezer) or Rm 116B (Chemical and Solvent Storage room). If items are shipped to the lab, your TAs will be informed when the items arrive.

i. When an inventoried chemical or biologic (i.e. has a storage sticker) has been used up, return the empty container to the lab manager. The item will then be removed from the inventory.

(f) Unpack and store items in a neat and organized fashion. If the item does not have a “home” create one for it and let lab manager know so it can be noted in the inventory map.

4)Equipment Usage

(a) All equipment provided in the teaching lab are strictly for teaching lab courses use only. Please do not access equipment without prior consent from lab managers. Immediately report any broken or missing equipment to the lab manager.

(b) “Expert Student Trainers” are available for some equipment/space (see website for list). If additional training or support is needed, the lab management team will try to help you identify the relevant resource (e.g. vendor representative) but is not obligated to act as trainers for the equipment in the teaching lab.

(c) If you need to move any small equipment within lab or rearrange items in any lab space (ex. benches, whiteboards, chairs), please put them back to the original position at the end of the class.

(d) Equipment with unattended, ongoing experiments must be labelled with operator names and intended duration (i.e. dates, time, course etc.) using the forms available in the lab.

(e) Some equipment have sign in/out log books and/or calendars, e.g. LC-MS, GC-MS, Fl-microscope. Please make sure to sign-up for equipment usage on calendars, if sign-up is required, and sign log books, if applicable.

(f) If there is any equipment you feel needs a log book or calendar, let lab managers know.

5)General:

(a) All lab users should be aware that a variety of lab work will be on-going in various parts of the labs and should be respectful of areas or equipment in use by others.

(b) If working with minors, check http://oso.stanford.edu/resources/faculty to complete necessary steps.

(d) Offensive languages and actions are strictly prohibited in the lab at all times. Repeat offenders will be suspended from lab and, if required, be expelled from class.

(e) Students cannot linger in the labs after the designated lecture or lab course time.

(f) Please remember to lock the door to the chemical/solvent rooms after each class (if you were to unlock it before class).

(g) Low volume music is allowed during lab work, provided that the music cannot be heard in adjacent rooms or from the hallway.

(h) Lab computers and printers should be used for teaching lab course-related activities and are not meant for personal use.

(i) Please do not adjust the temperature in the Teaching Lab. It should always be maintained at 72oC.

6) Cold Room

(a) Do not store food and beverages in the cold room!

(b) Use the storage bins provided to place your course items in. Make sure to label bins with course #. If more bins are needed, let the lab manager know.

(c) If you need a whole shelf, label the whole shelf with your course # and continue to use the storage bins if possible.

(d) Everything needs to be cleaned out of the cold room at the end of the quarter

7)Tissue Culture Room (BSL2)

(a) Properly dispose of biohazardous waste. All materials and supplies that come into contact with biological testing materials should be discarded or sterilized as appropriate. Dispose of any living organisms by bleaching to a 1:10 final concentration for at least 30 minutes and pouring down the sink with cold water flowing. Hot water will likely make bleach smell worse. Solid, non BSL1, biohazardous waste must be disposed in the red bags in a hard-sided container with lid. BSL1 waste can be dispose of in regular trash.

(b) Properly dispose of hazardous chemical waste in carboy. Carboys can be found in secondary containment in the fume hood. If no such carboy exist, ask TA/lab management to create one. All waste going into carboy must be properly labeled on the waste tag.

(c) Properly handle animal waste. All uncontaminated animal waste must be brought to the Research Animal Facility (RAF) refrigerators in a black plastic bag (double-bagged). All contaminated animal waste must be brought to the RAF refrigerators in a red plastic bag, which must be labeled with a Biohazard sticker and placed inside a hard-sided, leak-proof, sealable container (e.g., a cooler). Please note that animal waste should NEVER be autoclaved!

8)Machine Shop (Room 112B)

(a) Do not operate any machinery with which you are unfamiliar. Each and every device in the teaching lab has safe operating procedures associated with it. Do not work on any device in the teaching lab until you have been trained on its safe operation. You must get permission even on devices you have been taught to operate elsewhere.

(b) No biological testing materials are permitted in the Machine Shop area.

i. Long pants and closed toed shoes are required to work in the lab.

ii. Long hair must be tied up securely. Remove all scarves, loose jewelry and any other dangling items. Many of the power tools in the machine shop are based around a rapidly rotating shaft. Dangling items such as long, loose hair or drawstrings on hooded sweatshirts can attach to such a rotating shaft and pull the owner into the tool.

iii. Safety glasses must be worn whenever doing a cutting, drilling, or heat forming operation. Certain dusts and fumes require respiratory protection.

iv. The teaching lab has surgical masks upon request.

v. While the teaching labs do not currently have respirators, we may require you to obtain and wear one for operations that expose you to airborne hazards.

vi. Hearing protection is available in the form of foam ear inserts, but keep in mind that the teaching labs are in an office environment. Please be courteous of others—if your cutting operation is exceedingly loud, working in the PRL may be appropriate for your project.

(d) Never leave a machine running unattended. Many of the tools in the shop can be left on. You must keep your attention focused on the machining operation.

(e) Keep your hands well away from the point of contact between the work piece and the cutter. Do not use your hands to hold an item in place.

(f) When using the drill presses, especially with large drills and tough to cut materials (ex: sheet metal), you must clamp the work to the drill press table. If the drill catches an unclamped work piece, the rotating part can cut your hand.

(g) On the bandsaw and any other tool that is designed to be used with a hand fed work piece, be certain to keep your hands, fingers, and other body parts out of the path of cutters and away from the point of contact between the work piece and the cutter. Keep all parts of yourself at least 6 inches from the point of contact between any work piece and any cutter.

(h) Clean up procedure:

i. Shut off power to machines. Turn off the machine’s main power switch. If the machine has an emergency stop switch, depress it.

ii. Cover or unmount all cutting blades and drilling tools (i.e., drill bits). Remove all drill bits and similar tools from their holders and return them to their correct locations.

iii. Put away all objects in their correct places. If you do not know where the correct place is, ask TA/instructor.

iv. Clean your work area (machines, tabletops, floors, etc.) Clean debris off any equipment you have used. Do not use floor brooms or brushes on the equipment. Be careful of sharp machine corners as you maneuver the brooms around the machines. Sometimes a vacuum cleaner is more effective at collecting debris than a broom.

(i) Report missing or broken tools and low supplies to the Teaching Lab staff.

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