Safety, Facilities and Property

PURPOSE

This Policy governs safety in all Racerbot work, access to and use of the FAS Student Team Lab, and the custody, use and return of club property. The FAS Student Team Spaces Policy and the SOP-TECH series set the detailed procedures.

1. PRIMACY

1.1 Safety takes precedence over every schedule and deadline. No person shall be pressured into work they believe to be unsafe.

1.2 The executive leading each subteam and the Operations Coordinator share responsibility for safety in their areas, including during examination periods.

1.3 Facility, University and competition rules apply in addition to this Policy and prevail where stricter. In the FAS Student Team Lab, the FAS Student Team Spaces Policy and the FAS Student Team Space End-User Agreement bind every member (POL-09 §3). Racerbot’s own requirements do not replace training that a facility requires.

1.4 This Policy binds every person present at a Racerbot activity, including guests.

2. STOP-WORK

2.1 Any person present may halt any test or activity they believe to be unsafe, without giving an explanation at the time.

2.2 Work shall resume only when the responsible executive or Test Lead has heard the person and is satisfied that it is safe. If the person disagrees, the Operations Coordinator decides, and work remains stopped in the meantime.

2.3 Calling a stop, even mistakenly, shall never bring an adverse consequence.

2.4 Every stop shall be recorded under SOP-ADM-09.

3. FITNESS FOR DUTY

3.1 No person shall operate a vehicle, handle batteries or high-voltage systems, or use power or machine tools while impaired by alcohol, drugs, impairing medication or severe fatigue. This applies on trips and at social events.

3.2 Any person may ask an apparently impaired person to stand down. The matter is handled privately and is not a sanction.

4. LAB ACCESS AND LAB RULES

4.1 Access requirements. No person shall work in the lab or use club equipment until the Operations Coordinator has recorded that they:

(a) are a currently registered SFU student, in courses or on a co-op term;

(b) have signed the FAS Student Team Space End-User Agreement;

(c) have completed the SFU Safety Orientation and EHS Safety Essentials and, for members of the Tech Team, WHMIS and SFU 3D Printer Safety;

(d) have passed the safety quizzes for their subteam under SOP-ADM-03, Table A.3; and

(e) have passed the in-person safety check with the Tech Team Lead, the Operations Coordinator or the President.

The Operations Coordinator then adds the person to the FAS access list.

4.2 Sign-in and sign-out. Every person shall sign in on entering the lab and sign out on leaving, using the lab sign-in form linked from the QR code at the door, and recording their name, the time and the activity. Club tools and equipment taken from storage shall be signed out and signed back in on the same form. The Operations Coordinator keeps the log.

4.3 Working alone. No person shall work in the lab unless at least one other authorized person is present.

4.4 Visitors, the door and occupancy. No person who does not meet §4.1(a) and (b) shall enter the lab without prior approval from the FAS Safety Team, requested through the Operations Coordinator. The lab door shall never be propped open or left unlocked. No more than 16 people, from all teams together, shall be in the lab at once.

4.5 Food and drink. Food and drink are not permitted in the lab, except sealed inside a closed bag. Lab surfaces are treated as contaminated with lead, and every person shall wash their hands after working and before eating.

4.6 Protective equipment. Every person shall wear protective equipment suited to the task, including eye protection where there is a risk of debris or splashing, and closed-toe, closed-heel shoes.

4.7 Approved activities only. Only activities listed in the Lab Safety Plan, each with a risk assessment and SOP, shall take place in the lab. A new activity, or new equipment for the lab, requires a risk assessment and SOP first, and shall be raised with the Faculty Sponsor and the FAS Safety Officer (fasehs@sfu.ca) before it begins or is purchased. The FAS Safety Officer shall also be contacted before any chemical or hazardous material, including resins, spray paints, solder and machine oils, is brought into the lab. The following are never carried out in the lab: hot work, grinding, welding and open flames; lasers above Class 1; X-ray devices; strong magnetic fields; chemicals prohibited by FAS; and high-power or high-current equipment. Soldering takes place only in Lab 1 under SOP-TECH-05, never in ASB 9819.

4.8 Shared space and housekeeping. The lab is shared with other teams. No person shall use another team’s equipment or materials without its consent, or photograph, record or share information about another team’s project. Racerbot’s materials shall be kept in its designated storage, work surfaces cleared between uses, and walkways, exits and fire equipment kept clear. SOP-TECH-06 governs housekeeping, SOP-TECH-05 soldering, and SOP-TECH-04 3D printing. Machine shop work follows the shop’s rules.

4.9 Damaged equipment shall be tagged out and reported to the Operations Coordinator until it is repaired.

4.10 Breaches. A breach of §4.1, §4.3, §4.4 or §4.7 can cost the whole team its FAS lab access, and is a conduct matter under POL-02 requiring no prior warning.

5. BATTERIES

5.1 SOP-TECH-01 governs battery inspection, charging, storage, transport and disposal, without exception or local variation.

5.2 Only members individually cleared by the Tech Team Lead shall charge battery packs.

5.3 Battery storage charge shall be maintained through examination periods and breaks.

5.4 If a thermal event spreads, every person shall evacuate and call emergency services first. No person shall be penalized for doing so.

6. VEHICLE TESTING

6.1 Every powered or autonomous test shall have a named Test Lead, who controls the stop arrangements, the perimeter and whether the test runs. A Probation Member shall not act as Test Lead.

6.2 No test shall proceed until the checks in SOP-TECH-02 pass. A failed emergency-stop check ends the session.

6.3 Autonomous mode shall be armed only with a verified remote stop held by a person with a clear view, spotters as SOP-TECH-02 requires, and no person inside the perimeter.

6.4 Testing takes place only in a space that is authorized and controlled. Testing in uncontrolled public spaces is prohibited.

6.5 Vehicle configuration shall be recorded under SOP-TECH-02 so that any qualified member can safely take over a vehicle.

7. GUESTS AND DEMONSTRATIONS

7.1 Guests shall not enter the lab except under §4.4. Wherever they are, guests shall be briefed on the perimeter, stop-work and exits, accompanied at all times, permitted to handle equipment only under supervision, and never permitted to operate vehicles.

7.2 A public demonstration requires a Test Lead, a barrier, a person keeping the area clear, and a reduced speed limit set in advance.

8. INCIDENTS

8.1 Injuries, near misses, fires, thermal events, damage, uncommanded vehicle behaviour, equipment failures and stops shall be reported under SOP-ADM-09.

8.2 Good-faith reporting, including of one’s own error, shall never be sanctioned. Concealment may be.

8.3 Where there is injury, fire or damage to University property, the Operations Coordinator shall immediately notify the facility, the Faculty Sponsor and the President, and meet any external reporting duty.

8.4 Any person may report a lab safety concern anonymously to the FAS Safety Officer at fas_safety@sfu.ca.

8.5 The Executive Board shall review incidents each semester and record corrective action.

9. FAS STUDENT TEAM LAB

9.1 The President is Racerbot’s FAS Space and Facilities Student Team Lead and FAS’s point of contact. The President, the Operations Coordinator and the Tech Team Lead carry out the Lead’s duties jointly, namely to:

(a) keep the Lab Safety Plan, risk assessments, SOPs and training record current, with a hard copy in the lab;

(b) post the team’s current lab activities in the lab;

(c) keep the FAS access list current and send changes to FAS;

(d) take part in FAS inspections and complete any remediation by the deadline set, informing members of what has changed;

(e) reapply for the space each year; and

(f) submit a decommissioning plan to FAS two weeks before the space assignment ends.

9.2 The Operations Coordinator, or a member they name, is Racerbot’s representative on the Student Team Lab Safety Committee.

9.3 The Faculty Sponsor is the first reviewer of the Lab Safety Plan, the training list and new SOPs.

10. CUSTODY AND ACCESS

10.1 Club property belongs to Racerbot, not to whoever bought, built or uses it.

10.2 The Operations Coordinator holds custody of club property and spaces. Each executive leading a subteam is responsible for property assigned to it.

10.3 The Operations Coordinator records all keys, fobs and codes, which shall never be shared or lent.

10.4 Physical access is held by Active Members and Probation Members who meet §4.1, and is withdrawn on becoming a General Member, on leave beyond one term, on leaving a subteam, on departure, or on ceasing to meet §4.1(a). Withdrawal is administrative and is not announced, and the Operations Coordinator updates the FAS access list.

10.5 The Finance Lead’s purchase records are the record of what Racerbot owns, with any funding condition noted. For significant items, the Operations Coordinator also keeps a photograph and serial number.

11. USE AND DISPOSAL

11.1 Club property is for club work. Off-site use shall be signed out on the sign-in form with a return date.

11.2 Damage or loss shall be reported promptly. An honest report of an accident is not a disciplinary matter; concealment may be.

11.3 Significant items shall be disposed of only with the joint approval of the Operations Coordinator and the President, subject to any funding condition.

12. RETURN OF PROPERTY

12.1 On departure, or when a placement ends, all club property shall be returned within fourteen days and recorded by the Operations Coordinator.

12.2 On becoming a General Member, a member returns only property held for team work, within the same period.

12.3 Failure to return property after written notice is a breach of POL-02 and may be reported as theft.

12.4 Return of property shall never be a condition of role verification.

13. THEFT AND INSURANCE

13.1 Suspected theft shall be reported immediately to the Operations Coordinator and the President, who report it to Campus Security and the facility.

13.2 The President shall record each year, and before any competition, what insurance covers Racerbot’s activities, and shall tell members plainly what is not covered.

REVISION HISTORY