Some time ago there were two accidents on campus that involved graduate students at OSU.  These incidents caused us some concern about the safety of our students and encouraged us to review safety related issues in our department.

All graduate students who are advised by BRE faculty and who drive one of our two department trucks or OSU Motor Pool vehicles are now required to complete the SAIFer Driver classes.  The SAIFer Driver program takes four hours of classroom training.  There is no charge and you will find information about class times by contacting Kay Miller, Office Manager, Environmental Health & Safety, (541) 737-7083 or  Kay.Miller@orst.edu.

Also, due to safety concerns with our 12 and 15 passenger vans, Transportation Services requires that all drivers watch a safety video and complete a safety test. The van safety video is about 33 minutes long, and the following test requires a minimum of 10 minutes, so please allow yourself at least 45 minutes to devote to the video. It can be found at http://faweb1.baf.orst.edu/TransportationServices/default.asp?ParentId=Staff&ChildId=Rental.

At the end of the video, a link will appear directing you to the safety test.

On another topic, we have a good shop with equipment for metal and woodworking construction.  You are not to use any of this equipment until you have been checked out by your faculty advisor who will discuss with you the conditions of use (two people to be present, etc.).  You are not allowed to work in the shop after 5:00 p.m. or on weekends (only 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday).

Your advisor will discuss with you conditions of activity in laboratories.