water at work

[PepperElf]

one of the things i really like about my job... the water.

granted the tap water in my hometown is especially good. Sometimes I bring jugs of it to mom and sis and they claim it tastes like bottled water to them.

but where I work it's an old building so I'm not sure the pipes are really the best in the world. they're probably not dirty but... I wouldn't trust the water as easily as I'd trust my own tap water.

But that's OK. I'm nt sure when, but long before I started working there, one of the owners bought a water machine for the company. It's tied to the water line but it uses some kind of filter, and gives out Hot, Cold, and Room temperature water.

So the water we get to drink always tastes rather nice and clean. And since we use it for the coffee pot too, it's another reason why our coffee tastes rather good. That and the brand (cool bean) is rather tasty too. But really I've heard that coffee made with filtered water tastes a lot better.


We're not really suppose to have drinks in the lab but as long as there's a lid on it they overlook it. that's why i drink my coffee in the breakroom. my cop doesn't have a lid. but now that i have a new water bottle (a cute metal one, orange with a monarch butterfly on it) that'll be OK to have. Likewise when i hae little bottles of water there's no issue with those either. but i wanted something sturdier and more permanent.

of course overall i think that's what i like the most.. not that the water is good but... they make the place habitable for the employees.

[Magpie]

Please tell me you aren't soldering...


Well over half of my classmates would go to lunch without bothering to wash their hands first. Or eat in the lab where soldering was done (I don't think they ate and soldered, but I don't want to get my hopes up).

[poofy_puff]

It's bad chemical-hygiene practice to have any food or drink in lab areas. I could never understand why people need to have their water RIGHT THERE, even when there is a break-room or an office area where they can go get it if they get thirsty. A lot of companies have (or SHOULD have) a policy where nothing that will be eaten or drunk is allowed in the lab, and items such as lab coats and safety glasses are not permitted in areas that are designated for food and beverage consumption.

And one should always wash one's hands when going from the lab area to the office, lunchroom, or bathroom, even if one has been wearing gloves in the lab.

[PepperElf]

um. we do have a solder station there, on the far side but i've only used it once.

i drink my water from the nice pretty bottle and sometimes i eat carrots there but nothing messy.

as for the "lab" it's an electronics lab vs a chemical lab.
so there's nothing we need gloves for. and as for hand washing, we do have a bathroom built in, so that's not a problem either.


and no we're not really "suppose to" but as long as we don't make a mess they're a little easy going on it. besides, the senior tech isn't going to fault me for having a water bottle with a lid i keep shut tight, not when he has a travel coffee mug there


and one of the bosses today saw me eating my lunch in the breakroom and wondered why i was there and not elsewhere. my answer was that i didn't want to get food on the test equipment. i guess it wasn't much of an issue, but i do like eating my sammich outside the lab.

[poofy_puff]

GMP's (Good Manufacturing Practices, which disallow consumption of food and beverage in the work area(s), as well as things like listening to music while working) "should" apply to any type of lab, whether chemical or otherwise. That is to say, there is no law that REQUIRES GMP's, but companies that subscribe to those standards tend to be more conscientious about work-environment issues in general.