Work with the people that motivate and inspire you

I am a Supervisor

We are committed to establishing and maintaining a safe learning and working environment at the Alta Vista Campus of the University of Ottawa.

Training

Need to verify when you last completed a course? Go to My Training Profile and sign in.

WHMIS (for lab workers)

WHMIS (for office workers)

Other Mandatory training sessions

Note: Supervisors must make sure to complete the Supervisor Health and Safety Awareness online workshop

Forms

Keys and Access Cards

All new personnel are required to complete and submit an Orientation Form and an Access Form. Please compete both forms electronically and forward to your supervisor for their signature.  You may also wish to include your mandatory training certificates. 

Supervisor: Once you’ve provided your signature, please forward (1) both forms and (2) the training certificates by email to your departmental office for processing:

Please allow 48 hours for access card requests.

New Students and Staff

Training

New students (honours, co-op, graduate and postdoctoral) and staff (both support staff and researchers (including PI's)) have certain training sessions to complete when beginning work. The training ensures that the University of Ottawa fulfills its commitment to creating and ensuring safe working environments for the whole uOttawa community. Ensure that all of your new staff and students receive the necessary job-specific training such as Laboratory Safety, Autoclave Safety, Biosafety, Radiation Safety, and Laser Safety.

Need to verify when you last completed a course? Log into My Workshop History and click the Past Training tab. 

Forms

The Orientation Form is mandatory for all newcomers to the Alta Vista Campus and has multiple purposes. It acts as a checklist for relevant training and important overview of workplace health and safety protocols. The Access Form allows personnel and learners to request access cards and/or keys.

All new personnel are required to complete and submit forms to either their departmental office or to the Health, Safety and Risk Management Office. This ensures that we have the most accurate and up-to-date knowledge possible about who is working at the Alta Vista Campus at any given time. Please download these forms to your device in order to fill them in.

Student lockers

If your students require a locker for storing personal items and food, please direct them to the Administrative Assistant of your department.

Supervisors’ Corner

The Health, Safety and Risk Management Office recognizes that research is, of course, the primary concern of any researcher. However, if you are a principal investigator (PI) who hires, mentors, or trains others, you are a supervisor under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act and have certain duties and responsibilities under the law. The suggestions on this page will help you navigate those duties and responsibilities.
  • Make sure you have completed the University’s Supervisor Health and Safety Awareness course. This will also help to explain your duties and responsibilities under the law and is required for all supervisors by Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. Remember, supervisors have a general duty to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of the worker.
  • Be familiar with the University of Ottawa’s Policy 77 Occupational Health and Safety Policy and Procedure 14-1 Internal Responsibility Procedure for Health and Safety Issues, paying particular attention to the duties required of supervisors. Additional University policies and regulations can be reviewed on the University’s Health and Safety website.
  • Create hazard identification and risk assessment documents for all processes and equipment in the lab following the Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment Procedure. The Health and Safety office can assist you in the creation of these documents.
  • Ensure your staff take all mandatory and required training and submit their certificates to the relevant departmental office. Ensure that all staff and students have read and understood the HIRA documents associated with the work they will be performing.
  • Make sure all workers that you supervise complete the Orientation Form and Access Form. You must co-sign both forms and submit them to your departmental Administrative Assistant.
  • Statistically, new and young workers are more likely to be involved in a workplace accident than your experienced staff. For these workers, consider creating a scope of work that clearly explains the “do’s and don’ts” of your lab, your expectations with respect to after-hours and working alone and what to do in the case of an emergency. The Health, Safety and Risk Management Office can help consult with this.

  • Did you know that it is your responsibility to make sure that all doors to your offices and labs are locked when you or your staff leaves for the day? We would like to remind you of the University's Policy 33 - Security which states that "it is the duty of all supervisory personnel to [...] take appropriate means to minimize the risk of losses for the University and the members of the University community." 

  • Before people leave your lab or graduate, have them go through the lab and transfer ownership or dispose of any of their samples.

  • Do a yearly clean out of your lab space to rotate stock and get rid of old or unneeded supplies.

  • Finally, in the lab, delegate or distribute duties such as: