[labnetwork] Starting Back Up

Tue Apr 28 15:21:49 EDT 2020

All, I inquired to our EH&S about proper handling of used gear, and the response was "treat it as regular waste. It becomes a bio-hazard when in contact with
an infected person." Of course, we don't really know who amongst us is asymptomatic now, do we? So, closed waste cans and smart handling is the path we're taking.
We rely on work-study students - there are a few still around - to sanitize 2x daily, and have filled many spray bottles with IPA to be
used with lab wipes, and have ample pre-soaked wipes available. IPA by the gallon is inexpensive and residue free.

Who knew this pandemic stuff could be so hard?!?

Scott Blondell
RIT SMFL

From: labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu [mailto:labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu] On Behalf Of Mark Heiden
Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2020 11:24 AM
To: Robert MacDonald <robert.j.macdon at gmail.com>; Albert William (Bill) Flounders <bill_flounders at berkeley.edu>
Cc: labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu
Subject: Re: [labnetwork] Starting Back Up

Hi Rob,
What type of smocks are you using? Cloth or disposable? Also how are you handling waste gloves, smocks, hats, shoecovers etc. Is it now considered bio- waste and if so was special training required?

Thanks,

MH
________________________________
From: labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu<mailto:labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu> <labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu<mailto:labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu>> on behalf of Robert MacDonald <robert.j.macdon at gmail.com<mailto:robert.j.macdon at gmail.com>>
Sent: Monday, April 27, 2020 2:42:35 PM
To: Albert William (Bill) Flounders
Cc: labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu<mailto:labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>
Subject: Re: [labnetwork] Starting Back Up

We are running a short staff. Only two engineers. Split shift on maintenance. Only technicians. In total about 25% normal personnel.

A few obvious things similar t what has been said. Physical distance where possible such as gowning area enforced. Great care around shared spaces such as SEM for disinfection.

One key is face mask use. Making sure disposable face mask handled with great care.
No PPE sharing particularly face shields. Face shield disinfection.

Thanks,

Rob

Sent from my iDidntspellcheckit

On Apr 21, 2020, at 6:13 PM, Albert William (Bill) Flounders <bill_flounders at berkeley.edu<mailto:bill_flounders at berkeley.edu>> wrote:
Colleagues,
I have been intentionally slow to respond to this inquiry.
The Berkeley NanoLab's present stance is that our city, county, and state imposed some
of the earliest shelter in place orders in the country, and we continue to follow them.
We do not yet have a schedule or standard defined for return to research operations.

Split shifts, alternate days, maintain distance, caution with shared PPE, etc.
I do not have any bullet points to share that haven't already been considered.
Though I don't have a unique insight to the common challenges we face,
I found Sandrine Martin's (U Michigan) reply with a plan for staged return
to operations quite constructive and similar to our evolving strategy.

Each of us needs to define our stages and what the measures and timing are associated with each stage.
This will be a thoughtful and gradual process, with some components unique to our specific operations,
and with the possibility of having to come to full stop again, at any time.

We will get through this.
My best to all,
Bill

Bill Flounders, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Berkeley Marvell Nanofabrication Laboratory
http://nanolab.berkeley.edu/

On Wed, Apr 15, 2020 at 4:39 PM Sandrine Martin <sandrine at umich.edu<mailto:sandrine at umich.edu>> wrote:
Hello Ron, and all,

We are also in planning mode at Michigan and waiting for the go ahead and likely recommendations/restrictions from our state and university officials (as of now, our current stay at home order is effective until 4/30). We're looking at different sequential stages:
1- replenishing our stock of supplies (most were donated to the hospital, so we need to make sure we have enough before we move to the next phase)
2- staff only, bringing facilities and tools back online
3- authorized/independent users only (no training)
4- all users

During all of these phases, we are planning for updated protocols that will be different from our "old" (pre-COVID - which feels such a long time ago....) operation model.
- additional cleaning, both outside of the lab (where no PPE is worn) and inside of the lab
- updated gowning protocols (face masks required even in our "class 10,000" space, double gloving mandatory, garment bags and safety glasses not shared among lab users, or heavily cleaned between usage)
- increased air exchanges and prefilters added before our HEPA filters in gowning area .
- social distancing protocols (hence the "no training" in phase 3)
    * limiting the number of people in the gowning area at the same time
    * showing our users the schedule for tools that are in close proximity and having guidelines about maximum number of people for each physical area - for now, we are looking at relying on users following protocols (rather than hard restrictions from our lab management or access control system).
    * enhancing our training methods so that they rely less on close proximity (we already have wiki pages and SOPs for all tools, and online quizzes for a few, but we're looking at developing this further, and including video training if possible - we don't yet have any of these).
    * limiting onsite staff presence (at least initially) with rotation between two teams, possibly increasing air exchanges in office areas too.

It's definitely still a work in progress - looking forward to hearing about other ideas from the rest of you!

Thanks
Sandrine

On Wed, Apr 15, 2020 at 11:50 AM Reger, Ronald K <rreger at purdue.edu<mailto:rreger at purdue.edu>> wrote:
Dear Colleagues,

Here at Purdue for the last 3 weeks we have severely curtailed our research efforts at the Birck Nanotechnology Center due to the pandemic, to the point that only a fraction of our facility is being used for projects deemed critical (related to COVID-19 or national interest).  We are preparing to ramp back up once the stay-at-home orders are lifted and this ramp-up presents some unique challenges.  We're anticipating potential delays in orders from suppliers as they ramp up and we expect that social distancing will still be the norm so process & equipment training will need to be handled differently. We're just now starting to plan for returning to a full research operation and we're wondering if you all are developing similar plans?  It would be great if we could share some thoughts and ideas in our community.

Thanks very much,

Ron

Ron Reger
Engineering Manager
Birck Nanotechnology Center | Room 2289 |
Office:  765.494.6667 | Email: rreger at purdue.edu<mailto:rreger at purdue.edu>
Wiki:  https://wiki.itap.purdue.edu/display/BNCWiki
iLabs:  https://purdue.ilabsolutions.com/homepage/
______________________________________________________________

<image001.png>

www.purdue.edu/giantleaps<http://www.purdue.edu/giantleaps>

_______________________________________________
labnetwork mailing list
labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu<mailto:labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>
https://mtl.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo.cgi/labnetwork

--

Sandrine Martin, Ph.D.

University of Michigan

LNF Managing Director

1246D EECS, 1301 Beal Ave

Ann Arbor, MI 48109

Cell 734-277-2365

Fax 734-647-1781

www.LNF.umich.edu<http://www.lnf.umich.edu/>

@LurieNanofab
_______________________________________________
labnetwork mailing list
labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu<mailto:labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>
https://mtl.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo.cgi/labnetwork
_______________________________________________
labnetwork mailing list
labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu<mailto:labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>
https://mtl.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo.cgi/labnetwork
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://mtl.mit.edu/pipermail/labnetwork/attachments/20200428/de609f6d/attachment.html>