Equipment and Tool Safety

Providing resources and guidance for the safe use of tools by UC Berkeley personnel.

Operating the Bench Grinder - ASUC Art Studio

ASUC Auxiliary Art Studio

Operating the Bench Grinder - ASUC Art Studio

Related JSAs

Using an Angle Grinder

Operating a Pedestal Grinder

Operating a Bench Grinder

Job Safety Analysis

Job Safety Analysis or JSAs describes job tasks in step-by-step fashion, identifies associated hazards at each step, and outlines proper hazard controls that minimize the risk of injury or illness to the individual(s) performing that task.

Getting Started with Job Safety Analysis (JSA)

How do I write or find a JSA? The objective of providing this library is to:

Improve safety awareness among staff Decrease injury rates Make effective JSA resources available to the entire UC Berkeley campus

Employee Receives Electrical Shock

March 31, 2004
Office of Environment, Health, and Safety
What Happened?

A university employee was changing ballasts above a drop ceiling in a department reception area. The employee received an electrical shock from a 277volt circuit and was knocked off a step stool that she had placed on top of the reception desk. She fell from a height of 46.5 inches, but received only minor injuries and returned to work the following day.

What was the cause? The power source was not locked and tagged out. Instead, the light switch was turned off. The ladder to be used was too large to work from behind the reception desk, so a...

Aerial Lift and Elevating Work Platform Safety Program

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2021

As mandated by Cal/OSHA and other regulatory compliance codes, this program guides compliance with, and application of, all legal requirements for UC Berkeley departments, field stations and work / research operations that use these types of equipment.

Departments that own, rent and/or otherwise operate Aerial Lifts / Elevating Work Platforms (AL/EWP) must:

Select and then purchase or rent appropriate equipment for job tasks based upon an work-environment and job-task hazard analysis, Train and certify personnel who operate their...

Electrical Safety Program

Electrical Safety at UC Berkeley

The UC Berkeley Electrical Safety Program provides information about electrical hazards, guides University safe-work policy, electrical safety procedures, equipment design, development and installation for all electrical work, equipment and systems at UC Berkeley. All faculty, staff, students, visitors and contractors must comply with the requirements of this program as it ensures their safety by:

Defining safe work practices and use requirements for all people who work with...

Electrical Safety Program

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2024

More than 3,600 disabling electrical contact injuries occur in the workplace and more than 2,000 workers are sent to burn centers with electric burns every year in the U.S. Every day one person dies from electrical incidents.

The UC Berkeley Electrical Safety Program provides information about electrical hazards, guides University safe-work policy, electrical safety procedures, equipment design, development and installation for all...

Ladders

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2021
Ladder Safety Program

UC Berkeley has developed this Ladder Safety Program to manage the safe selection, procurement, safe work practices, inspection, inventory tracking and record keeping of all ladders. The Ladder Safety Program applies to any department on campus, at field stations, or on leased property where any type of ladder three (3) feet or more in length/height is used. Roles and responsibilities for safe use of ladders by employees (including temporary employees and graduate students performing research related activities in field stations and remote research facilities) are...

Compressed Gas Cylinders: Proper Management And Use

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2012

University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) departments that use compressed gas cylinders must comply with a wide variety of laws and regulations, including those issued by Cal/OSHA, the California Fire Code and the City of Berkeley. This booklet provides general guidelines to help departments comply with those regulations. More specific information can be obtained from Material Safety Data Sheets and your department’s Job Safety Analyses (JSAs). Talk to your gas supplier about hands-on training and other useful safety information.

Compressed gas cylinders range from small...

Guide for Assembling a Pressure Vessel

Office of Environment, Health & Safety

This guide serves as an example and is presented with permission from LBNL. There are many types of pressure vessels so this serves as a template that allows you to replace the images to meet your specific needs.

Visual comparison guides are effective as a quick review of processes. It is recommended to keep these near relevant equipment. Visual guides can be useful for new researchers learning to use the equipment or as a refresher for those who do not regularly use the equipment. People may interpret qualitative descriptions differently so a visual guide helps to solve that...

Pressure Vessel Visual Inspection Guide

Office of Environment, Health & Safety

This guide serves as an example and is presented with permission from LBNL. There are many types of pressure vessels so this serves as a template that allows you to replace the images to meet your specific needs.

Visual comparison guides are effective for certain applications, when for example, researchers may otherwise not know what is acceptable or not. We might state “look for excessive wear or corrosion” but these are partly qualitative descriptions that people can interpret differently. Excessive wear to one person may not be the same to another. The visual guide helps to solve...