SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM FOR THE TL;DR version in italics…
Something that I’ve noticed is that the demand for ROAST ( Required Operations and Safety Training ) classes outpace the supply of teachers. Especially in areas of high demand like woodshop and metal shop
This isn’t really news, I know, but with the potential expansion coming up I’d like to see a more formalized path for members to become authorized to train other members.
I’ve noticed that when classes aren’t on the calendar there is often the offer for 1-on-1 training.
I haven’t been able to locate anything that describes the procedures for passing on and documenting that info.
Can someone elucidate the rules regarding this kind of training?
From what I understand so far about becoming authorized to use any equipment is that you have to be added to a list upon completion.
So for one on one training, I assume the trainers are adding members to the list once they’ve been approved?
For example, right now if someone wanted to use the vinyl cutter I could show them how to use it without issue. The hypothetical problem would be that they’re not officially “authorized” to do so.
I realize that its really unlikely that anyone would be confronted about whether or not they took the vinyl class/got training and it’s even less likely that something awful would come of it. Nonetheless, if it was me, I’d wanna be on that dang list!
But you can see why this becomes an issue in more dangerous areas like metal shop.
For example I was in there and I overheard a member say “this machine doesn’t have a training required sign on it, so it’s all good” Is that really true? It kind of goes against what I’ve heard more senior members say…
Also I read a post here on Talk recently which mentioned that a member had been grinding soft metals. (I didn’t even know this was a safety hazard until that post)
If the culture encourages “one on one” training then we need to make it clear that only certain members are authorized to do so, or we will get members parroting things that they might have mis-heard with nothing but good intentions.
TL;DR
I feel that the casual nature of one on one training is great for teaching, but it leaves gaps in the official process which can cause confusion that potentially puts the safety of other makers at risk.
we have a wealth of knowledge among us, but accessing it can be cryptic. Let’s talk about how we can lower the time between a member joining and getting up to speed on training, and make it easier for members to become authorized to teach other members. WITHOUT SACRIFICING SAFETY FOR CONVENIENCE.
Waiting more than a month to get training on the one tool that you potentially joined to use (especially if you’re already a pro) is a bit too much to stomach for new members and I can’t blame them at all. Until we get training “fixed” we will continue having a really high turnover rate.
What has been tried before? Did it work? Why or why not?