[hackerspaces] Equipment maintenance, costs, training, allow/deny access.

[bownes]

At the TVCoG, we have divided tools and machines into three categories, green, red, yellow. Every machine is marked with a colored dot at eye level or at the power switch. Hand tools are almost all green. 

Every member must undergo green safety training prior to being allowed to use the space. They all undergo volunteer training at the same time.  Prior to using red and yellow tools, they must undergo additional red yellow safety training. This information is all kept in the member database. 

Green tools are things I like to say can be found in my mother's kitchen. Scissors, hammer, sharp knives, pliers, screwdrivers, etc. 

Red tools are things that can cause you substantial bodily harm. Pretty much anything hot, spinning and/or sharp. 

Yellow tools are those which are expensive if you damage them. Laser cutters, 3-D printers and the like all fall into this category. 

Members caught using tools they are not authorized to use are subject to disciplinary action. 

We operate on a no harm / no foul basis for the most part. There are a few exceptions, for example, the SawStop table saw. If you trip for safety on the sauce stop by doing something stupid, using metal on the tablesaw for example, you will pay for the replacement blade and cartridge. If, on the other hand, it is a genuine mistake in the eyes of the safety coordinator, there is no charge. 

The same applies for all of the other tools. If you violate the rules you're liable. 

Otherwise, we treat pretty much everything as an expendable resource that needs to be replenished from time to time. The cost for this tears rolled into a $250 monthly tool replenishment fund that is supported by membership dues.  This seems to be working in general, with the single exception of drill bits. More on that later.

For certain expendable materials such as welding gases and 3-D printing filament we ask people to contribute if they use a substantial quantity. It's part of the "do the right thing" and "be excellent to each other" policy we are founded on.  I'd say, at present, the space pays for about 50% of the used filament and the same for gases. 

Each major machine has a "crew chief" who is responsible for its care feeding and maintenance. Incident reports and trouble tickets for any particular piece of equipment are routed to the crew chief for the piece in question. The trick here is finding qualified people willing to take on a single piece of equipment.

As I mentioned earlier, drillbits are the notable exception. People seem to not put them back, break them without reporting it, put them back in the wrong place, and generally make a mess of them. At this point, I'm considering putting drill indexes in a locked cabinet that people have to swipe their ID card to get into to check out a specific drill index. I don't really like that solution, but it seems to be the best one we have.

Currently, we are principally on the honor system for the stuff although there are cameras in the space to track things down if necessary. However as part of our move into our new building, each individual machine will now have an ID reader that you must put your ID card and in order to turn the machine on. As long as your card is in the reader you can use the machine. However, that is part of a much larger building security system. 

We are all volunteer run, anyone working a four hour volunteer shift gets a $10 per month discount off of their membership. This is capped at the price of your membership for a month. We have a number of student volunteers whose membership is zero as offset by their volunteer efforts. 

Bob

> On Jun 3, 2015, at 15:57, michael howard <mik.howard at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Many members are getting frustrated, complaining too much is broken down, missing parts, etc. Some mention losing interest in participating. 
> 
> How do most hackerspaces manage the cost and labor of maintenance to equipment, and the supplies?  In particular expensive and/or dangerous equipment?  
> 
> It takes a lot of work. Few are capable and/or have time. 
> 
> 3D printers, laser cutters, multimeters, even hand tools are easy to mess up. 
> 
> We do allow many people to just come in and use things, not demanding anything in return, or refusing access to anyone.
> 
> How do you keep some minimum proportion contributions/volunteering, at a level sufficient to keep things mostly working? 
> 
> Thanks for everyone's hard work and experiences!
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Discuss mailing list
> Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org
> http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss