Our award winning safety program is a continual effort to educate all students and adults on every team during build season and competitions. We take preventative measures to avoid hazardous situations through Risk Analysis and instructing members on how to deal with these situations, should they arise. We are continually recognized for our high level of safety with many Safety Star of the Day awards, seven regional Underwriters Laboratory Industrial Safety awards, and the 2008 and 2012 National Championship Safety Award.Our team focuses on safety training at every meeting. At least one meeting a week, safety discussions are held to learn about certain safety topics. This allows students to gradually learn safety practices and gain better retention. We dedicate an entire meeting to learning shop safety and techniques to remove potential hazards, but we spend more time on this topic as needed throughout the year. Mentors take groups of students into the shop to demonstrate the correct way to operate machinery and how to handle any situation that may arise. We require our students to read the safety manual produced by FIRST and by our team. We ensure students are learning these safety methods through by testing everyone before build season and competitions.

At the competition, both safety education and practices continue. Our team makes it top priority to educate other teams by distributing safety handouts and answering any questions people may have about our safety program. The central element that allows our team to be as safe as possible at the competition is our pit organization and design. We utilize the 5 S Principles to ensure our pit remains neat and orderly. We also use personal protective equipment and lock out tag out at all times to keep everyone safe. During competition, if another team is doing something particularly unsafe that would put participants at risk, we provide suggestions as to how they can fix this problem. To improve the safety of all teams, we demonstrate basic safety concepts, like Mind’s Eye Principle and Material Safety Data Sheet.Our team was given the incredible opportunity to tour the Underwriters Laboratories facility in Northbrook, IL. We learned how safety is a factor in the development of products purchased by consumers. From Underwriter’s Laboratory, we have learned the important practices of shop maintenance and safety as well as risk assessment.

Each year, our animation subteam creates a safety video. This is the 2012 animation.