New Tracking System Enhances Safety in UT Workshops
The safety of students and faculty is a top priority at the University of Tennessee. Whether it’s operating a jointer in a woodshop, handling a band saw in a metal shop, or using a laser cutter in a maker space, protecting the well-being of everyone involved is essential.
The university is implementing a new system that greatly enhances safety while also providing valuable tracking data. GRIT Automation is a wireless platform for workshops that helps ensure tools don’t fall into the wrong hands or machines aren’t operated by individuals without the proper level of training.
GRIT provides an access control system that can be installed in shops across campus. The Min H. & Yu Fan Kao Innovation & Collaboration Studio is the first location at UT to have the system implemented. GRIT Automation owner Joel Danowitz provided an in-person demonstration of the system to UT faculty and staff on January 30 in the Kao ICS.
Using their VolCard as a log-in at a kiosk, students and faculty can gain access to facilities, tools, and machines. Their level of training is associated with their VolCard credentials, meaning they can’t operate machines or tools they are not trained to use.
“Some of these tools are dangerous, and we want to make them as safe as possible to use,” Danowtiz said. “We’re not trying to solve where nothing bad can happen. We’re trying to solve the silly, not-thinking-about-it mistakes. This system provides one extra level of safety to achieve that.”
Justin Forbes, the IT manager for the Tickle College of Engineering, has been working with GRIT Automation and the UT VolCard Office to get access control set up for Kao ICS space. Using the VolCard database ensures all UT faculty, staff, and students are able to use their VolCard to authenticate in GRIT.
“Before the implementation of GRIT, the only way to control access to equipment was by controlling physical access to the Kao ICS space at the nerve center,” Forbes said. “The Kao ICS space has lots of people coming and going for reasons outside of using equipment, thus controlling physical access to the space is not a reasonable way to control equipment access.”
Tracking Valuable Data
GRIT can track all activity in a shop, including every user and the usage of each tool or machine. Shop managers can splice the information in multiple ways. For instance, they can track student usage by grade, major, or gender to help grow a certain sector of the population trained to use a tool.
GRIT can program access times for every tool or machine, streamline the check-in and check-out process, and keep a log of when maintenance is required.
“The GRIT system captures important usage statistics. If we find a machine is getting a tremendous amount of use, then we have the data we need to justify buying an additional machine to smooth out demand,” said Keith Stanfill, the director of integrated engineering design. “The usage data can also help identify users who may be frequently breaking consumable tooling such as milling bits, welding nozzles, and saw blades—triggering the KICS staff to intervene and re-train the users.”
GRIT has performed 200 installations across the country, including 20 shops on college campuses. Given the immense expense of some of the machines, the system can save shops thousands of dollars in repair costs that could be required if an untrained individual tries to operate them.
The benefits of the system extend to providing peace of mind to shop managers trying to help students expand their engineering abilities and enhance their creative insight.
“These managers may have 20 kids in a classroom, and they’re trying to keep their eye on people that have different levels of skill. The stress level of not knowing who they have to focus on is tough,” Danowitz said. “With GRIT, that stress level comes down because they know who can be trusted and who has been trained. It allows them to spend more time teaching instead of looking over everyone’s shoulder.”
Contact
Rhiannon Potkey (865-974-0683, [email protected])