Cultivating and sustaining safety awareness is a job never finished, one that requires participation from every person at the Lab.  All of us can learn from one another by sharing our safety achievements, best practices, and lessons learned. This redesigned website’s goal is to continue and expand the dialogue on safety, creating a forum to build upon established programs and practices by introducing, listening to, and often implementing new ideas and practices that will help the entire community reach higher levels of awareness.

“We all need to look at safety as a continuous improvement process,” says Horst Simon, deputy lab director. “We’re proud of the many mature systems we have in place, but it’s imperative to build on those successes in order to develop the best-in-class safety culture.”

The enhanced website will be a resource that hosts open discussions on relevant topics, presents diverse articles on the subject, archives TABL articles related to safety, and shares knowledge from the private sector, UC-Berkeley and other DOE labs. Understanding the underlying attitudes, beliefs, perceptions and values that make up our Safety Culture contributes toward a more efficient and safe lab.

“Safety awareness has to be embedded into everything we do here,” says Simon. “Not just in labs and research stations, but in offices, warehouses, on walkways, and throughout the varied facilities that make up this site.”

Why? To keep members of the Lab community safe, to allow more time and resources for science, to become more proactive than reactive, to drive toward zero injuries, to better measure and reward proactive efforts, and to continually improve Lab safety so we can achieve the “next level” of safety performance.

After a site-wide survey two years ago, a Work Group was formed to determine how to best address key issues and developments on safety culture at the Lab. A new phrase — “Safety is Elemental” — is one of the campaigns that came from that committee, as is this updated website. But the ideas and commitment to safety culture don’t stop with the launch of this site. Regular updates and your active participation will keep the conversation on safety moving forward.

This website is just one of the many initiatives dedicated to improving safety awareness. We hope it will serve you as a destination to learn more about the latest conversations on safety at LBNL.

Just as Berkeley Lab’s science is world-leading, so is its commitment to a safe, secure workplace. Safety Culture involves every worker at the Laboratory. This newly designed Web site – with its interactivity and wealth of resources – will be a portal to learning about and sharing ideas on the many aspects of Safety Culture.

What is Safety Culture? It involves mutual trust, shared attitudes about the vital importance of safety, and belief in our institutional preventative measures.

The Safety Culture Web site is your source for ideas, support, and inspiration. Find resources and learn the Berkeley Lab processes and methodology that bolster and improve Safety Culture. Make it your own by exploring our pages and sharing your thoughts. Help support the values, beliefs, and attitudes about safety that make Berkeley Lab a top example of commitment to Safety Culture. Here are some top areas to visit at the Safety Culture Web site:

There’s a lot to see and learn on our newly designed site. Explore! Safety is more than just a good idea – it’s a cultural hallmark prized at Berkeley Lab. Make this site your own and visit us often!