Hey guys! I’m a safety captain of 2 years from Team 1257, Parallel Universe. Since starting up club meetings again with new members, we’ve seemed to find a lot of defective or just broken pieces of equipment.
I want to make a inspection checklist for the following pieces of power tools that we have:
NASA uses “Job Hazard Analyses” (JHA’s). If you google them, I’m pretty sure you can find them publicly available online for common pieces of equipment. They are not completely comprehensive, but a good starting point. I’m sure universities use similar systems which are probably also online.
Don’t do a “generic” checklist for all equipment, do a specific checklist for each piece. You may want to start with a “generic” list that includes things that apply to a number of things (e.g. for corded items check the plug and cord for wear, fraying, or exposed inner insulators; for saws, check that teeth are not chipped), but trying to force a single model that will cover all the tools you listed will either miss a whole lot of key points, or have inspections that can be skipped on certain tools. Each of these is likely to introduce inconsistency (if not downright error) in a safety check. The manuals for each piece of equipment are the first place to look - manufacturers are usually familiar with every way the equipment has failed (at least repeatedly) and include them in their manuals to stave off lawsuits.
It’s easier to start fresh with a place where everything works and is well taken care of by a knowledgeable instructor or shop foreman. For something to be broken or malfunctioning in our lab is very out of the ordinary. The “broken window theory” applies to some degree. It’s easier to keep a nice place nice if you don’t let problems be problems. Fix them as soon as they occur. People know that everything we have is in good condition and works well. We do not allow things to be in poor condition or to malfunction, because we want that to be the exception rather than the norm, so it stands out.
For this reason, we run a policy in the lab that students must let me know immediately if any damage or malfunction occurs or is noticed, accidental or otherwise, however big, or however small. If you build this culture with your team while in your lab, people will take notice when something isn’t quite right, and they will let people know, so that it can be addressed. Students also know that there is no penalty or consequence for reporting damage or an accident as soon as it occurs. They also know that they are not to keep accidents and damage a secret left for someone else to find later.
All of that said, inspections and checklists are not a bad idea. We just do it very informally, and many of us carry the knowledge in our minds to check thinks out and fix problems as they crop up, without any sort of paperwork. The last thing any of us need is more paperwork.
@Cory Thanks! I found it really helpful! @GeeTwo That’s exactly what I wanted to do! Thank you for reminding me not to force a generic checklist for all the tools @sanddrag Yup I definitely agree! I like using the paperwork because we have a record of it, and sometimes for our team, written paperwork is beneficial, especially for new members.
Our team tries (usually unsuccessfully) to clean the workshop every week. If you can make it a habit to clean up the work shop, then it would be simple for the safety captain to go through afterwards and check all the tools. I would recommend making a list of things that could go wrong on the tools, then identifying the indicators that could show that something was about to break. Also, keep them clean and in good maintenance.
For consumables (blades, bits, sandpaper, etc), it might be helpful to have a chart showing what those components look like when they are sufficiently worn out and need to be replaced. Use pictures to show “this is what a brand new blade looks like”, “this is what a used, but acceptable blade looks like”, and “this blade needs to be replaced ASAP”. Hang the charts next to the equipment for easy reference. Not only are worn out components not doing their job correctly, they’re also a safety hazard.
