[GreyingJay]

Safety training.

All of the things you mentioned can be avoided by training in good safety practices and healthy respect for the equipment, as well as a little knowledge.

You might even go through a training exercise with your students and get them to come up with all the rules, with your guidance of course.

For example, you mentioned damaging electronic hardware. What are all the ways you could damage a piece of hardware?

Brainstorm a list.

- physically dropping it
- plugging it into the wrong power supply voltage
- plugging it in with backwards polarity
- electrostatic discharge causing damage
- connecting it to another device incorrectly (backwards)
- connecting power to a signal connection

So how might you prevent each of those things from happening?

- Physically dropping it - we will be very respectful and careful when we transport electronics. We won't run or goof around. We'll put it on a workbench well away from the edges and be aware of clutter or cables that could knock it down.

- Wrong power supply voltage or polarity - we will check and double check the specs of the hardware before we plug it in. We will follow circuit diagrams exactly as written. We will check and double check the power supply connections before we turn anything on. We will measure the voltage and polarity of the supply with a meter if we aren't sure. We will keep the power supply OFF until we are sure all the connections are made correctly.

You don't need students to be so afraid that they have to check in with you before making any moves - but you do want them to learn to think things through before they do anything "risky".

You could even create little checklists to attach to key pieces of equipment. For example for a power tool:
- Are my safety glasses on?
- Are long hair and clothing tied back?
- Is the piece properly clamped down?
- Is the bit properly tightened in the chuck?