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Week 1 · Lesson 3 35 min

Safety and Gracious Professionalism

Learn the safety habits every FTC workshop needs and the FIRST values of Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition.

In this lesson you will

  • Apply basic workshop safety rules, including eye protection and safe tool use.
  • Identify battery hazards and pinch points on a robot.
  • Explain Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition with examples.
  • Write a team safety and behaviour agreement.

Lesson

Robots have spinning motors, sharp metal edges and batteries that store a lot of energy. Workshops have drills, saws and hot tools. None of this is dangerous when you follow simple habits every time. Safety is not a separate task: it is part of doing engineering properly, and judges notice teams that work safely.

Workshop safety basics

  • Wear safety glasses whenever anyone nearby is building, cutting, drilling or testing the robot.
  • Wear closed-toe shoes, tie back long hair and avoid loose clothing or dangling jewellery.
  • Use each tool only for its purpose, and ask a mentor to show you before using a new power tool.
  • Keep the workspace clean: put tools back, sweep up metal shavings and keep walkways clear.
  • Know where the first aid kit is and report every injury, even a small cut.

Robot safety: pinch points and unexpected motion

A pinch point is any place where moving parts come together and can trap a finger, such as gears, chains, belts, a closing gripper or a lift sliding down. A robot can also move unexpectedly when a program starts or a bug sends the wrong power to a motor. Treat every powered robot as if it might move.

  1. 1
    Clear the area
    Make sure hands, tools and loose parts are away from the robot before turning it on.
  2. 2
    Announce it
    Say clearly that the robot is about to run, and wait for everyone to step back.
  3. 3
    Be ready to stop
    Keep a hand near the stop button on the Driver Station while testing, especially with new code.
  4. 4
    Power off to adjust
    Stop the OpMode and disconnect power before reaching into the robot.

Gracious Professionalism

Gracious Professionalism is a core FIRST value. It means competing hard while treating everyone with respect and kindness. You want to win, but not by making others lose badly or feel small. It applies to how you treat your own teammates, other teams, volunteers, judges and referees.

Coopertition combines cooperation and competition. Teams help each other, for example by lending a spare part or explaining a programming problem, even though they may face each other in the next match. In FTC your opponent in one match can be your alliance partner in the next, so helping others also builds a better event for everyone.

SituationGracious Professionalism response
Another team's robot breaks before a matchOffer tools, parts or help if you can.
Your alliance partner makes a mistakeStay positive and talk about how to improve next match.
You disagree with a referee callStay calm and use the official process in the manual to ask a question.
A new member does not understand somethingExplain patiently and let them try it themselves.

At events

  • Wear safety glasses in the pit area and walk, never run.
  • Thank volunteers, referees and judges, who are often giving up their free time.
  • Cheer for good play from any team, not only your own.

Safety and Gracious Professionalism are habits, and habits form through repetition. Talk about them at the start of the season, remind each other kindly when someone forgets, and let new members see older members doing the right thing every time.

Key terms

Gracious Professionalism
A FIRST value that means competing hard while treating everyone with respect and kindness.
Coopertition
A FIRST value that combines cooperation and competition, such as helping teams you may compete against.
Pinch point
A place where moving parts come together and can trap fingers or hands.
Safety captain
The team member responsible for checking that everyone follows the safety rules.

Practical exercise

Write a team agreement

  1. 1Walk around your workspace and list every hazard you can see, such as tools, batteries and cables on the floor.
  2. 2Write five workshop safety rules that address those hazards.
  3. 3Write a robot power-on routine your team will use every time.
  4. 4Write three examples of Gracious Professionalism the team commits to at meetings and events.
  5. 5Have every member read and sign the agreement, then post it in the workspace.
Deliverable: A signed one-page team agreement with safety rules, a power-on routine and Gracious Professionalism commitments.

Knowledge check

Answer every question, then check your answers.

  1. Q1When should team members wear safety glasses?
  2. Q2What should you do before reaching into the robot to adjust a mechanism?
  3. Q3Which action is the best example of Coopertition?
  4. Q4What is a pinch point?

Further resources

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