Tag Archives: Department of Energy (DOE)

DOE Launches Competition To Spur Domestic Energy Technology Manufacturing

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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is hosting an American Inventions Made Onshore (AIM Onshore) competition with the hope of encouraging more domestic manufacturing of energy technologies.

Business incubators, accelerators and universities selected to participate in the competition will partake in the Build4Scale manufacturing training program to educate energy technology entrepreneurs about manufacturing practices and to connect them to U.S.-based manufacturers. 

Four organizations will be chosen to lead the training and will be awarded $150,000 each. After a year of training, the DOE will evaluate the organizations’ performance based on the revenue they generated from investors and the number of partnerships they established between energy technology developers and American manufacturers. The number one group will win an additional $250,000, and the second place group will win $100,000.

To find manufacturing training resources or to enter the AIM Onshore competition, visit Build4Scale.org.

 

DOE Special Operations Report on Laser Safety in Retrospect

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By Jamie J. King

Due to a rash of serious laser accidents from 2001 to 2005, including six eye injuries, the Department of Energy (DOE) released a Special Operations Report (SOR) in February of 2005. A root cause analysis revealed that there were four primary causes for the accidents. They were: inadequate training, inadequate Laser Safety Officer (LSO) conduct, need for better internal oversight, and a failure to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

Insufficient training and an inadequate level of understanding of the hazards and controls were cited in each of the accidents analyzed. This was noted at the worker level, with those who oversee the operations, and supervisors of laser users. As many of the accidents involved students, the inadequacy or lack of training and a safety culture at the university level was mentioned. Continue reading →