[labnetwork] 24/7 operations

[Hathaway, Malcolm]

Hi all,

This is Mac Hathaway, at Harvard CNS.  We have protocols in place similar to those described by John, with the exception that our "toxic" gases (flammables and anything monitored with sensors, Cl2, SiH4, BCl3, etc) are only enabled from 6 AM to 8 PM.  We have had discussions about whether this restriction is still needed, given the maturity of our toxic gas monitoring, but 6 AM-8 PM is the current scheme.  Everything else in the cleanroom is physically accessible 24/7 (most notably, from a safety standpoint, wetbenches).

One thing that is a little different here is that we have an ERT (Emergency Response Team), similar to what exists in many commercial fabs, (not typical for academic sites, as I understand it).  The ERT consists of most of our cleanroom staff.  We meet monthly for training (and pizza), and we are all on call in the event of an emergency in the cleanroom.

We have the buddy rule for working with hazardous materials, with a strong emphasis on the need for a buddy for any work during "off-hours", but as John pointed out, it's not something that lends itself to absolute compliance.  With regard to "encouraging compliance", how do people feel about the use of video cameras on the wetbenches?  I understand that some locations are using them;  has wetbench user "behavior" improved when cameras are in use?  Obviously, 24-hour monitoring is not practical, but does the "someone is watching" effect yield positive results?


Mac Hathaway
Senior Process Engineer
Harvard CNS






________________________________________
From: labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu [labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu] On Behalf Of John Shott [shott at stanford.edu]
Sent: Sunday, May 29, 2011 12:10 PM
To: labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu
Subject: Re: [labnetwork] 24/7 operations

Matt:

I'm sure that there will be a lively and interesting discussion of this
topic.  My guess is that we all probably have some form of "buddy rule"
will differing approaches and degrees of success in enforcing it.

Let me get the ball rolling by telling your what we do in the Stanford
Nanofabrication Facility.

Yes, we are open 24/7 but are only staffed 1+ shifts .... approximately
6 a.m. to 6 p.m. M-F.  We don't limit tools or processes.

Because of our physical configuration, the sub-fab where pumps,
chillers, scrubbers, etc live are off limits and not accessible to lab
members.  Same for the gas bunkers and main chemical storage areas so we
at least don't have to worry about folks in those areas trying to
"adjust" things themselves.

Our card key system is managed as a part of the university-wide system
so we don't have real-time access to who enters the lab.  Folks that
tailgate when entering the lab or fail to swipe the card reader when
they leave would make that information virtually useless in terms of
actually knowing who is in the lab at any point in time.

We have a rotating cell phone carried by several members of the senior
staff that is for emergency calls for anyone in the lab and is also the
first number that the central-campus facility monitoring system calls if
sensors relevant to our operation go into alarm.  Things like toxic gas
sensors automatically sound the evacuation alarms in the lab and, if gas
sensors in breathing air go into alarm, call the Fire Department as
well.  Being in earthquake country, we also have a seismic sensor that
shuts off all gases and sound the alarm in the event of an earthquake.

Although we don't use this particular feature, since I know that you are
running Coral, that gives you the ability to create and use either a
lab-wide role or an equipment-specific role of "restricted" that would
allow you to define policies that would prevent people from reserving or
enabling equipment outside the period when staff was available. That
allows you to let someone get more experience with staff resources
available before you "turn them loose" with unrestricted access.  Of
course, the downside is that you and your staff have to manage who is
"restricted" and then determine based on time or more rigorous means
when someone is allowed to work at any time.  Also, while you can limit
when people enable a tool to a certain time window, it's very hard to
control when they quit using it.

Are there times in our facility when people violate the buddy rule?
Probably ...  Of course, depending where people are in the lab, just
having a second person in the lab isn't a guarantee that they'd be in a
position to help in the event of a problem.

I'll be interested to read other offerings on this topic.

Thanks,

John




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