Shops and Fabrication Facilities

Shop and fabrication facilities play an important role in the curriculum and extracurricular activities at Olin College. Promoting and maintaining a culture of safety depends on the individual behavior of everyone: students, staff, and faculty. We must look out for each other, teach each other, and, when appropriate, caution each other.

The following policies apply to anyone wanting to use the tools located in AC103, AC104, AC106, AC107, AC108, AC129, AC127 and the Large Project Building (LPB) at Olin College. They are general in nature and do not cover the safe operating procedure for each piece of equipment or the space themselves. Shop staff may revoke space access or machine use by an individual or a group for insufficient training or experience or for non-compliance with these policies. Serious violations will be referred to the Honor Board. Tool specific training that covers more specific policies must be completed before using any machine or access is given to a certain space.

Additional information is available at the Shop site tools.olin.edu or directly from the staff (our office is located in AC105).

Eligibility

Olin students, faculty and staff are eligible to use the shops at Olin.
Wellesley and Babson students may use the shop if they are enrolled in a course at Olin.
Advance authorization from the shop staff is required for visitors and others to enter the shop.
Anyone that needs accommodations based on the impact of a disability should contact the shop staff to discuss their specific needs.

General Shop Conduct and Safety

Only use tools and equipment that you are trained to operate. Most, if not all tools in the fabrication spaces require machine specific training and are not to be used unless the shop staff has trained you. See the shop supervisor, not your partner for proper instruction. Training is available to the entire community. If you are not absolutely sure about how to use a tool or piece of equipment, ask a shop staff member to get trained, not your partner for proper instruction.
Do not do anything that is unsafe. If there is any uncertainty about whether an activity is safe, please consult the shop staff before proceeding. If you see somebody doing something that might be unsafe, tell them. If you see something dangerous in the shop, inform the other occupants and the shop staff immediately.
No operating of machinery can happen between 2am and 6am in any shop.
Nobody is allowed to work in any of these spaces alone. You must have at least one other person with you at all times. If there is an accident, the other person is expected to provide assistance and call for help.
All accidents/injuries must be reported to the shop staff no matter how insignificant they may seem.
Loss of keys or card access associated with the shop is to be reported to the Babson & Olin Office of Public Safety and shop supervisor immediately.
If there is an incident and someone is hurt in the shop: call 781-239-555 and get help from the shop staff and do your best to provide assistance while the emergency response team arrives.

Shop Conduct

Do not attempt to oil, clean, adjust or repair any machine while it is running.
Do not leave machines running unattended.
Do not try to stop the machine with your hands or body. Stopping the machine with your body can result in entanglement. Let the machine come to a stop naturally.
Always keep hands, hair, feet etc. clear of all moving machinery at all times. Be aware of all moving parts, especially cutting tools and chucks.
Remove chuck keys, wrenches and other tools from machines after making adjustments.
When working with another person, only one person should operate the machine.
Never use compressed air for cleaning machinery
Never use compressed air to clean your clothes or any part of your body.

Dress Code

Eye protection must be worn at all times when in the shop to prevent particles, flying objects, paint or dust being lodged in your eyes.. This applies regardless if you are working on machinery or not. Regular glasses don’t count unless they meet the ANSI Z87.1 standard.
In all other areas, you must wear safety glasses when cutting or sawing, hammering or banging, compressing or storing energy, using power tools of any kind, within 10 ft of any of these activities.
No open toed shoes, high heels or bare feet. Choose shoes with soft soles and stable platforms.
No loose clothing allowed. This includes but is not limited to ties, scarves and loose-sleeved shirts. Short sleeves or sleeves rolled above the elbow are preferred.
When welding, welding specific protection is required.
No shorts, dresses or skirts allowed when in the shop.
Remove all jewelry that could be caught in moving machinery. This includes rings, watches and loose bracelets. Remove necklaces and the like, if not securely restrained.
Restrain all hair that has potential for entanglement with moving machinery.
Wearing of gloves when working on moving machinery is prohibited. The only exceptions to this rule are; 1) the wearing of membranous gloves (such as latex or nitrile) for personal protection or contamination control when required by an MSDS; 2) The wearing of gloves while using a bench or portable grinder or buffing wheel; 3) when handing materials. If you need to wear gloves, see workshop supervisor for acceptable types for your application.

Cleanliness and Housekeeping

It is everyone’s job to keep theses spaces clean. Clean up your work area and leave the space cleaner than you found it. Stop work at least 15 minutes before you need to leave. Plan ahead. Work areas should be swept, vacuumed, or wiped clean when finished. A clean space is a safe space.
Put tools away when not in use. This prevents loss of tools and also makes them available to others.
Keep floors free of debris and spills (particularly oil and grease). Store scrap materials in the appropriate locations and recycle any unusable stock. Everything else goes into the trash.