IACUC Semi-Annual Inspections Begin Tuesday, August 4

The Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC) will begin its next round of semi-annual facility inspections on Tuesday, August 4, 2020. Inspections will run through mid-September and include any animal rooms, surgical suite support spaces, and areas where procedures are conducted on animals.

We recognize that this round of inspections will overlap with the upcoming AAALAC 2020 Site Visit and apologize for any inconvenience or added burden this may place on your lab.

Regardless of whether your lab will be inspected prior to the AAALAC Site Visit or shortly thereafter, each is a unique opportunity for additional evaluation, assessment, and dialogue with your scientific peers on the area(s) where individual and collective improvement(s) can be made in service to the animals under our care.

Special Safety Precautions

As we navigate the myriad challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have on our research operations, this round of semi-annual inspections will look and function a bit differently than usual.

Examples of what you can expect include:

• IACUC inspectors will don face shields in areas where appropriate social distancing cannot be maintained
• You may need to greet inspectors outside of your lab in order to adhere to room density requirements
• We will make every effort to keep our interactions brief in order to minimize the amount of time
  that you and your lab staff may need to spend away from your work
• Except in rare or unforeseen circumstances, all inspections should be completed prior to
  the start of each building’s second shift

We will continue to work in close partnership with the Facilities & Operations and Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) departments to ensure that inspections can be completed safely and efficiently and that all inspectors follow the requisite policies and procedures that are in place to protect our community.

Inspection Notifications & Reminders

Inspection schedules and reminders will be sent to each PI/Study Team member based on the buildings/rooms they are assigned to as outlined on animal use protocol(s) in eRAM. Inspection notices and reminders are automatically sent by eRAM at 2-week and 4-day intervals leading up to the assigned inspection date.

When reviewing the schedule, please note that all facility inspections, including lab visits, will start as early as 8:30 AM.
Each ULAM-focused inspection will begin in SPF animal housing areas, though this may be altered if there are contaminations.

The following also applies:

• For inspections with a ULAM focus, only ULAM husbandry supervisors need to be present
• For inspections with a lab focus, having a lab representative present who is knowledgeable about
  the pertinent animal use is strongly recommended
• During facility inspections, inspectors must be provided access to locked cabinets, drawers,
  and storage areas that store drugs and medical materials

Preparation Resources

We strongly encourage you to review the following tools and resources with your staff to help prepare for inspections:

• Are You Inspection Ready? Checklist (PDF download)
• Aquatics Facilities Checklist (PDF download)
• Lessons Learned from Spring 2020 Semi-Annual Facility Inspections (newsletter article)
• AAALAC Trends Data Review (newsletter article)

At no other time has our attention to building a culture of shared responsibility for compliance been as imperative to the success of our research mission and to the University as it is now. Each and every member of our research community must commit to regularly and rigorously assessing our individual and collective operations in order to ensure that a safe and secure environment – for both research personnel and the animals entrusted to our care – is being maintained at all times and in all circumstances.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we navigate these busy few months together, your partnership and support are greatly appreciated.

Questions?

Questions or concerns about semi-annual inspections, or the upcoming AAALAC Site Visit, should be directed to the Animal Care & Use Office at acuoffice@umich.edu.

 Links marked with a lock icon can only be accessed using valid Level-1 U-M login credentials.