1. Introduction

In 2006, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) extended the Workplace Safety & Health (WSH) Regulations to cover NUS activities, including laboratory activities.

To demonstrate compliance, NUS Senior Management requires all Academic Supervisor ¹ having oversight of research and/or teaching activities ² in NUS workspaces ³ to implement and maintain a Safety & Health Management System (SHMS). This is to ensure that the safety & health risks arising from their work activities are managed in a systematic and effective manners. Kindly refer to the notices (below) which were issued by Senior Management.

¹ Academic Supervisor – refers to academic staff who are appointed as principal investigator, laboratory supervisor, programme leader, etc. who have been (1) awarded research grant, (2) university appointed agents/representatives for research (including research-related activities supporting academic courses), or other sponsored project; (3) managing departmental level facilities such as research and/or core/shared facilities

² Activities – academic supervisors with non-laboratory based activities (refer to the research and teaching projects/tasks which are purely deskbound, i.e. involving the use of computers only) are not required to participate in this scheme.

³ Workspaces – any space used for laboratory, workshop and field related activities. This space includes areas that are not owned by the Academic Supervisor such as departmental, shared or core facilities, animal facilities and work done in spaces owned by collaborators.

2. Revised SHMS Standard & Guidance Notes

In 2008, NUS launched the NUS Laboratory Occupational Safety & Health Management System Standard. However, as research and teaching activities have become more diverse with more interdisciplinary collaborations on the rise, the NUS Laboratory Occupational Safety & Health Management System Standard (Part A) have been revised and now known as the NUS Safety & Health Management System (SHMS) Standard for Academic Supervisors – Part A: Requirement .

In addition, the previous NUS Laboratory Occupational Safety & Health Management System Standard – Part B: Guidance Note has also been revised. The revised standard is termed as Safety & Health Management System for Academic Supervisors - Part B: Guidance Notes The guidance documents more supplementary information and examples to help Academic Supervisors to develop and maintain an effective SHMS.

3. What do Academic Supervisors need to do?

4. Frequency of Surveillance Audits

a. Frequency of surveillance audit for Academic Supervisors is based on the following criteria with effect from 15 Apr 2020.

¹ Awards given out in 2020 (refer to NUSSHA 2020 webpage for your department award category)
² The frequency would be increased to once every 3 years for Academic Supervisors with notable findings from last OSHE audit and/or high impact incidents for the last three years

b. For more information, please refer to this circular .

5. Frequently Asked Questions

a. Who is required to participate in the certification scheme?

Academic staff who are appointed as principal investigator, laboratory supervisor, programme leader, etc. who have been:

1. awarded research grant
2. university appointed agents / representatives for research (including research-related actvities supporting academic courses), or other sponsored project
3. managing departmental level facilities such as research and/or core/shared facilities

Academic Supervisor with non-laboratory based activities (research and teaching projects/tasks which are purely deskbound) i.e. involving the use of computers only, are not required to participate in this scheme.

b. Why do the Academic Supervisors have to undergo the SHMS certification scheme?

Workspaces like laboratories, workshops and studios are regulated workplaces under the Workplace Safety and Health Act. As an occupier of the research and teaching facilities in NUS, Academic Supervisors are required to establish a Safety & Health Management System to manage the hazards and risks arising from their activities in these areas. This scheme provides a structured and holistic way of managing safety in these workspaces. It also helps train the staff and students on the basics of safety and health. This scheme is a sustainable way to reduce accident and incident rates in NUS.

NUS Senior Management has mandated that all Academic Supervisor with supervisory oversight of laboratory based activities (research and/or teaching) are to be certified under the scheme.

Please also refer to the Notices from Senior Management .

c. What are the benefits of the SHMS certification scheme?

Academic Supervisor will be waived from submission of Project Risk Assessment for new grant-based projects except for animal work. Academic Supervisor still need to submit Project Risk Assessment on animal work and work with high risk biological agents as required by the regulators.

Please refer to iORC website at https://inetapps.nus.edu.sg/osh/portal/eServices/iorc.html

d. How can Academic Supervisors embark on the SHMS certification scheme?

Academic Supervisor can either attend the SHMS training sessions scheduled by the department or complete the online training courses of 'S&H Management System and Risk Management Methodology' at https://canvas.nus.edu.sg/

Upon completion of training, Academic Supervisor will start to prepare using the given documentation in Workplace Safety & Health Information Registry (WSHIR) module: https://inetapps.nus.edu.sg/osh/portal/eServices/ehs360.html

Academic Supervisor should work closely with the departmental safety coordinator for a suitable audit date/time.

e. Should clinicians, who are also Academic Supervisors, be certified under the scheme?

Yes. If they have research labs and have NUS staff/students working under him/her for research activities, the clinicians need to be certified as well. If not, they could be covered under the Safety & Health Management System of their NUS collaborators who are certified Academic Supervisors.

f. Are teaching labs covered under certification scheme?

If the teaching lab is managed under the Academic Supervisor or department, then it should be covered under the safety and health management system of the Academic Supervisor or department.

g. What if the Academic Supervisor has multiple labs in different departments / locations?

All NUS labs, regardless of departments and locations, under the Academic Supervisors must be included in the scope of his/her Safety & Health Management System.

OSHE will not audit research labs that do not belong to NUS (e.g. A-STAR, Biopolis, etc.). Academic Supervisors are to ensure that they have adhered to the requirements and/or attained the necessary safety approval of the non-NUS institution where they are conducting their research.

i. How long does the Academic Supervisor need to prepare their group before certification?

Typically, each Academic Supervisor and team is given a timeframe of 6 months from the commissioning of the workspaces to establish a Safety & Health Management System.

j. How long will the audit take place?

Typically, the audit will take up to maximum of half a day.

k. What are the types of documentation to be submitted for audit?

Safety & Health Management System (SHMS) documentation to be submitted should conform to the requirements of the SHMS Standard for Academic Supervisor. Such documentation could be included but not limited to:

Risk Assessments, SWPs, Licenses/Permits, training records, maintenance records, notes of safety meeting, legal register, and etc.

SHMS documentation should be maintained in Workplace Safety & Health Information Registry (WSHIR) module: https://inetapps.nus.edu.sg/osh/portal/eServices/ehs360.html

The SHMS documentations must be updated and ready for review by OSHE's auditors four weeks prior to conduct of the audit.

l. What is the validity of the certification?

There is no expiry to the certification for Academic Supervisor so long as the staff is in service with NUS. However, a surveillance audit will be conducted for the Academic Supervisor once every 3 years unless specified otherwise.  (refer to Pt. 4 Frequency of Surveillance Audit)

6. Resources

7. OSHE Contact Persons

For general enquiries on Certification Scheme: Mr Hairulnizam Ishak, 6516 7725, h.ishak@nus.edu.sg

For scheduling of audit: Ms Teng Yi Sin, 6601 8202, ormcaudit@nus.edu.sg