[labnetwork] damage by users

[Iulian Codreanu]

Hi Tobi,

We have a similar indemnification section on the external user agreement.

We have an internal user agreement that is signed by both the user and 
their PI; it contains language about being financially liable for 
equipment or other property damage if it is found to result from 
negligence, recklessness or willful misconduct, or any violation of 
Facility's policies and procedures.

Cheers,

Iulian

iulian Codreanu, Ph.D.
Director, Nanofabrication Facility
University of Delaware
Harker ISE Lab, Room 163
221 Academy Street
Newark, DE 19716
302-831-2784
https://udnf.udel.edu

On 5/14/2024 6:41 PM, Tobi Beetz wrote:
>
> Hi All – we’ve had some recent incidents that has led me to reflect on 
> policies in regard to paying for costs associated with misuse of 
> equipment/procedures. For example, a Stanford student mishandled a TEM 
> holder, causing about $5k in damage. We had a difficult time getting 
> the PI agree to pay for the repair.  Another example is an external 
> industry user who incorrectly disposed a chemical down the drain. We 
> are still waiting to see if the city imposes an administrative fine of 
> up to $25k per day of violation.
>
> Getting access to our center includes that every user agrees to the 
> SNSF Code of Conduct <https://snsf.stanford.edu/labmembers/policies> 
> where list the following: /We reserve the right to charge repair 
> costs, equipment and staff time resulting from damage caused by users 
> to the PI./
>
> On the external user side our agreement has an indemnification section 
> which includes: /… obligation to make Center whole for any and all 
> damage to Center, its facilities, and equipment to the extent arising 
> out of the negligent actions or use by User or User Personnel. /
>
> While this all seems reasonable, I am wondering if you have dealt with 
> this type of issue in a better way. Our approach seems a bit of a 
> patchwork. On the accountability side for local students/postdocs, I 
> am also wondering if other labs have focused on contract language with 
> PIs instead of just getting users to acknowledge policies and an 
> administrator/PI provide the charge account.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Tobi
>
> Tobi Beetz, Ph.D.
>
> Associate Director, Stanford Nano Shared Facilities, Stanford 
> University, http://snsf.stanford.edu
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> labnetwork mailing list
> 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/20240515/270c8fe1/attachment.html>