General LSO

Responsibilities:

Serve as a resource and point-of-contact for your lab, and liaison between the lab and the LSO Program.
Complete Onboarding at the beginning of assuming role of General LSO
Maintain up-to-date knowledge of LSO Program information, lab safety procedures, and Departmental policies. Resources are supplied in the LSO Program Google Drive.
Stay up-to-date with communications from the LSO Program via ND email and Slack. All formal communications will be delivered via email, but using Slack as a place for discussion is highly recommended.
Complete the semi-annual Roll Call form, which is sent out in January and July of every year, within 1 week of receiving.
Complete one LSO Walkthrough every year as resident LSO (your lab), and two Walkthroughs every year as visiting LSO (other labs). More Information can be found in the Walkthrough Schedule page.
Attend all quarterly meetings, which will be held on the first Friday of the last month of each quarter.

The main role of the LSO is to act as a liaison between their lab and the LSO Program. The LSO is not responsible or liable for enforcing lab safety. Instead, the LSO is there to be a reminder of good lab safety culture and to identify and resolve potential safety issues before they become an issue. Good lab safety culture begins on the individual level, so LSOs are essential for leading the way! If any lab members have safety questions or concerns, the LSO should serve as the point-of-contact. If it’s something the LSO doesn’t know, the LSO is able to find the right person to ask.

Benefits:

Annual Professional Development award of up to $500
A custom lab coat with your name embroidered on it upon completion of Onboarding
Experience you can add to your resume and CV

All LSOs have access to a professional development (PD) award. This PD award is used to reimburse a purchase towards your professional development as a researcher. Acceptable purchases include professional clothing, professional society fees, computer software, electronics hardware, and conference travel. The $500 award is granted to each lab every year, so co-LSOs need to determine a split amongst the two (typically $250/$250). For more information, see the Professional Development Award section.

Custom embroidered lab coats are given to LSOs upon completion of Onboarding.

For more information on prescription safety glasses, see PPE section of General Safety Knowledge.

Beginning July of 2022, in order to receive the PD Award, LSOs must fulfill all five responsibilities listed above. If one point of responsibility is not met, 50% of your PD award will be curtailed. If two or more points of responsibility are not met, you forfeit your PD award for the year.

Divisional LSO

Responsibilities:

The Divisional LSO has all responsibilities of a General LSO in addition to some additional responsibilities:

Serve as a resource and point-of-contact for your lab, and liaison between the lab and the LSO Program.
Maintain in close contact with the Head LSO, and assist in administrative/organizational tasks to maintain the LSO Program (writing emails, organizing meetings, assisting with events)

The Divisional LSO will serve as a liaison for all lab LSOs within their division for safety questions and concerns. The Divisional LSOs will additionally communicate with the Head LSO on a regular basis (monthly meetings between the Divisional and Head LSOs). Divisional LSOs are responsible for helping to organize LSO Walkthroughs and other events.

Benefits:

Annual Professional Development award of $750 total (the standard LSO $500 + $250 for being a divisional LSO)
Additional experience you can add to your resume and CV

Head LSO

Responsibilities

The Head LSO has all responsibilities of lab and divisional LSOs. In addition, the head LSO is responsible for creating Roll Call forms, updating the LSO Roster semiannually, scheduling LSO Walkthroughs, managing Quarterly LSO meetings, and organizing Spring Clean-Up. The Head LSO is responsible for being a liaison between the departmental safety committee, RMS, and the rest of the LSO program. The Head LSO should work closely with the division LSOs and is responsible for disseminating information to all LSOs.

Benefits

Annual Professional Development award of $1,500 (the standard LSO $500 + $1,000 for being Head LSO)
Participation in Departmental Safety Committee meetings
Additional experience you can add to your resume and CV

Professional Development Award

All LSOs have access to a professional development award (PDA). Previously, this PDA was a reimbursement program for purchase(s) toward your professional development as a researcher (professional clothing, society dues, conference travel, productivity electronics).

PDA is distributed via direct deposit, and will be added to your regular pay. It is disbursed twice a year: once in mid-May, once in mid-December. The “gross” amount will be slightly higher, so the “net” amount totals to the following:

General LSO: $500 per lab (split $250/$250 for two co-LSOs)
Divisional LSO: ~$750 (general LSO $500/$250 amount, +$250)
Head LSO: ~$1,500 (general LSO $500/$250 amount, +$1,000)

To receive your PDA, you must be in good standing as an LSO, for more information see Roles, Responsibilities, and Benefits page. Attendance for LSO walkthroughs and quarterly meetings are assessed, and record of this completion can be found in the semiannual Roster. The 1H Roster (in Jan/Feb) will be used to assess mid-May PDA, while the 2H Roster (June/July) will be used to assess mid-December PDA.