Safety

[DampRobot]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

What's the first (and safest) place I put any safety flyers given to me at competition? In a trash can.

They are annoying and do nothing to contribute to safety. In fact, the way I've seen them posted, laying around, or on the floor, they're ironically more often a safety hazard.

Safety is not about promotion, it's about knowledge, preparation, and understanding.

At Long Beach, we were awarded the #1 Pit Area Safety Recognition simply because we limited the number of people in our pit area, kept it very clean (no clutter, no trash, all tools put away when not in use), did not work on the floor, and did not have any large power tools in the pit area. No flyers, no posters.

Thank god I wasn't the only one thinking that. No one's going to become safer because they see a poster. In fact, some of the things recommended by these posters have become a source of mockery on my team. (Keep baking soda around at all times in case battery acid spills! Think about it, I've been doing this for going on four years, and I've never seen or even heard from another team about battery acid spilling.)

The posters and stuff like "safety crosswords" don't change practices, and add clutter and silliness to the concept of "safety," something that deserves to be taken seriously.

In my opinion, the best way to encourage others to be safe is to be honest about the dangers and risks of using and misusing tools. The true way to be safe is to establish and maintain a working environment where actions are deliberate and risks are mitigated.