COSEC

Safety correspondents (COSEC) are the first safety contact for each research unit.

Roles and responsibilities:

Professors and heads of units are responsible for ensuring health and safety in the workplace of their respective research units.

They are by default the safety correspondents (COSEC) for their unit. They may delegate this task to an experienced employee.

The role of COSEC is to:

  1. Inform and train laboratory personnel, including external guests, on the specific safety regulations of the research unit.
  2. Ensure that all users comply with safety rules, including those related to waste management, the use of personal protective equipment, and accident management. Organize an inventory twice a year with the dedicated tool in Catalyse/Jaggaer.
  3. Inform the OHS of safety-related accidents via the dedicated tool (Incident Manager).
  4. Transmit the information sent by the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) to the unit staff.
  5. Inform the OHS service of any safety-related changes in the unit, such as new hazards, major changes in infrastructure, new activities and scale-ups of experiments.
  6. Participate in the safety audits.
  7. Inform the Principal Investigator of any safety-related problems in their research unit (dangerous behavior, refusal to wear personal protective equipment, hazardous handling of reagents or waste, etc.).
  8. Create and update “door safety data sheets” every time there is a change related to hazards present in the room and at least once a year.
  9. Check and update first aid equipment (e.g. eye showers, first aid kits, fire blankets).

A checklist of key points to cover during the introduction of new lab users (including students and visiting researchers) is available for the COSEC and must be used to ensure all essential topics are addressed.

The COSEC must be a person who:

  1. has an extensive laboratory experience and ideally a fix term contract in the research unit.
  2. is aware of all hazards and laboratory activities present and carried out in the laboratories used by their unit.
  3. has the ability and the authority to impose safety rules in the laboratory.

FAQ

From now on, any appointment or departure of a COSEC is automatically integrated into the HR file of the person concerned. This new procedure is enable us to better formalize and monitor this essential function for the safety of our facilities and employees.

A specific ServiceNow form must be completed to announce a change of COSEC within a unit. This form must then be validated by the line manager before being taken into account. It is recommended that the new COSEC announces their arrival by filling in the form. However, the form can also be completed by another member of the unit if required.

If you have any questions or require assistance, please contact us via our support service.

The audit is done with the presence of the COSEC, and with the laboratory responsible person, if present. Please read our “Safety visits” page and the “Audit guidelines“.

Please find here the trainings for COSEC and other safety trainings for laboratory personnel:

COSEC and hazard specific training

Safety training courses

Giving and receiving constructive feedback / Donner et recevoir du feedback constructif (FR/EN)

Essential Management Skills (FR/EN)

  1. If necessary, create a label identifying the storage location (ventilated cabinet, shelf) via the following link: https://lil.epfl.ch/.
  2. Documentation on creating laboratory inventory locations can be found here
  3. Labels can be picked up at faculty shop.
  4. contact the faculty shop, which will help you to organize the inventory by setting up the scanner and giving you instructions on how to carry out the inventory.

The COSEC fund is a virtual fund attached to your function only, it should not be used to purchase safety equipment on the OHS Catalyse platform. Use the funds attached to your unit.

As a general rule, for safety and security reasons, you should limit your colleagues’ access as much as possible. However, if access has not been granted, you can request access from the Camipro managers.

  1. Confirm with your supervisor that access can be granted to the person.
  2. Check that the area you are requesting access to is not restricted for safety or security reasons.
  • If YES, follow the existing access request procedure or contact OHS.
  • If NO, contact the Camipro manager of your faculty/building. A list of Camipro managers can be found here.

Remark

Access to high-hazard areas such as P3, C-labs can only be granted by the OHS. If in doubt or if you suspect that someone has had undue access, please contact us.

Visit https://www.epfl.ch/labs/

Each unit must have at least one COSEC, otherwise the unit manager. In order to avoid a blur or a period without a COSEC, plan your change of function or departure in advance if possible.

  1. With the agreement of your manager, decide who will be your successor. Please note that administrative staff cannot (with some exceptions) be COSEC.
  2. Inform [email protected] of the change by providing the following information about the new COSEC:
    • Unit
    • Name
    • Start date (of the COSEC role)
    • Position
    • Preferred language (EN/FR)
  3. Inform your colleagues and third parties of the change.
  4. Check and transfer your chemical authorizations.
  5. Transfer your other safety roles (radiological protection referent, biosafety officer, etc.).
  6. If an overlap is possible with the new COSEC share as much information and competence as possible.