Walk Through Orientation

It's very important that we train everyone similarly, in a culture of cleanliness, do-it-yourself, and safety otherwise the hackerspace can go to hell quickly.

Greetings, Humans

• Talk briefly about what the new members are interested in.
  • Tools they want to use, projects they want to build, classes they want to take, ways they want to volunteer. Discuss more at the end.
• Let this help guide the discussion

Important things

• Encourage new members to be familiar with the following;
  • Wiki; Main_Page, Bylaws, Faq
  • Code of Conduct [1]
  • Liability Waiver

Membership

• What level are you and what do you get?
  • Everyone gets access to "open hours" and events.
  • Associate Member ($25) adds attend also during member hours, make proposals, and vote on proposals.
  • Basic Membership ($50) adds a box for storing stuff, and eligible to be nominated for 24/7 card access
  • Plus Membership ($100) adds a locker instead of a box
• How you can get card access
  • Card access is a privilege based on trust, not a right. Come during open hours, help during HYH, make friends, make things, ask for proposal, gets voted on during HYH. If you can't come in during open hours, make friends online and ask for favors. It's tough but we're a community not a business.
• Member money helps us pay the rent, but members still need to contribute to the community; that means helping clean, maintain, help others, and participate in our self-governance otherwise our co-op model won't work. Don't just come in, use the tools, and leave.
• Guest sponsorships
  • Keep an eye on your guests; if you're up front and they're in back breaking a tool, that's not good.

Misc

• Public/private space
  • HeatSync Labs is a shared space. It isn't a public space.
  • Webcams & Video recording -- no expectation of privacy
  • We don't guarantee security of stuff in your box & ESPECIALLY not stuff left around the lab!
  • No taking equipment offsite or touching people's boxes/lockers.
  • HeatSync Labs stuff shouldn't be left in your box, your stuff shouldn't be left laying around the lab.
  • If you need to leave something in the lab, put a parking pass on it so we know it's yours and how to contact you.
  • Ideally, propose to the community that it be given space in the lab.
• How to fix/connect to wifi (hacktheplanet)
• HeatSync is a hackerspace first, coworking space second. Our primary purpose is to provide tools for people to create things, and it can be a loud/dirty place.
  • There are tons of other places with WiFi, desks, couches, and projectors. There's only one place where you can use a bandsaw.

Hack Your Hackerspace Meetings

• Hack Your Hackerspace is when our community gets together to improve the space and clean up.
  • The 2nd and 4th Thursday 7pm each month.
• To make proposals, just send an email to the google group with the word proposal in the subject.
  • A week before the next meeting, draft proposals are due and a community member should compile the proposals into an agenda for voting.
  • Final/amended proposals are due 24 hours before the meeting.
  • The person who made the proposal or someone they choose in advance needs to be there to represent the proposal.

Making Projects and Using Tools

• Some equipment requires certification before use.
  • Members often teach classes. You can too, if you have a skill you want to share, you don't need to ask permission to teach a class.
• Generally speaking, ask another member prior to using a tool you haven't used in the lab before. We do things differently than at your home, ask so you know how to use OUR tools right.
• Tools and workstations should be kept usable, operable, complete, and clean.
  • If you use a lot of consumables, consider replacing them. We currently have no budgets or caretakers for consumables.
    • Exception: the tear apart bins and scrap; feel free to use for good projects, but no need to replace.
  • Don't render a tool unusable just because you needed to borrow a cable from it, or because you left it a mess.
  • If a tool breaks, put it into the broken tools bin, let people know about it, look into replacement.
• Clean up after yourself -- cleaner than you found it
  • Encourage cleaning culture by offering to clean something with someone ("hey, can you take out the trash with me? Can I help you clean this?")
  • Dozens of people here a day, that's dozens of cups to throw away.
    • How & who to contact when supplies are out
  • Make sure we've always got a good stock of toilet paper & towels in the bathroom so nobody gets trapped

Who is in Charge

• Do it yourself: nobody else is going to create it, fix it, clean it, or replace it but you.
• Do-ocracy: the people who get to decide are the people who get off their butts and commit to making something happen.
  • Easiest way to Do-ocracy: announce "Thursday I'm going to work on ____, if you're interested please join me" or "would anyone object if I did ____?" -- better than "what color should the bike shed be?" "who wants to build a bike shed?" -- schedule/plan it like it's a party.
• The lab is organized by Stations and Station Champions are volunteers who take charge of making an area useful for everyone
  • They should be heading up all station maintenance, question about the station, hosting events related to their station etc
  • Consult Station Champions before doing cool projects that upgrade 'their' area
  • If you are a station Champion be welcoming of ideas for 'your' area
• The Discussion list is our main method of communicating (link on website)
• Toolshare / members DB is a resource for member info
• Locking and unlocking the lab
  • Whoever unlocks the doors or opens the door for someone takes on those who come in as guests and is their responsibility.
    • If you're not comfortable with that responsibility, you don't have to let them in.
    • You can lock the doors any time; we're a private member organization.
    • Do not simply open the doors and then leave; hand off responsibility for the doors to someone when you step out, or lock the doors until someone else takes responsibility.
    • People will come in acting like they own the place, and break or steal stuff. Greeting them helps you meet people, and also weeds out troublemakers.
    • The worst possible thing is for strangers to be wandering unwatched through the lab.

Safety

• WORKSHOP SAFETY: Whenever entering the workshop, Grab a pair of safety glasses by the board next to the doorways and wear them ANYTIME a tool is in use by yourself or by someone else. Always exercise caution, this is a hazardous environment. Always look & listen to check if tools are in use, and do NOT disturb or distract members operating said tools. If you see someone without safety glasses while a tool is in use, hand them a pair of safety glasses.
  • If you have a kid, please accompany them through the shop (even to the bathroom / parking lot) especially if they're prone to running / touching or aren't experienced in behaving safely / paying attention to surroundings. Be proactive and mention any risks you notice to them so they can be aware.
• SAFETY: Every member has the right, maybe even the responsibility to kick someone out for dangerous behavior.
  • Cut power to the building if you need to. Nobody has the right to endanger themselves, others, or the lab with unsafe behavior. All the insurance and waivers and training in the world won't save us, but each member having a safe mindset and speaking up / preventing incidents can.
• No Brake Cleaner in the lab!
  • When tetrachloroethylene is exposed with excessive heat and argon used in MIG and TIG welding it produces phosgene which is deadly.

Zombie Contingency Plans

• Just kidding; where things are in the space
• This list goes from the kitchen to the front doors
• Stations (along the way...)
• MSDS / Safety Data Sheets: In the kitchen on top of the cleaning supplies rack.
  • If you bring things and store them in the lab they need to be entered into the Safety Data Sheets
• Cleaning supplies: In the kitchen on the rack and in the cupboards next to the rack.
• Bio-hazard sharps: In the biolab
• Dumpsters & recycling: Out the back door to the left (West) 225 feet down the alley (use the wheelbarrow for trash)
• Back door lock: basic dead bolt, just give it a turn maybe opposite the way you think.
• Fire extinguisher: in hallway
• Safety glasses: Hung on he wall outside the metal shop
• Vehicle parking passes: next to safety glasses
  • Purple Lot and Orange Lot parking is 3 hours max between 8am - 8pm (after 5pm you are fine).
• Light Switches: in hall near metal shop
• First aid kit and eye wash: in hallway in front of small bathroom door
• Light switches: bottom of stairs for upstairs lights
• Upstairs storage/IT
• Thermostat: doorway by laser into hallway
  • Please do not set the thermostat at a temperature that will result in a high electric bill
• Fire extinguishers: under thermostat near the laser
• Lost and Found: On shelves with member boxes by the laser
• Ear protection and dust masks: on top of nuts and bolts near hallway entry.
• Safe: for payments and mail under soldering table
• Broken tools bin: TBD
• Sharps bin for tools: on the nuts and bolts shelf. Not to be confused with bio-hazard sharps bin
• Liability waivers: near HP color printer between retro technology and 3d printer station
• Project parking passes/tickets: next to HP color printer
• Light switch: near trash by the snacks
• Light switches: in the corner with the vinyl cutter
• Fire extinguisher: front door
• Door locks: make sure front door locks when going out
• Facility Manager phone number: on the front door sign bottom corner
  • Please notify the Facility Manager immediately of anything critical related to the building, or safety. Leaks, electrical problems, damage to building, fires (after calling 911).
  • Also notify of any safety supplies, or cleaning supplies that are low.

Wrap up

• Questions?
• How can I help you get started on something?
• Please fill out the online class interest form on our home page.
• Are there any classes you would want to teach?
• Welcome and thanks!