Safety Is The Number One Concern of Stryke Force

As Stryke Force’s Safety Captain, I make sure that we maintain a safe environment in our build space and I teach students important rules to keep them safe. Some of the most important safety rules include always knowing where the First Aid kit, fire extinguisher, and battery spill kit are located. Safety glasses or side shields are also extremely important to have while near tools and robots.

At Stryke Force, our safety glasses are located right next to our front door, with a sign reminding students, mentors, and visitors to put them on to protect their eyes. We also list our top ten safety rules next to the glasses so that we are reminded how to be safe around machinery.

One of our most important safety rules is situational awareness. In order to be safe, we need to always be aware of our surroundings. This includes paying attention to what machines are running nearby, knowing if anyone is soldering or drilling, and knowing where the robot is located at all times. Our programmers like to focus on their code and might not pay as much attention to machines, so the programming area is kept far away from the shop (they still wear safety glasses, of course!). We also have yellow lines on the floor to indicate areas where safety glasses must be worn at all times.

I hope everyone has a fun and SAFE season this year!