Miller Academic Center

Miller Academic Center and Large Project Building Policies

The academic, lab, and shop spaces in the Miller Academic Center (MAC) and Large Project Building (LPB) are important components of our community. Our collective goal is to enable opportunities for students to bring ideas to fruition and assist with academic learning, which requires collaboration. Olin is a small college with a relatively large number of resources for its size. At the same time, the College may not have the space or the equipment available for other types of applications and fabrication methods. Shop and lab staff will work with students to meet their goals whenever possible.

These privileges come with significant responsibilities. The entire Olin community must adhere to, and help ensure that others are also following, the rules regarding lab and fabrication space usage. These are the main rules for a safe working environment for the entire community but be sure to check each individual space for unique rules or policies prior to use. Specific safety and operating procedures are available n addition to the training documents available in the spaces. Access to the labs and shops only works when the entire community abides by these rules. If there are issues that arise, the user will be referred to the Dean of Students or Human Resources.

All users must complete safety trainings prior to using the some spaces and/or equipment. Access to specific tools and machinery within the shops, labs and LPB requires additional, specialized training and certification. This training ensures users are competent and safe in operating potentially hazardous equipment.

Failure to adhere to these policies and safety protocols may result in:

Immediate suspension or revocation of shop or lab access privileges.
Disciplinary action in accordance with university policies (for students, faculty, or staff).
Potential legal liability in the event of an accident.

During the academic year, only currently enrolled students are permitted to use shop and lab spaces. During the summer, only students working on campus are permitted to use Shop, labs and the LPB.

Facilities, equipment, and furniture

Care for equipment and furniture: All members of the college community are expected to treat college equipment and furniture with sufficient care to avoid damage. Furniture and equipment should, when not in use, be left intact and in location. Each student is responsible for any damages caused by themselves and their guests.

Supplies and materials

The shops and labs provides specific consumable materials to support coursework and Olin’s unique, project-based curriculum. We consider requests for other exhaustible items, but generally only make purchases if there is an academic or other valid reason. Please ask!

In using these supplies, students are expected to leave workspaces as-clean-or-better upon leaving the MAC or LPB.

Academic supplies should be used appropriately:

Do not use shop or lab equipment materials for your personal business ventures.
Passionate Pursuits: you are expected to use PP funds to supply your projects. You may use reasonable amounts of basic materials in your passionate pursuit.

If we notice uncommonly substantial use by a group or an individual, we may contact you to discuss your purpose in using our supplies.

The Olin Shop Policies

Olin has fabrication shops supporting a variety of materials and processes; the Laser Shop (MAC103), the Welding Shop (MAC104), the Machine Shop and Abrasive Room (MAC106/107), the Mini Shop (MAC108), the CNC Shop (MAC109), the Wood Shop (MAC 113/116), the 3D Print Studio (MAC125), the Harris Prototyping Studio (MAC 127), the Electronics Studio (MAC 129) and the Green Shop (MAC207), plus four labs on the 4th floor (MAC404, 406, 409, 413), and the large project building.

The main shops located in MAC104-107 are open from 9:00am to 6:00 PM, when the staff leave. Additional rules regarding access may be in place for particular equipment and processes in other labs or shops. Students have traditionally are permitted access to the mini and wood shops past 6pm with an appropriate safety buddy, but this privilege is not granted lightly. Students are not allowed to use any shop or lab spaces between 2am and 6am. Details can be found on the machineshop.olin.edu.

Olin Lab Policies

Students wishing to use the 4^th floor laboratory spaces (MAC404, 406, 409, 413) for student group or independent work must speak to the laboratory managers before beginning a new project. Students should not work in labs unsupervised and they must adhere to the rules of the lab space after regular business hours. Students working in these spaces outside of business hours (before 9:00AM or after 5:00PM, not including closure time from 2:00AM – 6:00AM) should let the lab manager know they will be working ahead of time.

No student is allowed to work in Olin shop or lab spaces alone; students must be accompanied by at least one authorized person (a “buddy”) at all times. If there is an accident, other people will be essential in calling for help and coming to the injured student’s aid. Never operate a major piece of equipment unless specifically trained and certified by a qualified Olin staff or faculty member.

Large Project Building (LPB) Policies

The Olin Large Project Building is a controlled access facility due to both the confidential nature of some of the projects housed in the building as well as the potential risks involved in a project environment. Any users of the space must preserve the security and confidentiality of the building by keeping all building and bays doors closed (open garage doors must be manned, entrance doors must not be propped open) and by only admitting trained members of the Olin community to the building. A safe, well used, well maintained Large Project Building (LPB) is critical to the overall successful execution of the engineering courses, research projects, capstone program and student club activities at Olin College. In order to create a safe work environment as well as to preserve a high operational state of the building, Olin asks all students, faculty and staff to both observe and adhere to the following operational rules (as a condition for access to the building):

Allowed Work:

Use of hand tools (use eye protection if there is any possibility of airborne chips).
Use of portable power tools (with the exception of grinders and sanders), eye protection is required for anybody within 10 feet of the active tool. If the tool involves any form of cutting, all users must use the Olin buddy system and have at least one other trained user present and within close proximity to the work.
All forms of assembly, debugging and construction of large projects.
Assembly and debug work on team project vehicles. Users may start a vehicle to move it in and out of the building, but must not run the vehicles within the building or directly outside the roll-up doors to prevent the dangerous buildup of fumes. Running the vehicle outside with the doors closed is allowed.
Students must use the Olin buddy system for any project involving: large weight, significant kinetic energy, AC power or DC voltages above 48VDC. This means at least one other competent user must be present and aware of the work.
Users may work in the Shop Composites Bay only while adhering to the posted safety requirements, including the Olin buddy system. This applies for all usage of this bay, including spray painting, composites work (which requires separate training), general use of the fume hood, and passage to move items.

Prohibited Work:

Any woodworking activity that generates sawdust, either in or outside the project building.
Any form of grinding, either inside or outside the project building.
Any spray painting inside enclosed spaces. Use the paint booth fume hood or outside the project building for paints that require ventilation. If painting outside, make sure to protect the ground. Use only approved paints and follow storage guidelines.
Any form of welding (including plasma cutting), open flame, ovens, or burning either in or outside the LPB. Use of the forge requires separate training and has distinct safety rules and regulations.
Any work involving volatile liquids, toxic materials, or harmful chemicals, except where explicitly permitted and following the appropriate training.
Any activity that requires propping open either access door or leaving the garage doors open unmanned for any period of time. Opening the garage doors while present and aware is acceptable.
Any activity that would generate sound levels high enough to disturb the other occupants of the building or endanger hearing.
Any work on personal vehicles, for any reason.
Removing tools, furniture, or equipment from other project spaces or from the project building.

Storage in the MAC and LPB

The Miller Academic Center supports Olin’s project-based curriculum by offering some storage racks for works-in-progress on the 1st floor. Classrooms should not be considered storage areas. If you have specific kinds of storage needs, please reach out to the Space Force at space-force@olin.edu. Anyone using storage must abide by all policies listed below. Failure to label or remove your storage at the proper time will result in your items being discarded. All items left in the MAC after the semester ends may be discarded, regardless of whether the storage area is labeled with a student name. WE WILL NOT EMAIL YOU INDIVIDUALLY BEFORE DISCARDING YOUR ITEM.

This policy has grown out of necessity: individual coordination is a burden on staff time, and waits for responses delay resetting classrooms and other spaces.

Label: Full name, contact information, and pickup date (no later than the semester move-out date). Items with only partial information, such as a label with just a first name, may be discarded.
Remove items by the end of each semester. This enables us to clean these areas and maintain them for community use and ensures projects will not be forgotten.
Note: we consider all requests for time extensions and accommodations. Get in touch. Exceptions are not granted without requests.
Consolidate: Use only as much space as you need.
Use designated storage bins

Mid-semester cleanouts: If storage spaces become too crowded, or projects have been noticeably untouched, we may request a mid-semester cleanout to organize, pare down, or remove your project as appropriate. We will make every effort to reach students using storage with as much notice as possible.