Hi CD. My team is looking at creating a pre-match checklist to catch and prevent small mistakes before they effect the match. Currently, our only standardized check is a full systems check before every match, which catches most issues. However, other problems only get caught when a pit crew member remembers a past issue and checks for it.
Besides the systems check, what are other important things to include? Also, what format would you recomend (digital/paper/whiteboard) so its easy to track and reuse?
before a matach, i would recommend you go through individual subsystems and check subsystems as a whole visually. check that your motors are secured, your wiring isn’t damaged or disconnected, bolts arent coming out, chain is tensioned correctly, plates aren’t bent/cracked, etc. you can often find problem spots during testing which you should keep note of. we do this as a preventative measure, even if it looks secure and works during a systems check, if a plate is starting to bend or a bolt is just beginning to come out, with movement on the field and gameplay, something is likely to break as collisions are likely in frc.
if you have any sort of vision, i would include checking that and of course, getting a fresh, beaked, battery for competing.
we like to use a clear plastic folder cover on our prematch checklist so we can use a dryerase marker and physically check our checklist off as we complete it
This is something we’ve tried but need to improve at. Here are some of the types of things on our lists:
Ethernet cable is plugged into the radio
Fresh battery is installed
Wire connections visual inspection, especially on articulating systems
Correct bumper color installed
Visual inspection of timing belts and pulleys
Protective covers are installed and secure
Check for loose parts and tools inside the robot
Test fasteners tightness, especially in areas more prone to vibrating loose
Keep updating it as the season goes - as you change your robot and discover more failures. If a preventable issue happens in a match or in practice, add it as a checklist item for the future.
Find the system that works for you - having paper copies is less flexible but means you have a record of the checklist before every match. A white board can be more flexible to add or modify items.
Make it specific - ‘intake wires zip tied to tube’ is much more clear than ‘clean wires’ and is more likely to catch a common issue.
Practice it - Before you go to competition, your pit crew should be familiar with the checklist items and what they mean. They should know how to check for failures.
Consider the order or operations - we start with things that require the robot to be off (hand checks and visual inspection), then power on and check all the things that require the robot to be on (LEDS, vision, systems test).
Use some of these examples as a starting point for common items (new battery, correct bumpers, tight bolts, secured wires) but add the ones that are important to you and your robot. Each checklist will be different for each robot.
I thought people might enjoy a chuckle from our pre-match checklist from this past weekend. (We write it directly on the bot in Sharpie and wrote the green first, and the gold second.)
If it’s hard to read on your device, it says:
Should be forward
Is actually forward Power On, Batt Plugged Pneumatics closed (valve perpendicular) Pre-load note Correct Field Orientation
We’ve run this about 80 times this year, and it never gets old!
Our list includes things to do prematch in queue and post match this every year catches multiple issues with our robot. We don’t always check every box, but the pit captain or technician always makes sure we get everything done.
When making the list, be sure to go through all the motions that the robot will perform, and feel free to add extra checks during the competition to ensure everything is functioning properly.
Here is our 2024 checklist. We print out and bring 30 sets for each competition, and the pit/robot captain holds a clipboard and supervises the checks.
and the robot log template
also, after each competition, look over your log, talk about changing your checklist and what needs to be added or removed. talk with your design team about improvements that can be made to the robot for reliability.
I also recommend a book, The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande
Power On, Batt Plugged
