1.3 Laboratory Access Policy

1.0 POLICY
2.0 SCOPE
3.0 RESPONSIBILITIES
4.0 DEFINITIONS
5.0 PROCEDURES AND PLANS
5.1. Requirements for Individual Access
5.2. Trip Plan Process
5.3. Identification Badges
5.4. Surface Access and Accountability
5.4.1. Laboratory Employees and Routine Visitors: Department directors, supervisors, and project managers are responsible for knowing the work locations of their employees and routine visitors on a daily basis. Some routine visitors (i.e. members of...
5.4.2. Contractors are required to sign in at the reception desk or provide a daily attendance roster to the receptionist.
5.4.3. Non-Routine Visitors to the surface facility are tracked through the Trip Plan process.
5.5. Underground Access and Accountability
5.5.1. Physical Requirements for Underground Access
5.5.2. Underground Access Restrictions
5.5.3. Underground Access Control: In addition to those items discussed in Section 5.5.2, the following controls are in place with respect to underground access:
5.5.4. Underground Accountability:
6.0 REFERENCE AND RELATED DOCUMENTS
6.1. Related Documents

1.0 POLICY

It is the policy of the Sanford Underground Research Facility at Homestake (SURF) to strictly control individual access to the laboratory in order to provide a safe and secure work place for all employees and visitors.

2.0 SCOPE

This policy applies to all personnel on SDSTA property.

3.0 RESPONSIBILITIES

3.1. Department Directors (Sponsoring Department)

For areas under their control or jurisdiction, ensure visitors and employees follow the access requirements of this policy.
When necessary, appoint department sponsors for individuals visiting the Facility.
Oversee the preparation of specific access requirements for long term projects that are taking place under their supervision or in areas under their control.
Establish a surface and underground accountability procedure for employees and visitors under their supervision that are not accounted for through the Trip Plan process.
Know the work locations of their employees and visitors on a daily basis.

3.2. Underground Access Director

Review and approve/disapprove trips to access the underground for non-Science activities and Science activities that are non-routine that have been submitted through the Trip Plan process (see Section 5.2).
If trips are to areas other than risk areas color coded green, EHS concurrence is sought (see 3.9).

3.3. Facility Infrastructure Director

Review and approve/disapprove trips to access surface facilities for non-Science activities and Science activities that are non-routine that have been submitted through the Trip Plan process (see Section 5.2).
If trips are to areas other than risk areas color coded green, EHS concurrence is sought (see 3.9).

3.4. Science Director

Review and approve/disapprove all trips submitted through the Trip Plan process associated with science, or visits to specific science areas.
If a trip is planned for outside an established lab area, concurrence is sought from the applicable Director.

3.5. Administration Department

Distribute permanent and temporary badges to authorized personnel.
Maintain training records and waivers pertaining to trips.

3.6. Supervisors

Ensure employees understand those areas they are allowed to access and those they are not allowed to access.
Ensure employees receive proper site orientation and safety training to meet established access requirements for areas they access for work activities.
Know the work locations of their employees.

3.7. Sponsors and Project Managers

Ensure visitors/workers and contractors under their supervision receive proper site orientation and safety training to meet established access requirements for areas they access for work activities.
Ensure visitors/workers and contractors are equipped with proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Cleary communicate to visitors/workers and contractors those areas they are allowed to access and those they are not allowed to access.
Enter Trip Plans on the Trip Plan Calendar .
Ensure approvals are complete prior to trip departure.
Arrange for the appropriate number of Laboratory Guides.

3.8. Security

Police the facility, watch for unauthorized access, and deal with such occurrences appropriately.

3.9. EHS Department

Manage the Trip Plan process (as discussed in Section 5.2).
Establish site specific safety training requirements.
Provide concurrence for plans to areas other than risk areas color coded green.

3.10. Executive Director

Formally authorize the underground occupancy limits in writing by Executive Order.

3.11. Laboratory Guides

Guide visitors on tours.
Ensure provisions of this policy have been met before beginning a tour
If going underground, assure individuals in the group are authorized to go underground and communicate that to the Lead Infrastructure Technician (or designee) prior to boarding a shaft conveyance for descent.

3.12. Contractors, Visitor Tours, and Working Trips

Individuals on site as a contractor or part of a visitor tour or working group are required to sign in at the reception desk or provide a daily attendance roster to the receptionist.

3.13. Lead Infrastructure Technician (or designee)

Ensure that only Sanford Laboratory employees, authorized underground contractors, and those individuals listed on the Trip Plan are allowed access to the underground.
Ensure the occupancy limits for the cage are not exceeded.
Monitor the brass tag boards to ensure that underground occupancy limits are not exceeded.
The lead Infrastructure Technician (or designee) is empowered to deny underground access to any individual.

4.0 DEFINITIONS

Sponsoring Department: Department sponsoring a visit.

Sponsor: Individual identified by the sponsoring department that carries out the responsibilities of the sponsoring department to support or organize an activity.

Non-routine or causal visit: A visit that is less than one (1) week in duration and occurs at a frequency of one (1) visit or less per month.

Routine Visit: A visit that exceeds one (1) week in duration and occurs at a frequency of greater than one (1) visit or more per month. Visits by service contractors that fall outside of these criteria can be considered “Routine” if approved by the sponsoring department.

Laboratory Guides: A person recognized by the laboratory as being knowledgeable of the laboratory’s grounds, safety policies and procedures, and is qualified to safely escort Visitors on the facility grounds. Requirements for guides will vary depending upon location and are established in the facility’s Laboratory Guides Policy .

Established Lab Area: Location developed to support an experiment that has had the hazards mitigated.

5.0 PROCEDURES AND PLANS

5.1. Requirements for Individual Access

5.1.1. Casual Visitors and Guests (Non-Routine Visits), Visitor Tours, and Working Trips

Must report to the Administration Building and obtain a visitor badge (see Section 5.3).
If tours beyond the Administration Building are involved, individuals must work with a Sponsor/Project Manager through the Trip Plan Process (see Section 5.2).
Must be accompanied by a Laboratory Guide for all activities outside of the Administration Building and parking areas.

5.1.2. Contractors – the duration of the job and the familiarity of the contractor with the facility will determine access requirements.

Prior to a contract being awarded or work commencing, contractors are considered as “Casual Visitors and Guests”.
Once work commences, all contractors are required to sign in at the reception desk or provide a daily attendance roster to the receptionist.
Badge requirements (see Section 5.3) and the need for Laboratory Guides will be determined by the Sponsor/Project Manager during the work planning process and reviewed by site EHS.
For longer term projects, a written access policy specific to the project will be required.

5.1.3. Scientist/Researchers, Consultants, Inspectors, and Reviewers

For non-routine visits, the requirements are the same as those discussed in Section 5.1.1.
For routine visits, individuals may access selected areas (approved by the sponsoring department with EHS concurrence) without a Laboratory Guide.
Badge requirements (see Section 5.3) will be determined by the sponsoring department and will be based upon the frequency at which the individual will be on laboratory grounds.
For longer term projects (i.e. Large Underground Xenon, MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR, etc), a written access policy specific to the project will be required. The policy must incorporate surface and underground accountability elements discussed in Sections 5.4 and 5.5, respectively. Groups or collaborations can fall into this category. However, members of these groups visiting the facility for the first time, or on a non-routine bases must still be accompanied by either a Laboratory Guide or a member of the group or collaboration that has been designated as a Guide.
Individuals that fall into the “Routine Visit” category may be required to have a sponsor submit a Trip Plan (see Section 5.2.2).

5.1.4. SURF Employees (SDSTA, UCB & LBNL)

All SURF employees will be issued a permanent ID badge.
Access to the surface and underground facilities will be determined by the employee’s supervisor and will be based upon the completion of necessary training requirements. If an employee has not been specifically authorized to access a given area, they must be accompanied by an employee or guide who is authorized for that area.
Employees involved in non-routine tasks underground or tasks involving travel to remote underground locations must fill out a Trip Plan (see Section 5.2.2).

5.2. Trip Plan Process

For visits/tours beyond the Administration Building, the requestor must first identify and contact a sponsoring department who will assign a department sponsor. The sponsor will then initiate the Trip Plan process. This process requires receiving approval for the trip, which is initiated by entering the information on the Trip Plan Calendar .

Trip Plan Procedure for visitor tours:

The requestor must first identify and contact a sponsoring department who will assign a sponsor.
The sponsor will enter a Trip Plan Trip Plan Calendar . 14 days in advance of the trip and submit the Trip Plan for required approval/concurrence. The Sponsor will post the trip information (date & time, location, number of visitors, etc.) to the
The sponsor will arrange for the appropriate number of guides.
IF names were not submitted in the original plan the sponsor will enter the names of guides and members of the group at least 3 days in advance of the planned trip.
The sponsor, or designee, will ensure visitors under their supervision receive the proper site orientation and safety training.
A Trip Plan must be carried by the guide. An additional copy must be posted on the Brass Tag Board when underground.
The Sponsor will enter any changes to the Trip Plan Calendar and will relay the changes to EHS in advance of the trip.

Trip Plan Procedure for working trips: A Trip Plan is required for all underground visits and for surface visits that involve unusual circumstance or hazardous conditions.

The sponsor enters Trip Plan for required approvals at least 3 days in advance of planned trip including names of guides and members of group.
The Sponsor will enter the trip information (date & time, location, number of visitors, etc.) to the Trip Plan Calendar .
The sponsor, or designee, will ensure visitors under their supervision receive the proper site orientation and safety training.
A Trip Plan must be carried by the guide. An additional copy must be posted on the Brass Tag Board when underground.
The Sponsor will enter any changes to the Trip Plan on the Trip Plan Calendar and will relay the changes to EHS in advance of the trip.

5.3. Identification Badges

All individuals (employees, visitors, scientists, contractors, etc.) are required to wear an identification badge at all times while on the laboratory premises.

5.3.1. Two types of badges are issued - permanent and temporary:

Permanent ID badges are issued to all employees and to certain non-laboratory employees (i.e. scientist and contractors) who will be accessing the laboratory on a routine basis. These badges will be issued by Human Resources.
Temporary badges are issued to all non-routine visitors by the Sanford Laboratory Receptionist at the Administration Building.

5.4. Surface Access and Accountability

5.4.1.

Laboratory Employees and Routine Visitors: Department directors, supervisors, and project managers are responsible for knowing the work locations of their employees and routine visitors on a daily basis. Some routine visitors (i.e. members of long term science collaborations) may be required to provide a daily work plan or roster to the receptionist. The director of the sponsoring department will make this determination.

5.4.2. Contractors are required to sign in at the reception desk or provide a daily attendance roster to the receptionist.
5.4.3. Non-Routine Visitors to the surface facility are tracked through the Trip Plan process.

5.5. Underground Access and Accountability

Underground Occupancy Limits:

The underground occupancy limit is based upon the ability for individuals to access a safe location in an emergency situation in a 1-hour time period. The underground in this case includes all underground sites with the exception of the 300L and Tramway. Due to the availability of secondary egress routes that lead directly to the surface, individuals in these areas do not count toward occupancy levels.

The occupancy limits are authorized in writing by the SDSTA Executive Director by Executive Order. The current underground allocations can be found at Lab Access Executive Order .

In order to accommodate the needs of all facility users (Operations, Science, EHS, Engineering, etc), the Laboratory Director may elect to define allocations of the total underground occupancy to specific groups when occupancy numbers near the limit.

5.5.1. Physical Requirements for Underground Access

Persons requesting access underground must be able to perform the following:

Recognize and respond to emergency signals (visual, auditory, and olfactory).
Travel to egress points, unassisted, and under their own power.
Operate communications equipment.
Don and use filtering self contained self rescue respirator (e.g. W-65) and oxygen supply respirator.
Don and use fall restraint equipment.

5.5.2. Underground Access Restrictions

Access to the underground will be restricted to essential personnel during conditions that represent a safety concern.

5.5.3. Underground Access Control: In addition to those items discussed in Section 5.5.2, the following controls are in place with respect to underground access:

When required, the completed Trip Plan shall be posted on the appropriate brass tag boards. This requirement can be waived for routine trips to a single destination.
The Lead Guide will carry a copy of the approved Trip Plan during the tour. This requirement can be waived for routine trips to a single destination.
Pump Room Access: Under normal working conditions, access to the Ross Shaft Pump Rooms (1250L, 2450L, 2600L, 3650L, and 5000L) is limited. Details concerning these restrictions can be found in SOP 0001 – Personnel to the Pump Room Levels . Deviations from these restrictions must be approved in advance by the Underground Access Director and the Director of EHS, or their appointed designees.

5.5.4. Underground Accountability:

All individuals who will be traveling underground must first complete the Sanford Laboratory indemnification forms.
All individuals going underground for any purpose must utilize the brass-in brass-out procedure. Visitors and employees without personalized brass tags will be assigned a numbered visitors brass tag, which is recorded on log sheet located at the Yates and Ross brass tag boards, respectively. It is the Guides responsibility to ensure all individuals in his care have followed the brass-in brass-out procedure.
Failure To Brass-Out - If it is noticed that an individual has not brassed-out when the expectation is that the individual should not presently be underground, the person noting the exception is to inform the staff technicians and supervisors. The cause for a failure to brass-out may vary from may-have-just-forgotten-to-brass-out to still-underground-maybe-lost-and/or-hurt. Depending on the circumstances and information available, the following actions are initiated:

Effort to communicate with the individual to determine the individual’s location and condition.
Converse with persons who may have knowledge of the individual’s last known location/condition.
Utilizing the available information to focus the efforts, initiate a search for the individual.

If a search and rescue is initiated, normal Operations resources will be redirected to support that effort.

SURF Employees and Routine Visitors: Department directors, supervisors, and sponsors/project managers are responsible for knowing the work locations of their employees and routine visitors on a daily basis. Some routine visitors (i.e. members of long term science collaborations) may be required to provide a daily work plan or roster to the receptionist. The director of the sponsoring department will make this determination.
The Lead Infrastructure Technician (or his designee) will:
- Ensure the occupancy limits for the cage are not exceeded.
- Monitor the brass tag boards to ensure that underground occupancy limits are not exceeded.
- The lead Infrastructure Technician (or designee) is empowered to deny underground access to any individual.

6.0 REFERENCE AND RELATED DOCUMENTS

6.1. Related Documents