Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Flowerday
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I don't disagree that a lead inspector (or any inspector, for that matter) can prohibit a robot from practicing if something is observed to be unsafe. Originally, you said: "Dave, the suggestion is not that teams be required to be inspected before practicing. (Although that requirement can be imposed at the discretion of the lead robot inspector..)" Did I misunderstand that comment? I interpreted it as meaning you thought a lead inspector could impose a general rule that teams could not practice until inspected, and that this could be applied to all teams at an event, without a specific safety concern in mind. Just to be clear, do you think a lead inspector has the authority to declare that all teams at an event must pass inspection before competing in any practice matches? ...
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No, I don't think a lead robot inspector has the authority to impose a blanket requirement that all teams at an event must complete inspection before participating in practice matches.
However, he/she does have discretion to prevent any robot that he/she deems unsafe from being used in practice matches, under my reading of <R112>. How that discretion should be exercised is open to interpretation, and that discretion is also subject to review and possible overturn by others at the event as prescribed by the Decision Authority Matrix that FIRST provides.
One possible method for unbiased exercise of this authority is the requirement, used at several past events, that all teams complete a limited subset of the complete inspection checklist items, selected based on their relationship to safety, before participating in practice matches. That method is neither required nor prohibited by prior year FRC Manuals. Whether it is used at a particular event has been determined by the key volunteer team and FIRST staff at that event.
As to applicability of <R112> (or any other rule) only at inspection time, my view is that any time is inspection time. Any time that he/she suspects a safety related problem with any robot, any of several key volunteers and FIRST staff members present at the event can require inspection or re-inspection of that robot.
__________________
Richard Wallace
Mentor since 2011 for FRC 3620 Average Joes (St. Joseph, Michigan)
Mentor 2002-10 for FRC 931 Perpetual Chaos (St. Louis, Missouri)
since 2003
I believe in intuition and inspiration. Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution. It is, strictly speaking, a real factor in scientific research.
(Cosmic Religion : With Other Opinions and Aphorisms (1931) by Albert Einstein, p. 97)