Help! University Darkroom Rules??

We've not got a cage or anything like that for darkroom equipment; everything is in the enlarging stations, and we've not had much in the way of theft or vandalism, though all of the metal developing can lids vanished one time. We are too late for a lab aide position for this semester, the safety committee had discussed one, but it was for 7 hours a week- pretty much a waste of time for getting much work done.
 
Beemermark said:
My mom lived alone until her 90's. She had a little necklace she wore that she could push a button and summon 911 if anything happened (like a fall). I can't remember how much it cost but it wasn't much. Maybe you could buy one for the darkroom for anyone using it alone.
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I don't doubt that a life like hers (and my 103 year old grandfather) could soon be outlawed. What if something happened?

We are getting a phone installed in the darkroom, hopefully this can ease the difficulty- and serve the same purpose.
 
All the above from the time I worked at ICP uptown.

Loved every minute of it!

If you have any more questions contact: Fernando Afable or Farley Andrews at ICP (Darkroom ext.) They run the best and smoothest college/lab in NYC.
 
sepiareverb said:
Well when spilled by the trayful at least:D
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And I take it that the floors are tiled, not like the carpet in the home bathroom? :D :D

Anyway, better than fixer, even it fixer is less slippery. Imagine all the undeveloped silver being sucked out of a person's body while they were lying there. :D
 
Vinyl sheet flooring. Floor mats are coming in also. I wish I could do something stupid and make a mint.

Where is Roger? He'll have a good take on this I bet.
 
memphis said:
some of those thick rubber, gridded floormats might be in order as well

my brother had a teenager who was shaking a vending machine to get free cokes knock over a tv -- the tv fell and broke dude's arm -- dude sued...

a lot of opportunists in the world
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Which reminds me of something a friend once told me. That you were more likely to be killed by a vending machine than winning the lottery. At first I didn't see how it was possible.. but now I know.
 
oftheherd said:
Anyway, better than fixer, even it fixer is less slippery. Imagine all the undeveloped silver being sucked out of a person's body while they were lying there. :D
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Once when I was mixing up fresh chemicals, I lost my grip on a 5 gal tank of fixer. (slippery!) and dumped the whole thing on the darkroom floor. The puddle was at least 1/4" deep... I managed to steal the janitor's mop and clean it all up without any major side effects, except for the fixer stains on my boots.

And the smell lingered for weeks!
 
No more help? Beer stories are all well and good, but sorry if my request to keep this on-topic was a thread killer. I'm trying to keep my darkroom going here!
 
I don't think your request was a thread killer. I think it is just that most things that would help have already been said. I hope you are able to do something to get as much use as possible back for your darkroom. I used to enjoy darkroom work a lot. I wasn't that good, but it was fun trying. A shame if people who enjoy that are restricted.
 
1) Students are not allowed to: Turn on white lights, mix/replace printing chemicals, adjust water temperature, change enlarger bulbs, enter the darkroom cage/office, ...

2) Students must notify staff of any spills, and leave the darkroom - until staff considers it safe to return.

3) Cage/office must remain open durind open printing/classes.

4) Chemical masks, first aid kit, and fire extinguishers - should be available to staff/TAs.

5) Rubber gloves, darkroom aprons, and safety glasses - should be available to students who request them or are selenium toning.

6) Any SMALL color processing machine leak, fumes, should be temp. covered with gaffer´s tape.

7) All emergency exit routes, should be free of obstacles and any hazards that can impede an orderly safe exit.
 
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One thing to consider about a student employee, if they are there late on their own, there's a potential liability there as well. Student employees are not much different than just plain students, so having one on site doesn't do much to limit liability if it's the employee that hurts them self. So then you need two employees, and a supervisor etc etc etc. It quickly gets complicated .

I've got a lot of experience running 24 hour computer labs on a large university campus. It's not quite the same as a darkroom, but a lot of the same concerns apply. Feel free to pm me.
 
The sensible way to address this issue is not by introducing a buddy system or limiting hours but by installing non-slip floors, adequate cleaning equipment and training. That's what I've done in all the educational darkrooms I've run.

Marty
 
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