Pre-Operation Safety Health and Environmental Review (POSHER) Process
The Physical Sciences Complex participates in the University’s Pre-Operational Safety, Health and Environmental Review (POSHER) for new laboratories. The Research Facilities POSHER used in the PSC aims to identify and plan for safety and compliance issues related to the proposed research. It’s ultimate goal is to ensure that the work location, equipment and controls are appropriate, meet research needs, are protective of the research team and other Cornell community members.
Specifically, the review process aims to:
- provide a consistent risk assessment and mitigation framework for assessing new or substantially modified research equipment or protocols prior to their use
- identify hazards, prevent injuries and accidents and increase safety awareness
- ensure proper equipment installation and functioning given the facility design
- meet requirements of environmental and occupational health and safety guidelines and regulations
The review process begins with completion of a POSHER survey which is emailed to each new member of the research faculty. Following this, equipment schematics and standard operating procedures may be requested as applicable. Following the document review, an onsite evaluation is conducted by a multidisciplinary team consisting of representatives from University EHS, the PSC facilities team, the Principal Investigator (PI) and other members of the research group as appropriate. The review consists of several parts described in detail below:
Building services and systems, equipment and tools
- identifies the building services necessary to support research processes, examines major or specialized equipment and machinery, installation requirements, basic operations and supporting elements, user training requirements and interaction (user interaction, instrument start-up, shut-down), equipment maintenance
Hazard identification and process review
- all use of chemical, physical or biological agents, and animal use in research, special safety process requirements, emergency considerations, and impact to adjacent occupants.
Waste production and management
- hazardous material acquisition, handling, hazardous waste generation and removal
The POSHER review is not intended to substitute for the more thorough reviews conducted by the Office of Research Integrity and Assurance (ORIA) and its coordinating committees namely the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC), Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) or Human Subjects Review Board (IRB). Researchers must independently secure approval for covered activities with the applicable committee prior to conducting work in with biohazardous material, synthetic nucleic acid molecules, vertebrate animals or human subjects. Additionally, permits may be required for the use of radiological materials and x-ray producing equipment.
The POSHER can identify the need for more detailed reviews and connect researchers to an individual who can assist them in meeting University requirements for approval.
Questions related to new lab setups or substantive changes to approve equipment of processes can be addressed to psc-safety@cornell.edu.