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The Industrial Arts workshops at High School are a very different learning environment than say, English or Maths. Desks have been replaced by workbenches and chairs are generally not used in practical lessons. You will use different tools and machinery and if you don't understand how to use them properly, or decide to use them in inappropriate and unsafe ways, you can suffer serious injury and you could also injure others. Therefore It is very important to think and act safely in the workshops at all times.
Before you can enter the workshop
Before you can enter the workshop
Line up quietly and respectfully
Ensure you are wearing enclosed leather shoes
Have a sharp pencil
If it is a non-practical lesson, have a pen and your BYOD fully charged and ready
Have your mobile phone turned off and in your bag. If you have earphones, they must also be in your bag.
After you have entered the workshop
After you have entered the workshop
Put on an apron - tied up at the back
Proceed quietly to your workbench
Wait for instructions from your teacher
Your teacher will usually give instructions at the beginning of the lesson and will often demonstrate the next step of the project or a new skill or technique. It is important that you pay close attention to these instructions at this time.
Questions
Questions
Q. How many students can work at a workbench?
A. No more than 4 although it depends on the number of working vices. If a bench has 2 vices, then it is no more than 2
Q. Why do I have to wear leather shoes?
A. Because it is the LAW! Not just a school rule. The Work, Health and Safety Act 2011 makes this clear. If you choose to use incorrect shoes, you will not be permitted to participate in practical lessons and will be given alternate written work that you are expected to complete. Your parents will be contacted and you may also have to complete after school detentions.
Q. Why do I have to wear an apron?
A. An apron protects your clothes from dust, glue and shellac, but more importantly, it is a plain flat surface with nothing hanging off it, therefore it reduces the chance of any item of your clothing getting entangled in machinery.
Q. Why am I not allowed to run in the workshop?
A. You are not allowed to run in any classroom, however, the workshop presents additional dangers such as:
The floor can become slippery, due to dust or wax residues.
Each workbench has up to 4 vices attached - these are made from hardened steel, given the number and location of these vices, somebody falling over can hit a vice and cause serious injury to themselves.
There are other students using tools or machinery, you may accidentally hit them, causing injury to them or causing injury to yourself.
Q. When using machinery such as the drill press or disc sander, why must I wear safety glasses?
A. All machinery can potentially grab or fling your work. Whilst this event can be rare, should a piece of timber hit you in the eye, you may permanently lose the use of your eye. It's not worth the risk.
Q. What happens if I forget any of the safety rules?
A. You can obviously injure yourself or cause injury to others. In reality, forgetting is not acceptable. Should you forget or do the wrong thing, you may need to redo the written part of the safety tests. If you continue to do the wrong thing or forget, you will be deemed to be unsafe in the workshop and alternative written work will be provided.
The use of tools and machines
The use of tools and machines
Tools should only be used for the purpose for which they are designed. If you are unsure or unclear on how a tool is to be used, do not use it and ask your teacher. Tools should only be obtained from storage if they are needed and returned as soon as you are finished with them. Tools are not toys, they are precision instruments designed to do a particular task. If a tool is not required, then it is to be left in storage where it belongs. Common ways that students have misused tools include:
Playing with the vices. These are tools and are to be used only when required, when not required, they are not to be touched.
Using try squares - pretending that they are guns. Do not do this, try squares are precision instruments and can easily be damaged and made inaccurate if misused.
Hitting 2 hammers together - this is extremely dangerous as tool steel is harder than normal steel and is brittle. Hammers hit together can shatter in the face of the user. Students misusing tools may be required to pay for the replacement if damage is caused.
Cutting directly onto a bench or vice - this damages the bench or vice or the tool in use. NEVER cut directly onto a bench, always use a bench hook.
Using a plane directly on a benchtop. Planing a benchtop is vandalism and treated as such. Students may be required to pay for the damage caused or rectify the damage during after-school detention.
Hammering nails into the benchtop - This is vandalism. Students may be required to pay for the damage caused or rectify the damage during after-school detention.
General workshop safety rules
General workshop safety rules
Only those authorised to do so by a Workshop Supervisor (Class teacher) may work in this shop.
Operation of power tools and other potentially dangerous shop work, may only be done under the supervision of a Workshop Supervisor.
Safety glasses (CSA approved) must be worn at all times while working with powered tools.
Other protective equipment must be worn as directed by a Workshop Supervisor.
Do not wear gloves, loose-fitting clothing, baggy sleeves, dangling jewellery, or neck ties that could become entangled in machinery.
You may not use any power tool until you have been trained in safe operation techniques by a Workshop Supervisor.
Disconnect power before making adjustments to powered tools.
Always seek to minimise the generation of dust, use the dust extractor when available. Never blow dust or shavings, use a dustpan and broom to clean up.
Take appropriate fire prevention precautions when your work generates heat or sparks, or involves open flames or flammable liquids.
Do not remove machine guards. Keep shop clean and tidy. When not in use, store tools, equipment, and supplies properly. Cleanup after you complete your work.
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