PPD/ES&H will be coordinating housekeeping days again, but what can you do everyday to keep your areas free of unwanted items and debris?  We would like to remind you of the 3 R’s (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle).  Initially, we would like to reduce how much “stuff” we use, be it paper, chemicals, electricity, or any other resource.  If we do have surplus “stuff,” we should find a way to reuse it.  If we can’t find a way to reuse the “stuff” then we should try to recycle it.

Inside this issue:

   

PPD Employees:  Resourceful & Creative

Victor knew that butchers use a mesh glove to protect their hands while handling sharp knives.  The metal mesh of the glove would protect his hand in case the utility knife slipped. 

Victor’s hand was safe, but the mesh glove would not grip the template, thereby reducing productivity.  Victor used his creativity to customize the glove for this task.  He adhered a material commonly used for shelf and drawer lining to the palm of the glove.  This improvement kept his hand firmly in place which allowed better use of the mesh glove. 

Victor is known for taking the initiative and improvising solutions during his many years of service at the Lab.  This was one task that was completed efficiently and safely, using one person’s creativity.

 

 

 

 

PPD/ES&H March Newsletter

Inside this issue:

Integrated Safety Management (ISM) is the Lab’s philosophy on keeping its employees safe and healthy.  ISM means that every person makes the investment to consider the environment, their safety, and their health in every task they do.  We would like to acknowledge one of our PPD employees for implementing ISM in a creative way to remain safe on the job.

Victor Martinez (EED/D-ZERO SUPPORT) improvised a better way to keep himself safe while getting the job done.  Victor’s task was to use a  utility knife and template to cut out patterns of “skins” for the MINERvA Experiment.  It was suggested that a special kind of glove was needed to protect Victor’s free hand while he used the knife with his other hand. 

MINERvA (Main INjector ExpeRiment for v-A)

MINERvA is a neutrino scattering experiment that will look at beam sent down the NuMI beamline.  The MINERvA project has been planned for many years, and has been in the construction mode for the last year. 

Many components must come together to build and install the detector.  The detector itself will be made of nearly two hundred scintillator planes supported by steel plates and stacked together horizontally, like hanging file folders.  The scintillator was manufactured here at Fermilab using the Lab 5 extruder.  Each individual plane of the detector has over ten dozen  scintillator extrusions. 

The scintillator planes are assembled in one of three factories:  the University of Rochester, the College of William and Mary or Fermilab.  At Fermilab, Lab 6 has been outfitted for production of the scintillator planes.  Tim Griffin leads a group of technicians that have mastered the science (and art!) of plane assembly. 

A scintillator plane is a hexagonal sandwich made out of five pieces, and each piece is called a plank.  Each plank is assembled individually.  They start with a “skin,” which is a  thin material cut to the exact shape of the plank.  Then it’s sandwich making time.  A skin is laid out, covered with epoxy, and then the scintillator extrusions are laid on top in a precise order.  Then another application of epoxy and another layer of scintillator extrusions.  Finally, one more layer of epoxy, and another skin to complete the plank.  Then the plank is put under vacuum to cure the epoxy.  After six hours or so it’s done! 

Well...not quite done, the planks must be assembled into a plane.  The planes are made in the same way.  A large hexagonal skin is laid out, epoxy spread on, each plank is placed in its appropriate spot, more epoxy, and another skin.  Vacuum cure, and optical fibers and connectors and you’ve got your plane! 

The planes get crated and head over to PB7 (formerly known as Wideband) to be tested and attached to their steel supports.  Eventually everything will end up underground in the MINOS Hall. 

The lab has an extensive recycling program from paper to personal computers, batteries to bottles.  PPD areas have a multitude of receptacles for these items such as paper bins, recyclable goods including plastic and aluminum.  If your area has a waste stream that you think can be recycled and there isn’t a way to collect it, contact your local waste generator or PPD’s Waste Coordinator Jose De La “O” or alternate Amber Larson.

The Battery Recycling bins located in your area are designated for all types of Fermilab purchased batteries.  If the battery can’t fit in the container, please contact your local PPD Waste Coordinators for pick up.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Did you find this newsletter helpful?  Does it have the kind of information you are looking for?  Your feedback is important.  Please continue to use the electronic safety concern database, the suggestion boxes in your area, or send comments to Eric McHugh, emchugh@fnal.gov

Thanks for all the great responses to the December challenge:

Q:  Besides energy savings, what is an added benefit of using LED decorative light strings ?

Winner is —> Curtiss Danner

A:  ...Less heat dissipation than incandescent bulbs.

Curtiss Danner is the ES&H Challenge winner for January!

This picture shows the template (black plate) that is used to cut out the skins for MINERvA. 

The mesh “butcher’s” glove .  Click on the picture for additional pictures.. 

Mock up of the MINERvA detector, view from side and above

The Directorate toured the MINERvA plane production facility at Lab 6 in January.  Click on picture.

How-To Section…..

How-To Check Your Training…..

Have you ever wondered, “Do I have the correct training to….?” or “does a colleague have the required training to ….?”  There is an easy way to find this information on the Fermilab - PPD ES&H Department webpage.  Click on the TRAIN link  near the bottom and then the Individual Training Plan link.  Once there you can enter anybody’s valid Fermilab ID# and view their training plan.  The training plan gives you information such as what training has been completed and when training is due.

The Status column on one’s Individual Training Page often causes confusion.   The Status can be:  Complete, Due, Due in X days, Past Due, or Inactive.  All but one of those is self-explanatory.  Inactive is the catch.  Inactive means that this is a training you have taken at some point in the past.  The information in the other columns is associated with that training.  However, your status is Inactive because your Individual Training Needs Assessment (ITNA) does not indicate that you need this training.

This can happen in a number of ways.  For example, in my previous job at the lab I was required to make controlled accesses occasionally.  In my current job I do not need to make controlled accesses.  My supervisor removed that training requirement from my ITNA.  Now my training page shows the last time I took Controlled Access training (1/2007), but with a Status of Inactive.  If I attempted to log out a key for controlled access, I would be denied.

Always communicate with your supervisor when you are in need of a new training, or no longer in need of some training.  Your supervisor should update your ITNA whenever a training need changes.