Safe Lab Procedures and Tool Use

The workplace should have safety guidelines to follow to:

1. Protect people from injury
2. Protect equipment from damage
3. Protect the environment from contamination

 Characteristics of a Safety Workspace

1. Clean, organized, and properly lit workspace
2. Proper procedures for handling equipment
3. Proper disposal or recycling of components containing hazardous materials

1.   Safety guidelines

*Most companies require reporting any injuries, including description of safety procedures not followed.
*Damage to equipment may result in claims for damages from the customer.
*Types of safety guidelines: General, Electrical, Fire

Types of Interference

§Electrostatic Discharge (ESD)

•Buildup of an electric charge resting on a surface

•30 volts of static electricity can damage a computer component.

§Electromagnetic Interference (EMI)

•Intrusion of outside electromagnetic signals in a transmission media, such as copper cabling

•Sources can be: Man-made, natural events, climate or any source designed to generate
 electromagnetic energy.

§Power fluctuations

•Voltage in a computer that is not accurate or steady

•Blackouts, brownouts, noise, spikes, power surges

Procedures to protect the environment 

§Computers and peripherals contain materials that can be harmful to the environment.

§We should protect the environment by responsibly disposing and recycling:

•Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS): Fact sheet summarizing information about material identification, including hazardous ingredients that can affect personal health, fire hazards, and first aid requirements

•Proper Disposal: Policies that specify the procedures for disposing different materials such as batteries, monitors and used printer kits.

 Specialized Tools

§Skilled use of tools and software makes the job less difficult and ensures that tasks are performed properly and safely.

§Hardware

•ESD Tools

•Hand Tools

•Cleaning Tools

•Diagnostic Tools

§Software

•Disk management tools (Fdisk, Format, Scandisk, Defrag, etc.)

•Protection software tools (Antivirus, Firewall, etc.)

§Organizational

•Notes

•Journal

•History of repairs

•Internet Reference

Proper Tool Use 

§Safety in the workplace is everyone's responsibility.

§Before cleaning or repairing equipment, check to make sure that your tools are in good condition.

           •Proper use of an antistatic wrist strap.

CAUTION: Never wear an antistatic wrist strap if you are repairing a monitor or CRT.

•Proper use of an antistatic mat.

•Proper use of hand tools.

•Proper Use of Cleaning Materials.

CAUTION: Before cleaning any  device, turn it off and unplug the device from the power source.

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