Prevention through
Design (PtD) is a major
initiative of the National Institute of Safety and Health (NIOSH). Defined as
“Addressing occupational safety and health needs in the design process to
prevent or minimize the work-related hazards and risks associated with the
construction, manufacture, use, maintenance, and disposal of facilities,
materials, and equipment,” it can be applied to facilities, processes,
products, equipment and materials. When safety is addressed in the design
stages, it becomes more effective and more cost efficient. This seminar will
introduce the PtD initiative and
provide real-world examples of PtD implementation.
John
Weaver is a member of the
steering committee for the NIOSH Prevention through Design national initiative.
He has given seminars, papers, and workshops on the application of PtD to various groups,
including the American Society of Safety Engineers at their annual meeting,
Safety 2009. His efforts in designing engineering controls into the Birck Nanotechnology
Center at Purdue University are considered prime examples of the implementation
of PtD, some of which are
featured on the NIOSH web site.
John serves as the
Facility Manager for the Birck Nanotechnology
Center at Purdue University. He is responsible for the clean room and
laboratory operations, facility infrastructure, training activities, and
safety. John led the design, construction, equipment installation, and startup
of the BNC, and is heavily involved in the development of best practices in
nanotechnology facility design, construction, and operation.
John received his BS
from Adrian College and spent 35 years in the semiconductor industry with RCA,
Hughes Aircraft Company and Delphi Corporation (formerly Delco Electronics).
John has been involved in a variety of roles in semiconductor process design and
development, support, and facilities development. John has published numerous
papers in both process development and contamination control, has two patents
in process development, and authored a book and two book chapters in
contamination control technology and nanotechnology facility safety. He has
taught a wide variety of industry short-courses, and is the recipient of the
Willis J. Whitfield Award for contributions to the field of contamination
control.
John is a Fellow of
the Institute for Environmental Sciences and Technology, a Technical Editor for
the Journal of the IEST, Vice-Chair of SPC-7: Nanotechnology, chair of WG205:
Nanotechnology Safety, and is a Principal Member of the NFPA 318 committee, which
writes fire standards for cleanrooms.