About
The Safety, Insurance, Operational Risk and Compliance (SIRC) Office in UCD is tasked with advising the university on a broad range of matters.
About the Unit
The office provides advice across many areas of Health and Safety management including:
• Statutory compliance
• Development of risk assessments
• Development of safety protocols
• Occupational health
• Occupational hygiene
• Emergency planning
• Safety training
• Safety auditing
• Hazardous materials safety
• Pregnant employee safety
• Fire safety
Insurance and Operational Risk
The SIRC Office also manages the university’s insurance programme. The office manages all insurance claims and also deals with day to day enquiries regarding insurance from the university community.
Closely linked to the areas of safety and insurance is Operational Risk. Operational Risk can be defined in this instance as those uncertainties that arise during the normal course of operations that have the potential to impact on a school or unit's ability to function properly and to achieve its strategic objectives. The SIRC Office can advise on managing and minimising such uncertainty.
Compliance
The SIRC Office also advises and assists university schools and units on achieving compliance with their statutory obligations, where these statutory obligations are not managed by another university unit, e.g. UCD Finance Office, UCD Procurement and Contracts Office, etc. The SIRC Office works closely with the UCD Legal Office in this regard. Areas around which statutory compliance advice is given include:
• Health and safety
• Hazardous waste management and disposal
• The use of Genetically Modified Organisms
• The importation of biological materials
• The use of bonded spirits
• The use of controlled substances for research
The office can act as a first port of call for persons with statutory compliance queries.