Research Safety Training Requirements

Safety training is required before any person can work in a laboratory at the University of Minnesota. This takes place when you first begin work, with some training needing to be refreshed annually. Safety training may be provided by Health, Safety, and Risk Management (HSRM), your supervisor, or other reputable sources.

Benefits of Training

Training has a variety of benefits, including:

  • Helping to prevent incidents and injuries: Incidents and injuries become less likely when people know what work practices they should follow, basic safety information, and what resources they have available for safety.
  • Building knowledge and competence in health & safety: Training helps you know the hazards of your work, allowing you to work more safely and make better safety decisions. It also helps you know when to use outside resources and to ask for help.
  • Fulfilling regulatory requirements: Many regulatory agencies, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and some grant-providing institutions require health and safety training.

Training Requirements

Before you start working in any research laboratory at the University, you are required to take a comprehensive research safety module (online) and receive lab-specific training from your supervisor.

Annual Lab Specific Training

Lab-specific training is required annually for all lab members, and whenever a new lab employee begins work. This training is provided by the laboratory’s principal investigator or lab supervisor, not by HSRM, Canvas, or Training Hub. Lab-specific training must be documented by the lab supervisor and signed by all who attended. These records must be kept on file for five (5) years. Further details on this training are covered in a separate lab-specific fact sheet. 

Whenever a new process is developed or a new chemical or other hazard is introduced into the lab, training will be given to all lab members. Doing so will inform all lab employees about any new hazard(s) and how to respond to incidents such as spills, exposures, or injuries.

Additional Required Training

If you are doing work with or using any of the following, additional training may be required, and may need to be refreshed every 1-3 years:

  • Radiation
  • Lasers
  • Respirators, including N-95 dust masks
  • Agricultural/farm equipment
  • Biological materials, including infectious agents, human bodily fluids/materials, recombinant DNA, etc.
  • Formaldehyde
  • Electrical hazards
  • Agricultural equipment

Optional Training

Optional training is also available on other topics, such as soldering, fire extinguishers, and anesthetic gas safety, by request. Contact the HSRM front desk at (612) 626-6002 or [email protected], your Department Safety Officer (DSO), or your Research Safety Partner for more information.

Documentation Requirements

Laboratories are required to keep training records of all in-person trainings provided to their lab members for five (5) years. These records are expected to be presented during an audit, and also can be used to prove that training occurred in case an incident occurs. The records must include the name of the person trained, the date of the training, the topics covered, and the name of the person who provided the training. For many labs, this is a binder kept in the lab with these handwritten records. Electronic records (i.e., an Excel sheet, Google document, etc.) are also acceptable, as long as they can be easily accessed when needed. Training records from courses taken online can be found through on the Training Hub. Instructions can be found on the HSRM training web page.


Questions

If you have any questions about training requirements or documentation procedures, contact your DSO, your HSRM Research Safety Partner, or contact HSRM at (612) 626-6002 or [email protected].