Safety is one of the most important values of FIRST, and it is becoming an increasingly complicated process to participate in. A Safety Sub-Forum would be helpful to rookies and veterans alike, allowing safety captains to share advice and tips.
What say thy moderators?
Is there enough interest for a safety forum?
It is important but there’s not exactly a ton to discuss IMO.
I think this would be a really good idea. Actually at my team’s meeting tonight our safety captain was talking about how he was gathering emails of other safety captains to build up a network between them. I suggested to him to get connected with others on Chief Delphi and he said that he has found very little interest or collaboration here. I would like to see this change in the future.
Maybe if we have a forum where people can scream “ROBOT!!!” then they’ll stop doing it at the events? :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
It sounds like a great idea. It would probably help the interest level if there were some regular recognition of posters to the forum. It could be built on the reputation system, or something like the unofficial photo caption contest.
ROBOT!
If my experience at events is any indicator the entirety of the forum would consist of people screaming robot, grilling me on where my battery spill kit is, and stuffing flyers in my face while I’m trying to fix something.
ROBOT!
What I’m saying is, can we have a discussion about how to make people talking about safety less obnoxious and more focused on things that are actually important rather than just doing things for the award?
We could have a “Sh*t safety advisors say” thread.
Brief story. At Palmetto this year, I had just parked our truck in the team lot and was walking back to the venue when I saw what were clearly two underclassmen carrying 5 gallon buckets filled entirely too full and labeled “Battery Spill Kit”. It was really hard for me to not stop and laugh, not at them mind you but at their predicament.
Also, I really hope to one day see one of these 5 gallon buckets tipped over at an event… oh the havoc it will create.
Our team will have our Battery Spill Kit Spill Kit standing by. 
Vinegar?
I was picturing a broom and dustpan, assuming the spill kit contained dry acid neutralizer powder…
On a more serious note (sorry to all you comedians out there), I want to address a couple of points here.
First, safety isn’t all THAT complicated. Half of safety is common sense. Most of the rest is preparation. Very little is what is nicknamed “safety theater” (this would be the flyers, safety handouts of certain varieties, people standing around with signs, and the yelling of ROBOT every time you move the bot). Seriously, a lot of the stuff that the “theater” is about is PPE: the lowest item on the totem pole/last resort as far as safety. My best tip is to focus on eliminating as much PPE as you CAN, while still being safe.
And for the second: On the contrary, we’re VERY interested in safety. REAL safety, not theater. It’s just that it tends to be addressed on a case-by-case basis, in general–usually in the form of reminders if somebody talks about their unsafe behavior.
So we could put “be sure to wear your safety glasses” signs here rather than posting them all over the venue? :]
Actually I think it would be a good idea.
With regard to safety theater:
(keeping in mind this was my first year as a mentor, so I haven’t had time to become tired of it yet)
I like it.
I think the signs are fun and creative. I like that kids are taking time to come up with unique and cute ways of raising safety awareness. Granted, there are some that are over the top, and it is possible to become so fixed on the medium that the message itself gets lost. I think it is also possible to “oversaturate” and see so many messages about safety that you simply tune them out.
But short of that, I like it. I run a woodworking activity at a summer camp and darned if you could get the kids to remember to wear their safety glasses. I’m going to steal a few ideas from FRC culture to try and make it a bit more “fun” at camp too.
As for a forum… I think there are genuine topics we could discuss. We could share shop and safety policies, show off creative posters and signage, talk about contests, videos, debates, etc. that students put together for competitions, ask questions about do’s and don’ts. Do YOU let your students use the drill press? Do you need a signed waiver from their parents? What kind of training do you give/get?
And, of course, we could debate the merits of shouting “ROBOT!”
Or “Sh*t safety advisors do”…
At one of our events this year, a Safety advisor (talking on his phone) walked beind our truck and robot trailer which was backing up. Thankfully our driver saw him…
“Hey, you guys should be wearing gloves while doing that…”
The US Navy safety program does a weekly message/e-mail officially called “Summary of Mishaps” but informally known as the “Friday Funnies”. Except on those weeks which feature fatal accidents, mishaps small and not-so-small are presented in a light-hearted fashion which draws out each of the points where the mishap might have been prevented. They also occasionally have weeks dedicated to close calls, especially where the situation was redeemed by proper preparation or a cool headed individual who interrupted the doomed operation in time.
Among the many fictitious sub-institutions of the Summary of Mishaps is an enormous museum dedicated to safety equipment which contributed to or “caused” a mishap - a regular reminder that it is how you do something that brings about safety far more than what equipment you use to do it.
Perhaps there could be a perpetual thread (sort of like the “Quotes said during build season” or “You know you’ve overdosed on FIRST when”) in which team safety captains and/or mentors relate safety mishaps and near-misses, calling attention to what was done wrong and what (if anything) was done right. If you can do it in a light-hearted self-deprecating fashion while maintaining GP, that would be great. And others can provide examples of procedures that would have prevented the mishap (earlier), even better!
Of course, this thread would also provide a great resource of material for weekly or monthly safety talks. I could imagine a safety captain picking out a recent incident from the thread, and reading it to his/her team. There would follow a few minutes of discussion as how the team’s current procedures would have prevented or allowed the incident to proceed, followed up by reading of the “follow on” posts from CD, and finally discussion to recommend safety rule changes (if deemed necessary). If one team’s incident or near miss could help dozens (or hundreds or thousands) of other teams to improve their response, the thread would be a rousing success.
a freshman on the safety crew told me to put on my gloves while I was in the pit… Try to program or solder some wires using gloves :yikes:
do you think you can have hom message me? im a rookie saftey catpain and am in dire need of ideas. thanks 
You should definitely check out the FIRST Safety Manual http://www.usfirst.org/sites/default/files/uploadedFiles/Robotics_Programs/FRC/Resources/2015%20FRC%20Team%20Safety%20Manual-%20FINAL%202.6.15.pdf. It’s a great resource for developing you own team safety program.