In 2008 Team 1501 started an intensive safety program. The need for this program became evident after one of our students caught on fire while welding. Luckily it was just his sweatshirt and he was ok, none the less, we decided something needed to be done. The position of Safety Captain was taken much more seriously, and we took special measures to make our program safer. Since then, we have won the Boilermaker Regional UL Industrial Safety Award in 2008 and 2009. Hopefully these resources can help your team before a problem occurs.
Often times one safety captain isn’t enough. We’ve found that the best situation for our team is to have a safety committee. Headed up by a Lead Safety Captain, our committee is also comprised of a Jr Safety Captain, two Shop Supervisors, and an adult Mentor. The Lead SC oversees the groups, forms policies, writes this very blog you’re reading, and keeps track of our overall safety program. The Jr Safety captain performs shop safety/pit evaluations, keeps track of team Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and fills in as the Lead SC when the Lead SC is absent. The two Shop Supervisors make sure tools/machines are being used correctly, makes sure PPE is being worn, and report/treat injuries. They also report any issues that occur in the shop. Our committee meets once a week, sometimes just to check up, and other times to write new policies after seeing a common pattern in the injury log.
It is important for all members
to know how to correctly use shop tools and machines. Take a day before
build season or at the beginning of the build season to have an adult
mentor run through all of your machines and power tools. Keep track
of who is trained via cards or an excel sheet. This will limit any accidents
or irresponsible use, and if something does happen, you can fall back
on this list to check if they were trained. Institute a no-tolerance
policy for using machines one isn’t trained on. We usually go with
a two-day no shop policy if this happens, but find something that works
for your team.
Make Sure You Have The Resources for Most Common Emergencies.
When our student caught on
fire, we realized that we didn’t have a fire extinguisher on hand.
This happens to be a really bad time to realize you don’t have a fire
extinguisher. Needless to say we bought one the next day, but that is
too late to realize that your team doesn’t have the needed equipment.
We have since recreated our First Aid Kit, making sure we’re prepared
for every emergency that doesn’t require professional medical attention.
We have also not only bought one fire extinguisher, but two.
Keep Medical Information Somewhere You Can Find It.
There needs to be a copy of students’ essential medical information somewhere that can be accessed in case of an emergency. Allergies and special medical conditions such as epilepsy or diabetes need to be included. It’s also important to make sure that you are equipped to handle these: does your First Aid Kit contain latex-free batteries? Do the parents who bring food know student xyz is allergic to milk? What do you do if student abc is stung by a bee? These are important things to know, and can prevent what started as a small problem from turning huge.
When the shop isn’t clean and organized, the students aren’t organized, and accidents are more likely to happen. Take a day during the week (Saturday is nice…) to clean up the shop. If you do this during the week, it makes everything run a lot smoother. While you’re doing this, take some time to go through the pit/shop safety evaluation sheet provided in the FIRST Safety Manual and make sure your shop is safe.
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