GIANTCRAB
commented
2 years ago For donations, I would like to propose that the person in-charge of OHP (currently Jun Hao) would be able to review said items before accepting. In that way, he/she/they would be able to maintain an inventory list and keep track of the state of items in Hackerspace.
I can bring this up in the next plenum.
Some background reading from writers better than me: https://hackaday.com/2017/04/14/the-complex-issue-of-hackspace-donations/
We've had a few problems with clutter in the space in our 12 years of existence, and it's probably time to draft some policies surrounding the classification and storage of communal items, and how we approach the acceptance and disposal of physical donations (so, anything except money and its contemporaries).
Communal Items
It'll probably make sense to set storage policies communal items by zones instead of having a blanket policy surrounding them.
Hardware Room
I'm tempted to let the people who use the hardware room set their own policies, but figured that HSG admin should provide some guidance anyway.
Tools are mostly communal items. Commonly-used tools can be kept on a pegboard, most other tools should be kept in transparent containers and labelled by general use (e.g. all the screwdrivers, all the pliers, etc).
Raw materials should probably be kept in a well-labelled cardboard box per type (e.g. acrylic). Any excess raw material that doesn't fit in the defined space should probably go through Old Hardware Pattern.
3D printers and other similar equipment should all be considered to be on permanent/temporary loan by members, and should be listed in an inventory spreadsheet somewhere. They can be considered communal as long as they've been used within the last 1-3 months(?, to be determined), and have a permissive use policy. We have a bit of give and take here: the printers can occupy valuable desk space, as long as the owners either help people print stuff when provided with the STL files and get reimbursed for filament costs.
We also have a laser cutter. No idea how to deal with it.
Projects that are work-in-progress should generally be kept in members' storage boxes. We can probably draft out another policy for larger-sized projects that involve a few members, perhaps allowing their storage, but making sure members keep us updated on whether they're working on it at every plenum.
Pantry
Tableware (plates, bowls, cups, spoons, forks, knives) are communal. The kettle, induction cooker, oven, and water jugs are as well.
Raw food staples, sauces, and other condiments should probably be stored in members' storage boxes. We can make explicit exceptions for some items (from previous experience) like eggs, cooking oil, salt, sugar, soy sauce.
Most instant drinks should be in members' storage boxes, except instant tea, coffee, and perhaps Milo.
Some coffee preparation tools could be considered on permanent/temporary loan by members, if there are more members interested in coffee preparation around. This is up in the air since I seem to be the only regular who really cares about coffee.
Hotdesks
The only things that should remain on a hotdesk are a power strip, communal-use monitor, and maybe some USB charging cables.
If a member brings in a monitor, we might allow the member to leave it on a hotdesk as long as it's clearly labelled that other people are allowed to use it and change the display settings.
All other items should be swept into a lost-and-found box at the end of the day.
Donation
To be continued…