Have an ethical agreement between your creative space and stakeholders. Require them to follow an Honor Code as a prerequisite to using your creative space.
Below is an example of a recent honor code developed with a large-scale institution maker space:
As a member of the Makerspace Community, I promise to embody the following principles:
I will respect others.
Personal Safety: I will promote an inclusive, collaborative, and receptive community where all can freely and fully express themselves.
Equipment Respect: I will only use the equipment I am trained and confident in. I will notify staff if I see someone using equipment they are not trained on.
Community Safety: I will share if I am subject to, witness, or hear of an act that may harm myself or others.
Workspace Respect: I will take exceptional care of EXPmaker, its equipment, materials, and workspaces.
Equipment Safety: I will notify staff of any damaged or misused equipment.
Resource Respect: I will respect the time and belongings of other students by abiding by the guidelines for sharing machines and space and conserving materials.
Learning Mindset: I will be open to being wrong, always ask questions, and do my best to learn from others.
In addition to a document like the one above that promises integrity, it is wise to work with your institution's legal department to craft a waiver for all stakeholders to sign as part of their orientation to your creative space.
With a new creative space, the pressure to open its doors to stakeholders frequently outweighs physical safety concerns. Never allow stakeholders to begin training until solid legal mechanics are in place! To avoid this, start safety planning far before the ribbon-cutting to set up systems that protect your makerspace and stakeholders in the case of mental or physical injury.
However, your best bet to preventing injury that leads to litigation is a robust, multi-tiered qualification system that trains your stakeholders in your inclusive culture, safe equipment uses, and operation. I advise a tiered equipment qualification regiment. For example:
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A stakeholder interested in using the equipment must sign up for an hour-long orientation training. Run orientations seven days a week, with enough coverage for all interested stakeholders. The orientation should consist of a guided full walkthrough of the makerspace covering the creative space’s mission, honor code, safety features, and all significant pieces of equipment. Next, I advise that 30 minutes be dedicated to the basics of cardboard prototyping. A hands-on project allowed stakeholders to make something with low-level tool usage and associated safety procedures. This project also sparked creativity and was a great way to increase stakeholders’ interest in taking advantage of the shops (see instructions below).
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After a stakeholder completes the orientation training, they may sign up for specific equipment training. Equipment training sessions typically last 30 to 60 minutes, depending on the tool. To track competency, every stakeholder may produce an identical ”test piece,” which conveys the stakeholder's ability to use a tool as a manipulated physical object. This system requires a digital tracking system that records which stakeholders were trained on what tool and is easily accessible by staff and security, and is directly connected to card swipes that allow stakeholders into workshops.
Specific tools may require supplemental training, e.g., fire extinguisher training that supports laser cutter training. (Consider investing in a digital fire extinguisher training system for its ease of use and cleanliness.)
You can do a lot to protect your staff and makerspace by training your stakeholders upfront to be safe and mindful in your shops. Thoughtful honor codes and training decrease the chance of living through a seriously injured stakeholder and the potential legal fallout.
Artwork: Tentacular 2019, Festival de Tecnologías Críticas y Aventuras Digitales