2023-06-07 Transcript

Aaron Jackson

8:38 PM

Roll Call

Jason A, James, Sacha, Malcolm, Karen, Kevin, Douglas, Andrew, Aaron, Gareth, Maq, Steve B, Sam, Bob Wood, Ian Turner, Emily Roe, Tim Partridge, Gerda L, (later) Betty, Chris Reddish, Andrew W, Roger.

Meeting Start 20:04

Announcements / Events -

Election has been completed. Aaron is new trustee. Returning Betty and Josh Kelly.

Hack the space day on Sunday this week. Comfy area, piano to go endup in the lift,

One shot wonders tomorrow evening, continuation of game. Another session on the 15th - adventure run by Steve. #one-shot-wonders on slack.

Laser workshop - details on slack, will be emailed out soon, open to all members. Showing off some laser stuff :red_circle:

Migration to Discord -

Slack has been used for many years.

Message history / retention on free tier - would cost too much for 700+ people to have access to Slack. Previously 10k or so messages, now capped at 3 months (or the other way around?)

Options discussed -> Discord.

Planning to migrate over to this. Already setup. We have some integration with HMS. Public invitation coming soon.

Any problems with discord? Let us know as soon as possible.

Andrew screenshare to show Discord.

Add username to HMS, little more secure, more private, citing GDPR etc. Similar channel setup to Slack. Some will change over time. Basic for now.

Instructions on wiki /Discord

Where is it hosted? By Discord. Looked at alternatives, more effort, likely not worth it.

Android 8.0 will not support Slack from October 23.

Figuring out migration day in a few months assuming no problems from testing period.

Gareth: Some concerns about Discord due to new platform? Would it be worth inviting people to come along for a bit of a demo, e.g. hack the space day. Might be helpful! Let's go for next hack the space day for a demo.

Andrew: Excellent idea!

PAT Testing -

We do not have a PAT tester - i.e. a person who can do this.

We have a PAT testing machine which will get calibrated.

Is anyone willing to learn how to do this and do some PAT testing. Will send an email asking.

Tim P: How easy is it to learn the skill?

Andrew: there's a manual which we will buy

James: Did it in a previous role. Quick online training available for this. Tedious but not hard. James might be happy to help.

Andrew: Will have people to help

Douglas: Did we mention gradual, one room per hack the space?

Andrew: No no it won't be all in one go

Andrew: Won't work on 3 phase stuff - in response to various questions - just single phase 3 prong plugs.

Andrew: Definition something we should be doing for more permanent tools.

Tool Usage -

Andrew: sigh

Douglas grabbing Chris.

Andrew: Background - Why are we raising this? Some people might be unaware that some tools require induction.

Chris Reddish, Roger P, et al join.

Andrew: Tools may get broken. Some might cause fires, e.g. table saw. Some are just more dangerous to use.

3D printers are a bit mismatched.

We need to follow this this policy.

Some tools have been show when the person hasn't been inducted

Sach asks if this is to do with metal lathe.

Andrew: yes but also -

Andrew: lists a bunch of tools.

They are on HMS. They do not have card readers yet, all of them. They will do.

Trustees are directly responsible for the health and safety of the members.

We must vet peoples competency at using tools.

Andrew: Reminds us that there was a fire last year.

Taking this very seriously. Andrew to send this out in an email. Breaking these rules is serious - top rule 0 do not be on fire.

Table saw is a 10 minute induction. laser is easy to book. Metalwork at college. 3D printing is being worked on.

So that's the background. Opportunity to discuss the induction process.

Raising the question - are there any others which should be induction based? Are people unhappy with the induction process? Are there areas we can improve? Is the availability in ok? Please give us feedback. Any hands up for comments or questions?

Roger: new member - first night. no workshop, moved out of home. Where is the fire extinguisher in this room? Needs to be more obvious.

Andrew: yes

Andrew: We have been getting the main fire stuff up - bit behind on fire stuff / signage etc.

Malcolm: It is in hand.

Andrew: We have refreshed extinguishers since the fire.

Tim: Hackspace is a very busy environment. Weird kit.

Douglas: I do think in terms of signing, speaking of induction tools, hack the space day could be an opportunity to make it even more clear.

Malcolm: We were talking induction. Inductions?!?! It's not a training course. It's just taking you through the safety. Some need a college course before you use the gear. Like the table saw, only introduced because of a major fire.

Andrew: Lucky the fire brigade got here.

Malcolm: It could have been so much worse.

Roger: It's not only equipment, but if you do see a fire, what do you do?!

Andrew: We can't have alarms inside units. Number of things around that which are hard to inform mebers of.

Andrew: Quarterly new member inductions - where the important stuff is - fire stuff, induction tools

Aaron: it's a good idea

Andrew: Would it be beneficial to see if certain areas could benefit from a training day, rather than a formal induction. Shown how to use it.

Malcolm: It is literally - if i'm in here and people are using it - there's discussion.

Andrew: Given some teams don't have as many members as others, we may need to seek out more members. e.g. for a woodworking session. Not everyone has enough time to do a 2-3 hour workshop for a few people.

Ian T: I think it's a good idea.

Tim P: Could also call it a safety reminder for new people.

Andrew: Maybe make it ticketed / paid for workshop. 50/50 split. It does take a lot of effort and time. We will send an email out to teams. Not super long workshops, but somethings might involve more, e.g. 3d printing. We will take that away and discuss. Please send ideas and feedback etc. Put it on eventbrite etc.

James: Run it as a Q&A session?

Andrew: Yes that's an idea, depends on the tool.

James: I wonder if there is some value in teams having a think about - there are induction tools, basic stuff e.g. handtools, very simple. Somewhere in the middle, if you know what you're doing - otherwise it's more about damaging the machine.

Aaron: e.g. CNC?

people: yes

James: Otherwise you mess it up for the next person.

Andrew: Not sure of the answer but it does need to be raised.

James: As a first step, ask teams to categorise. Somethings are fine.

Aaron: Sort of came up in hustings - optional inductions

Jason: Some people are nervous about touching things like oscilloscope. Only took a few minutes to get comfortable.

Andrew W joins.

Jason: Might do quick training videos.

Andrew: Used to have some of those. Also things like induction reminders.

Andrew: Happy to run workshops, paid or free. Any other comments?

Tim P: Do we have somewhere to deal with solvents?

Andrew: Sort of - we have solvents cabinet. Laws about solvents are a bit odd. People don't know the limitations of what they should be storing or how to store it. Maybe get some information up about this.

Tim P: Stuff we shouldn't get on yourself - e.g. 3d printer resin can be tricky

Betty has joined!

Betty: it's written on the bottle.

Steve: Water washable resin / plant based resin / less toxic.

Custom response

Slackbot

8:38 PM

Do not be on fire: http://rules.nottinghack.org.uk/en/latest/do-not-be-on-fire.html

Aaron Jackson

8:41 PM

Steve: There is a sink in the blue room - useful for 3d printing. The sink works.

Betty: I think what happens - PPE is available. On top of that, we have first aid kits located net to sinks.

Steve: Zero tolerance policy on using resin printer without PPE.

Betty: Yes

Andrew: Good to raise, we do need to get some signage up. Solvents cabinet not well labelled / singed. Need something downstairs.

Betty: Metal cabinet for downstairs for anything flammable.

Douglas: I suppose if there's any doubt about what you bring in, ask trustees

Andrew: Or ask on Slack.

Douglas: Same with disposing of stuff.

Andrew W: Take it home! Do not leave it here. Sooner or later we will have to get rid of it, and we will have to pay for that.

Andrew A: Anything else on tools inductions etc?

Actions and minutes from last meeting -

Andrew: Not much from last week.

white_check_mark: gone over inductions

white_check_mark: toilet code on hms

white_check_mark: projector sorted

Woop!

8:41

Team updates -

Open nights.

Andrew Armstrong

8:47 PM

Aaron raising:

Open Nights ended last year

Want to bring it back

Difficulties around how we do it

Public will be using tools so generally a Trustee would be in attendance

Suggestion:

Monthly suggested

6-10PM or 8-10PM

This involves the membership team because some of the Membership Team are Trustees - please join if you can!

Benefit to seeking funding since we're open to the public without a membership fee

Aaron Jackson

8:47 PM

Andrew: Open nights nice - have the opportunity to talk to other members and trustees etc.

Lots of people in tonight, people in for the meeting,

Having teams advertise that they will be there to show tools etc.

Work on things, talk to people, socialise, etc.

Members meeting is a bit boring.

People nodding. Let's do something like that.

Aaron Jackson

8:56 PM

Malcolm: interrupted

Betty: With membership team, it is important we have new members helping. Important to keep tours out. Heavy burder. One tour a few months is enough.

Steve: It's about propagating the culture of the space to new members.

Andrew W: Remind me what the problems are

Andrew A: Trustee availability. Josh remote. Betty unavailable. Steve and me [Andrew] are very busy

AW: Why do we need a trustee?

AA: Not sure - can see where they are coming from. Nice to have a fallback to kick someone out etc.

Ian: Does your insurance cover this?

AA: Insurance should be last resort

Tim P: Insurance pretty vague. It's on the wiki if you want to read it.

AA: it's not mandatory to have a trustee but it would require a trusted member.

Andrew W: Not necessarily suggesting, but would the trustees delegate this role to people? Hard enough getting volunteers, it becomes a requirement / obligation when you start advertising it.

Andrew A: Maybe advertise it, and see

Steve: Downstairs?

Aaron: bring a soldering iron upstairs

Andrew: and no metalworking tools.

Andrew W: Made it a nice thing on a Wednesday evening. Maybe just invite members to come on a Wednesday evening to be around during the tour.

Betty: Hence why during summer time, I can run workshops during wednesday evening.

Andrew A: Encourage people to do that.

hands up on zoom.

Ian T: Can people use any tools on an open night?

Andrew: No - no induction tools, nothing heavy duty, nothing that takes a long time.

Ian T: Supports an open night for tours. I'll be outside if people can use tools.

Andrew A: Didn't really restart it after covid. Just a tour pretty much. Limited people in the space on tours.

Ali Maq: Had a thought. If open nights are starting again, would it be worth having a visitor book? Gives an idea of who is here, gets email address to join tour etc.

Andrew A: Good idea but not always sure who is a member or not.

Ali: If it was all done electronically it could be linked to label printer to print "Do not hack! visitor!" :rolling_on_the_floor_laughing:

Aaron Jackson

9:04 PM

Betty: Important to have someone to cover for the fire. Other than the door lock we don't really know who is in the building. Do remember if we take any details - GDPR.

Andrew A: We will look into it, it would be nice to have it on a tablet. A piece of paper? Maybe :page_with_curl:

Betty: Chipping in a bit more about background. very socialiable night. Lots more members working on projects. Member asks "how do i do this" and a member might be able to be able to help. Don't usually go on to using big tools. They don't have tools at home etc, just nice to come in and do a bit of DIY. Most of the time they end up becoming a member :slightly_smiling_face:. It was a lot busier, I must admint.

Andrew A: If people come to use a tour, sign them up for a tour. Try to avoid membership team doing multiple tours per night.

Roger: As a newcomer -- I have a few years of life behind me. Hackspace sounds quite technical in computer terms. If it was more like "Your local friendly workshop" it might explain to people what we are.

Malcolm: I thought this but came back to hackspace. Makers and hackers. Once you get away from that, it doesn't work.

Roger: For someone looking to join the space, it can be a bit difficult to find. They might not see that "hackspace" tells them what is available.

Andrew A: Difficult to sum up in a word. As malcolm said, it comes back to those to names : hackspace. makerspace.

Steve B: the term hack refers to cobbling things together.

Tim P: Maybe the website needs more phrases which people search for, e.g. "embroidery group" - "I don't know"

Andrew A: If anyone is willing to help write better information, please let us know. Feel free to volunteer. The name isn't going to change.

Malcolm: Came into the space very early days. Five people there - german, italian, etc. They came because they recognised HACKSPACE. H A C K S P A C E.

Roger: Living out of town, it's only because a member mentioned it to me.

Malcolm: was looking for local woodworking stuff. It amazed me coming in, all these people - international recognition. People go looking for hackspaces.

Andrew A: Let's move on. :slightly_smiling_face:

Aaron Jackson

9:09 PM

Electronics -

Jason: Pledge drive - there's a wiki page - we have a signal generator in electronics. Our current one is from 1975. It's quite old - more recently when you change amplitude it puts out max voltage and destroys things. Not ideal. There are other issues described on the wiki page. You can even rent our current one out as a film prop. £220 now. New one is just about £400.

Sach: How do you donate?

Andrew A: You edit the page on the wiki to say how much you are going to pay. Then we collect pledges, bank transfer is easiest.

Jason: It might be worth explaining how pledge drives work.

Andrew A: Yes good idea.

Steve B: If you let someone know, someone in the team can edit the page on your behalf.

Link to pledge: https://wiki.nottinghack.org.uk/wiki/Waveform_Generator_Pledge

James: Pledge drives are brilliant and one of my favourite things about the hackspace.

Andrew A: If unsure just ask team or trustees.

9:12

Call for update from teams? -

James: Just to re-iterate that the bike area is waiting for a new floor.

Betty: Everything is running in the craft area. Inductions on embroidery are going ahead.

Bob: Nothing from woodwork.

Douglas: Will be in on Saturday playing with the CNC, like the laser surgery. If anyone wants to see how the machine works.

Andrew A: Don't have any other teams with updates. Metalworking --- Douglas and myself (Andrew) have been looking at quotes for replacing the floor. Quote under review, hopefully action this soon. We will decide if we want to go through this depending on what kind of floor quality we want. Hopefully bizspace can repair the damaged bits. That's positive. What this space. No use of the bike area while this is being done. This will be an outside company. Plan for metalworking is sort out electrics and then move kit down.

9:16

Financial update -

Andrew is sharing his screen....

Andrew: Not had updates for a few months. We've had March, April and May submitted from treasurer. This is all on the wiki so you can take a look. Nothing too interesting. Double payment for cleaning in March. February shocking :zap: energy bill. Main takeaway - we need to do something about space headers. 3kW heaters are insanely expensive to use - we pay 45p/kWh. One hour is £1.50 :anguished:

Andrew: For awareness, for next year, card reader heaters - heating on shackspace. We cannot afford thousands of pounds for space heaters being abused. Sorry we have to pick that out. Hopefully electricity prices will fall soon and it's getting warmer. :chart_with_downwards_trend:

Andrew: April is pretty standard. Going through some graphs in a min.

Andrew: Nothing that exciting. Expenses from workshops and events. We get money in from Eventbrite and then have to pay for some outgoings etc. Money in one month, back out the next. or the other way around... Oddities around that.

Andrew: May, last month. Nothing exciting. A lot of income from Eventbrite which will be offset from other spends for running those.

Douglas: Income is good :slightly_smiling_face:

9:19

Andrew: Membership fees are pretty much around the same level each month. Some months shorter than others which explains the slight variance. April must have been a bad month because of the bank holidays. On average it's about £5000/mo. Expenditure varies quite a bit - mischarge from the council - went out one month and put back in. Jan feb march over £5k expenditure. Our costs are going up. Need to get more workshops going, working on minimum of £5/mo membership. More of a tax thing. Really want £15/mo from people who are regularly using the space. We will do a review of that and put some figures out.

9:21

Andrew: Some of our bank balance will be used for metalworking area. Hovering around 30k. Pending potential VAT charge for probably £5k or so. Might not be charged a fine. Reserving some money for that. We need to keep about £15k in the bank account for 3 months of rent. Our income isn't making up for expenditure since our last grant(s).

Andrew: Any questions on finances? Nope - i must be amazing then :blush:

9:21

Any other business?

Nothing on the agenda.

9:21

Meeting closed 21:21