“Safety First, Always.” We have heard this old adage many times in workshops, in our workplaces and any other places we are exposed to dangers. Keeping this in mind and the paramount importance this quote has in the workplace, FabLab Nepal, Impact Hub Kathmandu, conducted a total of 9 workshops on safety on various engineering institutions in 4 provinces (Bagmati, Lumbini, Koshi and Gandaki Province). This workshop focused on various topics ranging from general workshop safety to safety for digital fabrication processes (3D Printing, Laser and CNC router) and additionally an interesting topic on incorporating safety in design of products.
Glimpses of the workshop around 4 provinces
Following the conduction of workshops, we noticed that there were some areas of improvement in the institution’s workshops. There were some opportunities for improvement particularly in the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) sector. This improvement would further cement our organization’s culture that the practice of theoretical knowledge should not be hindered by lack of resources. After discussion within our internal team as well as seeking approval from the Royal Academy of Engineering (the main funder of this project), we moved forward to distribute the required PPEs to all the institutions who participated in the workshops.
In order to disseminate the PPEs, the FabLab team first did a thorough survey of the institutions regarding their workshop layout, the machines that were currently operational and the quantity of PPEs that were usable. Consolidating all the data, the team further analyzed the PPEs that were required as well as their quantity for each institution. The team then proceeded to the procurement of the PPEs from various vendors in Kathmandu. Following various challenges and setbacks, mostly due to unavailability of high quality PPEs and delay of arrivals of the PPEs due to customs, the team persevered and delivered all the PPEs to all the institutions.
PPE Handover to the institutions
With the handover of all the PPEs, the project “Building Safe Engineering Designs and Practices for Nepal” reached a satisfactory conclusion. One of the highlights of the project was the positive feedback we received from all the stakeholders, and their willingness and commitment towards practicing safety in their institutions. They were also very keen to further collaborate with FabLab Nepal, Impact Hub Kathmandu on future projects.