Safety and Protective Equipment Policy Vote

History

Mailing List Announcement: 6-15-16
Officially Proposed: TBD
To be Voted on: TBD

Background

Recently there have been a number of things in the shop that have shown that we need an official policy on PPE, this includes people operating equipment without safety glasses and walking around the main shop with no shoes on.

Policy

Eye Protection

Eye protection must be worn that meets ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2010 requirements when any of the following are true:

At ALL times if you are in main shop (wood, hot metals, cold metals, etc) even if you are sitting at a computer, not using tools, or on a tour.
If you are in other areas of the shop and any of the following are true:
You are working with compressed gases (including compressed air)
- You are working with any tool that rotate, spin, cut (drills, saws, CNC routers, etc) the Safety committee shall maintain a list of tools outside of the main shop that require eye protection and mark them as such.
- You are working with solvents of any kind

Footwear

Footwear is required to be worn at all times.
Closed toe footwear must be worn in the main shop area at all times.
Safety toed shoes or boots are recommended when working with heavy objects.
Nylon and polyester should be avoided when working with molten metal or spark producing equipment.

Hearing protection

Hearing protection is recommended in general shop however not mandatory unless one of the following is true:

You are operating a designated loud tool such as the an angle grinder or the shopbot (A full list of loud tools that require hearing protection is maintained by the safety committee)
Using a blow gun or other compressed air type tool.
Users must notify people within 10ft of compressed air or designated loud tool use

Gloves, Sleeves and Jackets

Gloves other than 0.5mil nitrile gloves must never be worn while operating large machine tools such as drill presses, lathes, mills, and mechanical saws.
Gloves, shoes, and jackets (no nylon or polyester materials) should be worn when working with hot metals or spark producing equipment.
Gloves may be worn when working with sharps, such as chisels and manual cutting equipment.
Nitrile gloves should be worn when working with solvents or paints

Loose clothing, Accessories, Jewelry and Hair

Jewelry below the elbow should be removed when working with any tools
Sleeves, Accessories, and loose clothing must be above the elbow and restrained from dangling.
Long Hair must be tied up and out of the way

Compressed air, gases and fluids

Do not spray compressed air, gases or fluids at yourself or other people at any time.
Compressed air should not be used to clean surfaces or clothing. Use a vacuum or brush/broom.
Blow guns must be fitted with a non-adjustable 30 PSI regulator
Eye protection is always required when working with compressed air, gases or fluids

Air Quality

Respirators/filters must be worn when spraying paint and/or solvents
Do not spray paint or solvents in enclosed areas.
Only spray paint in the portable or small spray booths. Use appropriate floor and wall coverings.
Turn on fresh air intake when using solvents or paints indoors
Check to make sure the dust collector and vacuum are not full and the filters are clean, and that these systems are in general working order.
Any tool that produces airborne chips or dust should be filtered or connected to a filtered vacuum either the dust collection system or rolling shopvacs.

Fire Safety Equipment and Volatile Inflammables

Volatile Inflammables must be stored in the inflammables cabinet in the main shop.
Fire extinguishers shall be in every hosted area of the shop, be easily accessible, and clearly marked.
If a halotron extinguisher is released in the space, the person responsible must evacuate all users from the space and ventilate the area until it is safe to return.
The safety committee members may move volatile inflammables from any location in the space, they must label the item as not for general consumption and leave a note in the place that the item was taken from as well as notify the members list.
Rags and towels covered in volatile organic compounds must be disposed of in a sealed metal container filled with water. The container must be taken to a hazardous material disposal site or disposed of in the hazardous materials bin.

Toxic Fluids Disposal

Solvent, corrosive/caustics, toxic, and/or non-biodegradable fluids shall only be disposed of by appropriate recycling and disposal methods, and should never be dumped in sinks, drains, or toilets. Oil recycling is available at O'Reilly's auto parts across the street.
Sinks are for non-toxic cleaning purposes only.
Sediments such as clay and plaster should never be dumped in a sink.

Safety Lighting

Safety lighting shall allow coverage of all major walkways in the event of a power outage.

Exits and Exit Signs

Exit signs shall be clearly visible at any point of the building, and kept in good working order.
Exit signs shall be lit in the event of power outage.
Exists shall be kept clear at all times.

Safety equipment provisioning

Area hosts may at their discretion provide a limited quantity of PPE for general consumption, however it is recommended that members purchase their own PPE for tasks that require it. Members that require glasses should purchase a set of prescription ANSI compliant eye wear through their optometrist.

Members should not rely on PPE stock being readily available for items such as respirators or other single use items and must plan accordingly.

Violations

Violations of this policy must be reported to the safety committee who shall be responsible for assessing the nature of the violation and informing the board if any further action is required. Violations must be reported by emailing the safety committee at [email protected].

All members are empowered to stop another member from using a tool/space if that user is not wearing the correct protective equipment or operating tools in an unsafe manner. All members will defer to area host or safety committee safety recommendations and regulations. Failure to stop unsafe activity will result in temporary ban from individual or area wide tool use at the discretion of the area host until appropriate action by the safety committee and/or board can be determined. Area hosts may still pull members tool authorizations at any time as per the tool authorization policy without involving the safety committee.

Any issues with recommendations and regulations should be brought up to the safety committee for discussion.

Posting

This policy shall be posted at all entrances to Pumping Station: One in a clearly visible location. The posting must include a large ‘updated’ notice if changed.

Language

Membership votes to create the above policy an official policy of PS:1. The board shall create and staff with 5 members (at least one of which must be a board member), a new committee (the Safety Committee) that meets once a month, it is recommended that area hosts attend this meeting. This committee shall be responsible for:

Handling complaints about PPE violations and advise the board of any appropriate actions
Planning any improvements to PPE requirements at PS:1 - the committee is empowered by the membership to update the safety policy without a member vote and with at least 1 weeks notice of the change by messaging the membership list and posting appropriate notices at:
- All entrances to the space
- The entrances to the main shop areas
- By any tool that policy is changing for
Maintaining lists of the following designated tools:
- Tools that require eye protection that are not in the main shop
- Tools that require hearing protection for use
Update and maintain safety requirements for all tools in the space this must be done with the help of the host area area host unless an emergency update. All changes to tool regulations shall be posted by the tool in question for at least one week before the regulation is enforceable.
Installing and maintaining safety notices around the space
Placing temporary bans on members from using certain tools all bans will be reviewed by the board of directors and host area area host.
Requesting additional safety equipment be installed on a machine by contacting the host area area host and Board of Directors
Maintain with the help of the general area host the following safe related items around the space:
- Safety lighting
- Exit signs
- Fire handling equipment

The committee shall be granted an initial budget of $300 for use on signing and information display items around the space as well as fixed 30 PSI regulators for blow guns. The committee shall submit requests to spend this money to the board of directors.

The board of directors shall create a queue in RT for the safety committee this queue shall only be readable by the board of directors and the members of the safety committee. This queue will accept email addressed to [email protected].

The board of directors shall investigate a weekly hazardous materials waste pickup service and have it in place by the end of July 2016. Spending on this service is authorized under the general board authorization for maintaining infrastructure/services for the space.

Results

Receipts