So, the fixed caster on the Techsew got me thinking:
Do other areas have lock out / tag out devices for their areas? Or would a ‘do not use’ sign work well enough?
We have a few for the metalshop, but right now only metalshop people have keys. So if they end up on equipment in textiles or ceramics, those leads would not have an easy way to unlock the lock out / tag outs. I know fablab has down for maintenance signs.
There’s also the incident forms in the welcome area for people to fill out, but that doesn’t do the greatest at immediately letting members know something broke.
Do we need to come up with something better to communicate that equipment is down for repairs?
Generally if an oscilloscope is broken it won’t rip your arm off when your working in it. Although there is airman larry.
All of the ERP equipment is plugged into the wall so if it’s broken you can put a sign on it that says “I’m broken right now we can play together another day” and I’ll eventually give up on trying to fix it and order a new one from bangood. With the exception of hand tools.
I of course now realize I need about fifteen of those signs…
The lathe or mill is a big big machine that If someone is working on it and someone flips the breaker on you end up as a case file on medizzy. (Don’t google that if you have a weak stomach)
So if we designed and laser cut some down signs so people know that equipment is out of service that would be awesome. I’ll take a bunch for the lab and a Tshirt version. I wear size circus tent.
At one time, all of the area leads were issued lockout keys. We had a bunch of them in the key locker at the old place, and probably still have some in the key cabinet.
Speaking with an over abundance of caution because its been beaten into my brain over years, if it plugs into a wall it has the potential to be fatal. A sign can fall off or get moved and unplugged items can just get plugged back in. A lockout/tagout box on a plug removes all doubt on if a thing works or not. Also locking out a malfunctioning piece of equipment can keep a minor equipment issue from progressing into something more serious.