These newsletters are sent to staff and students regarding work environment, safety and health issues. The newsletter is published approximately 4 times a year, after LAMU meetings. Information from LAMU and the department rules and regulations can always be found at the website for Work environment. (Requires AU-network, use the VPN client from external locations).

Agendas and minutes from LAMU meetings are located on the O-drive:

O:\Nat-Tech_Geo-Faelles\Udvalg GEO\LAMU

• Currently basement, hallways and technical rooms are being cleared: Only save material that is used actively by Geoscience staff.
• We expect technical rooms to be locked by NAT-BYG whereafter Geoscience staff will no longer have access: Items belonging to Geoscience should be removed as soon as possible.
• Remember to turn off lights etc. and close windows and doors when leaving a room.

For department researchers there is a mandatory e-learnings course on Blackboard: Research Integrity at Aarhus University (GEO). On July 1 a workshop about research integrity was held at department level.

To prevent some types of conflicts LAMU has created Conflicts and Communication which may provide inspiration on how to communicate and move on from a conflict.

A Code of Conduct has been created by the department management group, LSU and LAMU. The Code of Conduct is a supplement to the AU staff policy and other staff rules when employed by the Danish state.

• There is flexible conditions regarding working from home: The department will not make general rules. It will be the nearest supervisor who (in cooperation with the specific staff member) must make an invidiual plan.
• We continue to disinfect: Use hand sanitizer and clean your work station and contact surfaces using ethanol.
• Everyone must respect that some still have individual needs to keep distance and use face masks.
• Note that the conditions when working (in the field) abroad: Relevant guidelines from authorities (eg. local requirements about PCR-tets or isolation when returning home to Denmark) must be followed. Check out the Corona information from Danish authorities.
• The department website about COVID-19 is offline for now. If necessary it will be revived and updated at a later time.

Charlotte has attended in the annual work environment conference, the subject was "Post Corona". Here over 300 leaders and staff at the danish university participated, as well as a number of experts in the field.

A few key notes from the day:

Remember that noone expects full and normal operation at the university during a lockdown: If you have worked from home you shouldn't return to a higher workload.

Even when the vaccines are implemented there is a risk of a new Corona-wave in the autumn due to new virus-types. The risk is high that we will have to work with new requirements and regulations (that continously needs to be adjusted) for a long time.

The danish universities must be prepared for the next big pandemic and the next lockdown: We have to be ready to restrict operation again with short warning and handle work from the distance.

The department Sustainability committee has its first meeting late September. Contact Thomas Lund Hansen if you have suggestions on how we activitely can work with sustainability and the green transition at Geoscience.

Read the news from Aarhus University about sustainability, among other subjects the university's 68 new climate initiatives which will pave the way for a greener university.

Katrine Juul Andresen represents Department of Geoscience as a member in the newly created Diversity and equality committee at faculty level:

The committee works to improve the gender and diversity balance at the faculty. The primary focus is on the gender balance, but there must also be a greater focus on diversity, including internationalization. NAT wants to work purposefully to have strong professional environments with a good working environment. Open and diverse environments increase the opportunities to retain and recruit the highest talents in all job categories.

We do not have a local diversity and equality committee at the department: Subjects will be discussed at joint LAMU/LSU meetings. You can contact your union representative or work environment representative who are happy to bring your input. If you need to bring subjects to faculty level, feel free to contact Katrine Juul Andresen directly.

The e-learnings course Geoscience Online Safety has been updated and moved from Blackboard to Brightspace. On request from users you now have the opportunity to export all content to pdf, in order to save information to be used later.

Remember that it is mandatory for all lab users (staff, students and guests) to complete the course before commencing independent laboratory work. Read more about the laboratory introsduction at the website.

If you previously have completed the course on Blackboard we recommend that you complete the new course on Brightspace. Duration is approximately 2 hours.

If you want to participate, contact Charlotte Rasmussen with your AU-ID.

Read more about the guidelines at Aarhus University for emergency response, among others the evacuation procedure that applies to all university buildings. 

Remember this during acute situations:

1. Stop the accident, if possible (without putting yourself or others in a dangerous situation)
2. Call 112
3. Evacuate the area, if necessary
4. Contact the Aarhus University alarm number 87 15 16 17

Aarhus University's emergency response app AU Evacuate has been a supplement to the existing emergency response procedure in certain AU buildings.

The app has been managed by Aarhus BSS Buildingservice. It is expected to be phased out soon since there is not enough ressources to keep it updated.

Geoscience work environment portal (including newsletters)

Geoscience work environment organisation (contact information)

Work environment at Geoscience (flyer for new staff)

Emergencies and evacation at Aarhus University

AU HR work environment

YouTube (department safety instruction videos)