COVID Safety Guidelines for Shared Workshops

Several weeks ago, I put out a call in my weekly maker tips newsletter, Tips, Tools, and Shop Tales. A friend who works in a shared workshop was being called back to the job and he was curious to know what sorts of safety guidelines other shared shops were implementing. So, I asked my readers.

One respondent, Jeff Powers, works in a architectural modeling shop in London. He submitted this list of their COVID-era shop practices. I thought it was useful enough to also share here on Boing Boing.

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We are an architectural workshop/model shop in London and have a similar issue. We luckily have multiple workshop spaces (2 workshops, separate computer areas, a 3D print room, and CNC room). While some of the solutions are specific to our situation, hopefully some of them can help others.

1. Realisation by the team that the workshop is always an inherently risky place, and we should be used to taking precautions when we work anyway. From cleanliness, safe operation, and use of PPE, these habits just become slightly modified for COVID. Taking care and extra time before beginning a task and after it ends to assess risk, cleanliness etc is all the more important now, but should not significantly change any workflows. Safe operation is especially important during these times, you never want to go to the hospital with a workshop injury, but especially during these times, extra care should be observed so we dont put any more unnecessary strain on the health care system. Read the rest