Assessments
A guide to LATCH Assessment settings.
Perform comprehensive assessments of hazards and required PPE for the designated areas. Manage lab rosters and assign roles from the LATCH interface. Accept e-signatures from lab members, certifying their acknowledgment of the assessment. Upload files into LATCH to an easily accessible library of lab SOPs, SDSs, etc.
Please note that LATCH is the default terminology used for assessments. Client-specific names may be used (i.e., Lab Profiles, CHAMS, PI Profiles, etc.)
To access the Laboratory Assessment Tool & Chemical Hygiene Plan (LATCH), click the LATCH link in the left menu area.
Personnel
Under the LATCH Personnel tab, you can add or remove individuals from your lab roster, as well as delegate authority for management of the LATCH.
You may add individuals to your rosters on the Personnel page by searching for them using the Add User To Roster search box. Once you have found the user, click the green “+” icon to add them to the list below.
Note: If the user you are searching for does not come up in the Add User To Roster search box, you can instead enter their email address in the box, click the green “+,” and the system will notify them that they have been added as a new
To remove any user from the roster, click the red “X” icon next to that user. To change the role of any user, click the small pencil icon; doing so will generate a “Select Roles” popup.
You may add a given user's roles using the dropdown list or remove a user in the Select Roles popup.
At the very bottom of the Personnel page, you may enter a 24-hour Emergency Contact Number(s) for your lab group.
Equipment
You can Add/ Modify your lab equipment on this page. Equipment is sorted by "defined types." Equipment is defined in the asset management admin screens.
Training
Under the LATCH Training tab, you can view the status of all the required safety training for your lab group.
At the bottom half of the Training page, each member of your lab group is shown, and listed below each individual is the status of each of their safety training.
To add training to any lab member, first select the training from the dropdown menu, then click either Add Training to All Lab Personnel or Add Selected Training (to add it to just that individual)
To remove any training from a lab member, click the red “X” next to any training line item.
Assessment
Step :1 To begin a new LATCH assessment, navigate to the Assessment tab and click on New Assessments.
Step:2 Select the type of assessment you wish to perform (either by PI or by Group).
Step:3 You may also customize the scope of the assessment by selecting/deselecting rooms. Once you have finalized the scope of your assessment, click the Start button to begin. You may choose to Cancel the Assessment or go Back to make changes as necessary.
If you have previously created an assessment in this system or have already started one, a popup will appear presenting the following options: start from scratch with a new blank assessment (1), continue an open assessment (2), or copy from a previously completed assessment (3).
Activity Assessment
The Activity Assessment section aims to review the various lab activities listed under each hazard category and select all that apply to your lab space(s).
Step: 4 The activity categories are shown at the top of the screen, with the activities for the first category (e.g., Chemical Hazards) being presented upon arriving on this page. For each category, review the list of activities that appear below (scroll down). If an activity applies to one or more of your rooms, click the checkbox. After clicking a checkbox, that activity will expand to present various options.
Step: 5 In the Activity Locations section, you may select/deselect all rooms to which this activity applies.
Step: 6 In the Required PPE section, an assortment of standard/default PPE items is listed for each activity. If you wish to add additional PPE to that list (optional), you may do so by selecting the PPE from the dropdown list and clicking the Add to PPE button (1).
If you add any PPE, you must also state the reason(s) in the comment box (2).
Note: You cannot remove or edit any default PPE listed for any activity.
Step:7 Once you have reviewed all applicable activities for that particular category, click the Save & Continue button. After doing so, you will automatically be navigated to the next category, and you will see a green checkmark on the previous category button, indicating it has been saved.
You can at any time click back on any previous category to reopen it and make changes.
Step:8 Before proceeding to the next stage of the assessment, you must review and save all available hazard categories. You can easily see which categories have been reviewed/saved via the green check marks (1) on each category button. Once all categories have been addressed, click the Save & Continue button (2)
Attachments
In the Attachments section, you may upload copies of your SOPs and any safety-related document related to the activities or hazards you have highlighted in this risk assessment. To do so, either drag & drop your files into the window or click Browse to navigate to your files.
When you are ready, click Save & Continue button to continue.
Notes
In the Notes section, you have the option to record any additional information that may not have been captured during this risk assessment. After adding any notes, click Save & Continue button.
Review Assessments
On the Review Assessment Page, a summary of the risk assessment that you just created is presented.
Step:9 If you have reviewed your assessment and confirmed that it is complete, click the Complete Assessment button (1). You may also view a draft of the completed assessment as a PDF by clicking the View/Print Draft button (2).
Assessment Signatures
Once the LATCH risk assessment has been completed, you will immediately be directed to a full summary page for that assessment. At this time, you can utilize LATCH’s electronic signature tool to sign the assessment.
LATCH Electronic signatures are an optional setting and can be turned on based on a client requirement.
Step:10 Using either your mouse cursor (on a computer) or your finger/stylus (on a mobile device), provide your Signature in the box (1) and click the green Save button to submit (2)
Note: All the members of the lab roster will receive email notifications of the new LATCH risk assessment and must log in to the platform to provide their signatures, thus certifying their knowledge of and compliance with this assessment.
After clicking Save, note that your signature has been saved and entered next to your name in the Roster Signatures section. Signatures of other lab members will also eventually appear once they have logged in and provided them.
Open, Due & Completed Assessments
If you began working on a New Assessment, saved it, and now wish to come back and complete it, you will find it listed under the Open tab (1) in the Assessment area.
Under the Due tab (2) in the Assessment area, you can view any assessment(s) that is overdue for completion. A new risk assessment is also necessary whenever there is a change in hazards and/or activities in a lab(s).
Under the Completed tab (3), you can view a complete historical list of all LATCH risk assessments for your lab area(s). You may view any listed assessment by clicking the View icon, or you can download and print a PDF version by clicking the Print icon.
Continue Assessment (4) To continue an assessment, click the green Continue icon for that assessment; to cancel/delete the assessment, click the red Cancel icon (5).
In another scenario, a member of your lab with LATCH management authority (e.g., a lab manager) may have created an assessment for your group; however, the PI is still required to approve/finalize it. Any such assessments will also be found under the Continue or Approve a Risk Assessment tab. To begin finalizing the assessment, click the Review icon.
The assessment will then appear on the screen for review. If you find that editing is required, click the Reopen Assessment button and approach its completion as you would any other assessment continuation. Otherwise, click the Finalize Assessment button if all appears to be in order and you wish to finalize the assessment.
LATCH Files
Under the Files tab, you have the option to upload any file or document that is associated with or may support your hazard assessment (e.g., SOPs, PPE user manuals, etc.).
To upload a file, click the Add New File button.
After clicking the Add New File button, a popup window appears through which you may upload a file. In this window, enter the Category, enter a Description of the file, select the PI’s name, designate whether the file will be Private (i.e., visible only to the PI & system admins, click the Attach File button to navigate to and select the file, and click Add to upload the file to the system.
After uploading, files can be Edited (1), Deleted (2), or Viewed/Downloaded(3). Any user on the PI’s roster also has the ability to view/download any uploaded file (unless a file(s) is set to Private).
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