Safety considerations
Workshops and toolstores can be dangerous places, and careful consideration must be given to all aspects of safety. The management must ensure that all volunteers and employees are familiar with fire precautions, safe storage of chemicals, petrol and gas and the proper storage of tools (Chapter 3 – Storage).
Nobody should undertake work in the workshop unless they have received proper training for the tools and equipment they are to use. Check that the insurance for your group covers workshop accidents.
A quarter of industrial accidents are caused while lifting and handling tools and materials, so particular attention must be paid to encouraging safe working practices. Safe storage of tools and equipment in accessible, well-laid out and properly lit premises is a good start.
All volunteers should be shown how to lift and carry heavy objects.
A close-fitting boiler suit is the best clothing for workshop use. Loose clothing, loose long hair and jewellery should not be worn. Safety boots with steel toe caps are essential footwear for workshop use. Safety goggles and ear defenders should be provided and used with equipment such as grinders.
Training
Within your group you may have sufficient expertise and experience to run your own ‘in house’ training sessions on workshop skills, though the value of external training courses even for those who think they are skilled should not be forgotten.
A good first call is to approach your nearest office of The Conservation Volunteers about the availability of training or advice. Training workshop skills may also be available through Lantra (Tel: 02476 696996 www.lantra.co.uk). Local agricultural colleges and local authority adult education services are also worth contacting. Even if they do not have suitable courses, they may be able to put you in touch with someone who will be able to run a course or session specifically for your group.
Provided you have a skilled trainer and suitable workshop facilities, you can do most of your own training ‘in house’. Put your efforts into organising a series of sessions over a period of a few weeks, rather than hoping people will turn up over a prolonged period for indeterminate sessions of ‘training’, tidying up and other odd jobs. Try organising a series of perhaps four or five evening sessions in the early autumn or during the post new year lull.
Make sure you match the number of trainees with the bench space and tools which you have available, and ensure you have sufficient supply of all spares and other equipment necessary. Arrange for a deputy to take over in case the trainer is unable to take a session.
Structure the course so that trainees know what topics are going to be covered, and try to introduce a new skill at each session. Make the sessions as sociable and enjoyable as possible, and provide tea and biscuits or a visit to the pub afterwards.
From the group of trainees, hopefully a small band of enthusiasts will evolve who will use their skills to maintain the tools and generally run the workshop and toolstore. Try to keep to a regular weekly or fortnightly session. Agree on the various responsibilities for organisation, such as key holding, ordering of spares, tea supplies etc. If someone has a particular interest in one aspect of tool maintenance, and no one else objects, let them get on with it, though encourage them to train a deputy! Otherwise, try and make sure that everyone has a turn at the various jobs that need doing. Keep the evenings sociable, and run a course of training sessions at least once a year so that newcomers aren’t excluded.
