Occupational Safety

Handling, storing, and using compressed gasses can present a high risk for injury or illness if hazards aren’t recognized or controlled.

Compressed gas cylinders (CGC) are under great pressure, often exceeding 2000 pounds per square inch or 136 atmospheres. At a minimum, to prevent any accidental uncontrolled release of energy, it is important to protect CGC from toppling over and rupturing their valve stems. All compressed gas cylinders, including lecture bottles, “empty” cylinders, and cylinders in transit, must be secured in protective structures such as racks, clamping devices, holders, and stands.

For more information on UT Dallas’s requirements for compressed gas, please visit the Compressed Gas: Classification and Requirements webpage.

Confined spaces can present conditions that are immediately dangerous to workers if not properly identified, evaluated, tested, and controlled. DO NOT ENTER a confined space unless you have completed pre-entry planning, received job-specific training, and are authorized by your Supervisor to enter the space.

To submit a permit-required confined space notification to UTD Occupational Health & Safety, please use the CampusOptics permit request form.

For more information, visit the Confined Space webpage.

Custodians, janitors, housekeepers—they go by many names, but they are instrumental in keeping our campus safe and clean. As they work to keep other employees and visitors safe, they often encounter hazards that increase their risk of injuries from slips/falls, material handling, and chemical exposures.

For more information, visit the Custodial Safety webpage.

Comets love to show their passion for our academic achievements, athletic teams, alumni gatherings, and various holidays throughout the year. Decorations can enhance the spirit of celebration on campus, but we don’t want to cause a fire hazard or disable life safety systems due to poorly executed decor!

For more information, visit our Decorations Safety webpage.

Emergency showers and eyewashes play a critical role in minimizing damage to skin or eyes in the event of a chemical exposure. In the event of gross chemical contamination, they can help save a life. Where hazardous chemicals are in use, an eyewash and safety shower should be within 10 seconds clear travel of your workspace. Ensure this equipment is never blocked or obstructed by stored materials or other items.

Never hesitate to use the emergency shower or eyewash in a chemical exposure situation! Most eyewash/shower stations are not routed to a floor drain, by design, and water will accumulate on the floor.

Eyewash and emergency shower stations are tested annually, and should have a current date written on their associated inspection tag. If you identify stations that are in need of testing or servicing, contact the Safety team.

• Guardian Equipment – ANSI checklist: Emergency Shower and Eyewash Compliance Standards (pdf)
• EPA: Indoor Air Quality
• NIOSH: Occupational Noise Exposure
• OSHA
  • Hazard Communication
  • Occupational Noise Exposure Standards
  • Respiratory Protection
  • Respiratory Protection Standards
• Texas Department of State Health Services
  • Asbestos Health Protection Rules
• Vermont SIRI: Material Safety Data Sheets

Falls are a leading cause of serious injuries, and even death, in both the construction and general industry sectors. The University’s program is designed to enable employees and students to recognize fall hazards at UTD. By establishing these procedures, the UTD community can prevent falls to lower levels, through holes, and other openings in walking or working surfaces.

For more information, please visit UTD’s Fall Protection webpage.

Texas Hazard Communication Act (HS 502)

The University of Texas at Dallas recognizes that employees have a right and need to know the properties and potential safety and health hazards of substances to which you may be exposed in the course of performing your duties. Such knowledge is essential to maintaining the general health and welfare of faculty, staff, and students, and reducing the incidence and cost of occupational illness and injury.

It is the policy of UT Dallas to provide employees with appropriate training and information on the safe handling and work practices associated with hazardous chemicals, materials, and conditions to which employees may be exposed in the work place. This is accomplished by complying with the Texas Hazard Communication Act (HS 502) which is incorporated into our policy. Amendments to this standard become incorporated into our policy on the date they become effective.

Implementation of this policy is accomplished through the UTD Hazard Communication Program.

Anyone who operates, cleans, services, adjusts, and repairs machinery or equipment should know the hazards associated with that machinery. People can be seriously injured or killed if hazardous energy is not properly controlled. Hazardous energy comes from electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical, thermal, or other sources found in machines and equipment. These energy sources can become dangerous when there is an unexpected startup or release of stored energy during work.

A wide variety of energy sources may need to be locked out during service or maintenance. This includes but is not limited to:

• Electrical equipment
• Hydraulic
• Pneumatic
• Mechanical
• Gravity
• Thermal
• Chemical
• Fluids and gases
• Water under pressure
• Steam

For more information, please visit the Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) webpage.

CPR / AED / Stop the Bleed / First Aid

For more information or to schedule training please contact the University Emergency Medical Response (UEMR) team.

University Emergency Medical Response (UEMR) strives to create a safer environment for the UT Dallas community by providing faster and more direct emergency medical care for everyone on campus.

In the United States, sudden cardiac arrest claims more than 350,000 lives each year. As a leading cause of death in the world it is frequently caused by ventricular fibrillation, an abnormal, chaotic heart rhythm that prevents the heart from pumping blood. The most effective treatment for ventricular fibrillation is delivering an electrical shock to the heart with a machine called a defibrillator. Recent advances in defibrillator design now make it possible for rescuers with limited training to provide defibrillation earlier following sudden cardiac arrest using an Automated External Defibrillator (AED).

CPR / AED Training teaches lay rescuers how to recognize and treat life-threatening emergencies, including cardiac arrest and choking for adult, child, and infant victims; and use of an AED for adult cardiac arrest victims. Students also learn to recognize the warning signs of heart attack and stroke in adults and breathing difficulties in children.

Forklift Training

OSHA Standard 1910.178(2)-(7) for forklift training states, trainees may operate a powered industrial truck only:

• Under the direct supervision of persons who have the knowledge, training, and experience to train operators and evaluate their competence; and
• Where such operation does not endanger the trainee or other employees.

Training shall consist of a combination of formal instruction (lecture, discussion, video, and written material), practical training, and evaluation of the operators’ performance in the workplace.

All operator training and evaluation shall be conducted by persons who have the knowledge, training, and experience to train powered industrial truck operators and evaluate their competence.

An evaluation of each powered industrial truck operator’s performance shall be conducted at least once every three years.

If you would like more information regarding this standard, please visit OSHA.gov.

Forklift Inspection Checklist (docx)

All floor holes and skylight openings must be guarded.

Some job functions at UTD may be performed by workers in isolation. This program serves to encourage awareness and promote practices and procedures to minimize the risks of injury or violence to staff, faculty, and students who, due to the nature of their work, are required to work alone and may require emergency assistance while working alone. 

An informational checklist to help you identify best practices for working alone can be found here: 

For more information, please visit the Working Alone webpage.