IChemE’s new interactive case study to improve student laboratory safety

THE IChemE Safety Centre (ISC) has produced a new free interactive case study to help chemical engineering students conduct laboratory experiments more safely.

The ISC’s suite of interactive case studies are animated video training resources that put safety professionals in the driving seat.  They allow users to experience an incident without prior knowledge of the outcome. Users are required to make crucial safety decisions in several scenarios, helping them to understand how these decisions can impact on the outcome of the incident.

The new Laboratory Experiment case study and the associated guidance document Sample University Laboratory Process Safety Management System have been developed to help better equip chemical engineering undergraduates with knowledge of operational process safety and how to practically apply it.

The case study is the first of its kind to focus on laboratory-based incidents. It has been made freely available to lecturers and university students to help improve process safety education and create a safer environment in education laboratories.

Trish Kerin, ISC Director, said: “Laboratories can be the first practical introduction for many scientists and engineers and therefore it is imperative that we instil our future chemical engineers with the best knowledge of how to be safe in this environment. This interactive case study is a great way for tutors and students to talk through incidents together in seminars and lectures, and to help students best prepare for the potential risks that they may face in laboratories.

“As part of IChemE’s role as a learned society, we recognise the importance of sharing knowledge and encouraging best practice in chemical and process engineering.”