Reflections from Josep’s and Mikel’s talk
Last week we had a chance to talk with Mikel Llobera, Barcelona Fablab Manager, and Josep Marti, Fabalab Assistant Manager. We had a chance to delve into the daily workings of a Fablab that is large enough to support various making activities and diverse enough to facilitate making as well as training and other functions.
The guys touched upon several issues of how scheduling is done, how people are onboarded, how safety is handled and we managed to pick up several pointers that will help us with the makerspace we are preparing in Thessaloniki. More importantly though they provided insights into how a Fablab is supported in the long run in terms of parts, accessories, minor details that have to do with fumes from various processes, what to do with waste and how to make sure the lab does not end up as a junkyard, safety equipment and rule setting…all of which are not straight forward when dealing with an EU project as seldomly the long haul is taken into account.
Extending our mindset
Luckily for us working with OK!Thess incubator for the past three years has taught us how manage numbers, how to schedule right, account for unforseen circumstances, organise timeslots for the open working areas and the meeting rooms etc…
So that’s all fine, but walking into a makerspace working environment will require some adjustments. Some have been anticipated during the architectural design of the space, repurposing certain areas of OK!Thess premises and fireproofing them, include noise cancellation installations, air circulation and air-conditioning and so on.
What was eye opening though was supporting the space over the coming years, which led us to revisit our budget and make provisions for parts, maintenance and materials. Safety is another issue we are thinking through, which we divide into two categories:
- Training on the machinery installed
- Daily working with the machinery and equipment
The first is split into two subcategories in our minds and these are (a) training of makers during each of the three onboarding cohorts we are preparing on a yearly basis and (b) making sure that there is a “buddy system” for newcomers, i.e. pairing the less experienced with experienced makers for a predefined onboarding period. The first case falls under a structured onboarding process which will include among others proper training on the use of the machinery and equipment coupled with practical examples. This way we will make sure that a significant number of people will gain sufficient knowledge and expertise allowing for semi unsupervised use of the Fablab facilities. The second case allows us to deal with people reaching out to us during off cohort times, where an official onboarding process is not readily available. Pairing them with more experienced makers under a quick onboarding scenario and supervised making during their initial steps will help us create an open community and makerspace able to support new makers all year round.
Finally, as mentioned above, we need to address budget splits to make sure that the makerspace will remain operational, until a viable business model is applied that can help us support the activity during but most importantly after the project is over. For that we need to check out how other makerspaces do it as well, think though how and which pricing policy can be appplied, that does not prohibit participation, but on the other hand can help us maintain and even expand our offering to the community.
That’s all for now…loads to be done I guess so we need to be smart about it.
Catch you later gang!