Quote:
Originally Posted by BrendanB
The bad:
...The pits I found were very unsafe especially in the rookie rows. We had teams minibot poles in the aisles, tables, robots getting tested in the aisles, large groups of people who didn't move when you asked them to move they just starred at you, some teams took up half the row to work on a part, and it was just a nightmare trying to get through because they just wouldn't listen and some safety people walked right by most if not all of the occurrences.
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I was a volunteer (robot inspector) and I agree completely. FIRST really needs to have a comprehensive safety plan for the event, and someone whose job it is to ensure that plan is implemented (right now it seems this is on the shoulders of the volunteer coordinators who have other jobs to do)
The amount of students RUNNING through the pits was staggering.
Also, pushing the robot carts too fast shouting "ROBOT!" as if that's going to move the crowd.
Sandals/Flip Flops were more an issue with visitors/parents but if rules are rules, then they need a way to enforce this in the pits.
Simply having a handful of volunteers at the entrances handing out safety glasses and trying to stop the improper shoes is not an effective safety plan.
Also, many of the worst offenders of 'bad' safety weren't the teams but the Black Eyed Peas crew, the FIRST production company, building facilities, Suppliers, etc... They simply weren't informed of the rules of the pit or ignored them.
How many people saw the motorized carts driving through the pits without beeping their horns? I personally had forklift cut right in front of me across the hallway from America's Center to the Dome. He never beeped the horn, just cut across the pedestrian path... This was by far the worst event I've been to from a safety perspective.