Physics Friday Bulletin 2019-12-20

/ December 20, 2019

Manual Handling

Any member of staff starting a new project please consider any manual handling issues. Please see Phelton Stephenson, Alan Stokes and Martin Ward for advice.

Martin Ward

Safety Induction

The first safety induction of 2020 will take place on Thursday 9th of January at 2pm in B24. Please ensure any new staff attend.

Shonah Ion

Facilities works

Fire door interface inspections will take place in the Physics building on the 6th of January 2020 from 9am.
Every month the University is required to test the interface between the fire alarm system and door control systems in all buildings with access control and/or automatic doors.

This work is undertaken by Honeywell Control Systems Ltd and requires the physical inspection of all doors controlled by the access control system while the fire alarm is active and the doors are locked. This check is to ensure that all doors on escape routes will allow evacuation in the event that the fire alarm is activated. In most cases the alarm will be silenced during the inspection, but for some older systems, where it is not possible to silence the alarm, the checks have to be conducted while the alarm is sounding. Owing for the requirement for the doors to be locked during this test some buildings, where access is required during the week, will be tested at the weekend.

Fire extinguisher servicing. During week commencing 6th January  Britannia Fire Limited will be conducting the annual servicing of all CO2 and Dry Powder fire extinguishers. This should take just a couple of minutes. As most of these extinguishers are located in communal areas or plant rooms and corridors, any disruption should be minimal. If you do have an extinguisher in your lab please be prepared for an engineer to have access.

Shonah Ion

Fire Alarm test

On Monday 23rd December at approximately 11:30 we will be testing the fire alarm system. This should be a very short duration test of less than 1 minute and will not require evacuation of the building. If the alarm continues to sound for more than 1 minute please follow the normal evacuation procedure and gather at the muster point near the perimeter road.

Shonah Ion

Important changes to the Library Digitisation Service

The Library Digitisation Service provides links to accessible, CLA licence-compliant digitised readings for use on Moodle.  

Improvements to the service

The scans are currently stored on a University server but in 2020 we are joining the Copyright Licensing Agency’s collaborative web-based service, the Digital Content Store (DCS) which will enable us to deliver readings more quickly and efficiently.  The system combines a searchable repository of digitised book and journal extracts with an online workflow management tool.   Over 90 UK HEIs are already populating the repository with resources that we will be able to use and add to.  The DCS will also be integrated with our Leganto Resource List system, so you will able to request digitisations when adding citations to your list.

New requests from 2020
New scans requested from January will be delivered via a link to the DCS.  Scans will open in a custom reader; they can also be printed and the pdf downloaded. 

Scans already in use
Existing scans provided/recorded by the digitisation service will be uploaded into the DCS by the Library where they will receive a new link.  The Library will replace all the existing links in Resource Lists and on Moodle from June onwards.  Scans which are available as pdfs on Moodle will also need to be replaced by the new link.  Library staff will do this in consultation with you; it will no longer be possible for pdf scans to be placed on Moodle.
If you would like to discuss any aspects of the enhanced service, please contact us at academicliaison@lancaster.ac.uk

Lorna Pimperton

Use of SUA & Drones for teaching & research

There is a meeting for interested parties around the use of drones as part of research and teaching in the new year with the University’s safety officer.  The University has produced some guidance regarding the use of Small Unmanned Aircraft & drones https://portal.lancaster.ac.uk/intranet/services/people/health-and-safety/suasdrones/arrangements-for-operating-drones and if anyone is interested in attending the meeting let me know and I can ensure the details are passed on.

Shonah Ion

Lancaster University Challenge – Call out to give blood

Each unit of blood donated can save the lives of up to three adults or up to seven babies. That’s why Lancaster University has partnered with NHS Blood and Transplant to launch the 1,000 Pint Challenge on campus, with the aim of collecting 1,000 blood donations from our staff and students in the 2019-20 academic year.
Blood donation: the facts

  • You can donate blood between the ages of 17 and 66 (70 if you’ve given blood before).
  • Men can give blood every 12 weeks and women can give blood every 16 weeks.
  • The closest centre to campus is Lancaster Donor Centre on Ashton Road, just 10 minutes from campus. Here, a token system will be used to keep track of donations from Lancaster staff and students. The centre offers free parking and free WiFi for donors.
  • Most people can give blood, although you can check your eligibility at https://www.blood.co.uk/who-can-give-blood/

For more information please see the staff intranet.

Louise Crook

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