Massachusetts College of Art and Design Form Study Lab Safety Guidelines
Download these guidelines (PDF document): SF Lab Guidelines 2012
Welcome to form study. To ensure that you have a safe and productive time in the labs please read through and become very familiar with the safety guidelines. While using the form study facilities you must abide by these guidelines at all times.
Your instructor will provide you with safety information on the tools/machines and processes required to complete your course work. It is your responsibility to follow these rules. If you have not been instructed or don’t understand on how to safely use a tool or machine you must ask your faculty, studio manager or monitor for help before proceeding.
Read through these guidelines from time to time to refresh your awareness of how to work safely in the labs. During class demonstrations take notes if necessary.
As a MassArt student you are responsible for knowing all of the colleges safety policies found in the student handbook. The handbook is available at inside.massart.edu.
The Studio Foundation Cage offers tool kits for daily check out. These kits contain the common tools required to complete many form study projects.
September 2012
When using power tools wear the proper clothing:
Always wear shoes or boots, no sandals or high heels.
Long hair must be tied back and secured to the top of your head or under a cap or hair net. Long beards must be tucked into your shirt.
No loose clothing: No dangling sleeves, scarves or cords from hooded sweatshirts. Gloves should not be worn when using spinning equipment. Don’t wear any piece of clothing that might get caught in spinning machinery.
No jewelry: No rings, necklaces, bracelets or wristwatches. Remove all jewelry as it may get caught in the moving equipment and pull your face or hand into the cutting or grinding tool.
No mp3 players or radios are allowed in the lab when using power tools.
You cannot react quickly enough to pull away from a piece of equipment if you
Wear safety equipment:
The lab provides several different types of safety glasses and hearing protection for your use. These can be found inside the labeled yellow toolboxes.
Always wear safety glasses, face shield, or goggles when using any power tool or machine. If you wear corrective lenses you must still wear safety glasses over the top of your glasses to protect your eyes.
Hearing damage is accumulative. Protect your hearing by wearing earplugs or earmuffs as much as possible when working with power-tools in the lab. The lab machinery is very loud and can be damaging with repeated exposure.
Proper Lab use:
Please ask your instructor, studio manager, or monitor for assistance if you have any questions.
Always be aware of others in the lab when operating power tools. Work slowly and carefully; never lose respect for the power equipment.
Never use tools or equipment you haven’t been trained on or that you don’t remember how to use safely.
Do not use the tools and machines if you are too tired, hungry, depressed or angry. Never work while under the influence of drugs, alcohol or any medication that creates drowsiness or impaired thinking.
Always disconnect or unplug power tools before making machine adjustments.
Never leave any tool or machine running while unattended.
Always turn the power off and wait for the tool to come to a complete stop before walking away.
Studio Foundation does not provide facilities for storing oil based finishes and paints or flammable liquids and no materials of this nature may be stored within the department. If you have questions about this please consult your instructor.
We are all responsible for keeping the lab clean. A clean lab is safer and a more productive environment to work in. When you complete your work clean up the area at and around the machinery. Pick up and discard any scraps and sweep the floor. Put away all tools and materials in their proper locations.
General lab and classroom rules:
The studio managers, faculty, and officially designated monitors will determine those qualified to use the lab.
- Form study faculty, studio managers and monitors are available for information concerning proper procedures and safety. If you have any doubts or questions concerning safety and proper tool use see them first before proceeding.
- MassArt ID cards are required to use the lab. This rule applies to faculty, staff, and student users. Remember not to wear your ID around your neck when using power tools.
- Faculty, studio managers or monitors must approve all materials being used in the shop.
- Never fix equipment yourself. When anything is broken, damaged or in need of repair please immediately bring it to the attention of your instructor or monitor.
- There is little storage space for projects in form study, however, if you are gluing something and need it to dry overnight you may store the project provided it is labeled with your name and the date.
- Registered MCA student’s who have gone over the guidelines in class are allowed to use this lab during open studio evenings. Friends and relatives are not allowed to work in the lab.
- Lab hours are posted under the form study section of sf.massart.edu.
SF Studio Manager
Kyle Brock 617-879-7381
MassArt Health and Safety Department
Jamieson Wicks 617-879-7939