Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Ivey
Now for the things I would like to see that make a team really stand out:
- Being able to provide other teams safety training material at your pit.
- For the pits that "pop up" hand have a roof and all, let's see a fire suppression system! Dry suppression please, just because you start a fire, doesn't mean I want my cRio all wet!
- Safety Glasses UV container for preventing the spread of germs, and a hand sanitization station! Some of us remember VCU 2004 still, it would have been much safer for us all with some germ reduction precautions.
- A robot cart that has apolite warning system with maybe a light bar of sorts to visually warn us all. And that greatly reduces the amount of lifting and back strain on students.
- Students that actively monitor the level of safety in their pit and make sure that all violations are recorded and coaching is given to assure they do not happen again.
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Though the first list is good, I'm not really sold on a couple of those items.
Frstly, I would be wary of any sort of fire suppression system. Those take skill to design, build and set up—and unless there's some sort of expertise behind it, I would be concerned that it's more of a safety risk than fire. (Dry chemical powder is an irritant, and you're dealing with pressurized gases.) And even if it is safe, what do you do when you trigger it by accident? You're probably 50 times more likely to set it off accidentally than to need it for fire supression.
Also, while sanitation in general is a good idea,
norovirus doesn't really die when you use an alcohol-based sanitizer—you need something stronger, and consequently more expensive. (That's allegedly what afflicted VCU.) To be perfectly blunt, toilet facilities sanitized every few hours and furnished with antiseptic soap would be much more effective against the usual gastrointestinal infections. (Also, if you don't wash your hands, you're doing it wrong.)