SSDC Leads 2024-09-25

Owned by Evan McCarthy
Last updated: Nov 06, 2024
5 min read

Agenda:

  1. Introductions

  2. Term contact information - google sheets update

    1. Form emailed out, needs to get filled out for safety camptain/etc (we’ve done this)

  3. Finance Update - Sarah

    1. WEEF Balances spreadsheet updated

      1. Now can see total balance by term

    2. Requirement for 3 supplier quotes upped (5k → 10k+). Basically no longer needed for most teams

    3. Reimbursements must now be <1 year old to be valid. Absolutely no reimbursing anything over 1 year old.

  4. Facilities update

    1. Borrowing items (tents, etc.) -Graeme

      1. Everything must be returned promptly, give to Graeme or drop outside 2007

      2. Same with vehicle keys, back in student shop ASASP. Make sure to refill vehicles (our bad)

    2. No personal vehicles in the SDC. Don’t do that. Vehicles will be towed out.

    3. No bicycles in the SDC. Not allowed in any university building. We don’t really care, but don’t do it.

    4. SDC Floor Cleaning - No tape/anything left on the SDC floor

      1. Graeme working to clean, has been a pain

      2. You can tape, but must remove within 1 week.

      3. Cleaning floor will done by plant ops, in the future costs will be charged to teams.

    5. SDC Security

      1. Questionable people walking through, keep bay doors locked

      2. Items have gone missing, unless there is someone actively in the bay, doors locked

      3. Call campus police for anything suspicious

    6. Paint/composites room ventilation

      1. Fan should always be on at low speed

      2. In paint room only, switch has changed. Now physical switch, hold for 3 seconds to activate high speed mode for painting.

    7. SDC Common Spaces

      1. Anyone using common SDC Spaces reach out to Graeme

      2. Starting later this term/next term, everyone must. But start early.

      3. Talk to individuals using them, not team leads. Email coming this term

    8. Pressure from deans office for charging for waterjet cutting in ESMS ($3-4k for waterjet consumables/term)

      1. In the future, $0.30/min for waterjet cutting

      2. Will not make sense to cut larger than 1/4 in, send to E3.

      3. Expensive, only for small jobs and short timeframes. Competitive for thin materials.

      4. Meant to be used as supplement for other SDC tools, not standalone cutting service

  5. Team meetings

    1. Review of goal, progress, accomplishments

      1. Peter wants to meet with every team about how SDC can support them better

      2. More targeted to less visible teams, prob not us. Emails coming next week

      3. Go over future plans, additional support requirements, etc.

      4. SDC Moving stuff around, opening additional space. Want to know how best to meet needs.

  6. Faculty advisor discussion

    1. Many teams emailing Peter about faculty advisor in the last few days

    2. Advantages (from team questions)

      1. “memory” of team, passing things down

      2. technical advice

      3. accessing resources within university outside SDC

    3. From peter:

      1. Waterloo is very different form other universities

        1. Have people working for SDC, Sarah, Graeme, Peter. This covers most of what faculty advisors do

        2. What we don’t do - Technical advice

      2. Peter talked to two faculty who were asked from teams

        1. Both after thinking about it a lot said no

          1. Lack of time, setting the bar too high with a lot of works

        2. Peter’s advice: don’t call it faculty advisor. Only technical advisor.

          1. No meetings. No competition. Unless you (faculty) wants to. Use as technical resource, or access to lab equipment/other facilities.

        3. One had already committed to 3 teams, 4 is too many

      3. From peter’s presentation to Eng faculty about growth of SDC

        1. Question from dean about how faculty can work with teams for faculty advice

        2. Dean can work to incentivize faculty to get involved with SDC, on technical basis. Dean is interested and potentially motivated.

    4. SDC Does not keep track of advisors, no signing authority, no booking rooms etc. Only technical advice.

    5. Peter is the ONLY one to sign documents for teams, do not do that via faculty advisor.

    6. Q from electrium: How to get technical advisor

      1. Ask profs who love teaching, poll members who have great profs. Start there

      2. If they say no, get them to recommend you someone else. Capstone advisors also potential

    7. Manufacturing advice

      1. Brian from E3, Graeme, machinists in ESMS happy to offer advice and manufacturing consulations

      2. GIVE THE BIG PICTURE. Don’t feed them tiny bits of a design

      3. Please do this, it will help you. Brian has setup to open CAD, email him and go there to walk through it

      4. Especially for composites

  7. Vehicles

    1. Adding new drivers/updating drivers list

      1. SDC has 5 vehicles, use them.

    2. Commercial vehicle training course

      1. SDC has trailers too, use them.

      2. Peter doing commercial vehicle training in a few weeks, email coming soon (we do not need)

  8. CSA certification of electrical equipment

    1. Reminder: When purchasing, it must be CSA certified if you want to use on campus. Must have certification mark on it.

    2. Peter will do CSA inspection, minimum cost $500 for certification.

    3. Battery powered stuff doesn’t have to be CSA approved

      1. Battery → inverter sketch, don’t do that “ehhhh” from peter

    4. CSA doesn’t matter for generator power

    5. If you replace power supply, and anything downstream is LV, you’re good!

    6. All under responsibility of safety office, you can ask them, but maybe don’t try to bring more attention to it

  9. Bay inspections

    1. Happening once a term - usually week or two after midterms

      1. Every safety captain must inspect another teams bay, pair up at beginning and end of each term

    2. Special scrutiny for CSA approval this term

  10. Toyota sponsorship for student teams

    1. Toyota was being contacted by 20-30 teams for funding, don’t do that anymore

    2. Every year, look at team list, decide who to fund this year.

      1. Last year, two teams got funding (us and FE)

    3. Peter sending out ty letters now, Toyota will decide what teams to fund from list

    4. DO NOT CONTACT TOYOTA FOR FUNDING UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES

  11. LEARN courses before entering SDC bays

    1. Safety manual no longer exists

    2. Is this required for members to do?

    3. Answer: Everything fell apart during COVID, didn’t come back together

      1. Not currently a requirement to complete LEARN courses

      2. Peter & Graeme thinking you should do ESMS course, should definitely do, not technically required but very very very much recommended.

    4. Preliminary discussion will happen this term at safety meetings

    5. (strongly) recommend creating your own safety training for your own space

    6. Expect update at next meeting after midterms, Peter will update

  12. WATCloud

    1. Watonomous has a server cluster, WATCloud

    2. cloud.watonomous.ca, and wiki.watonomous.ca.

    3. Can get compute for free from them (not long running stuff, for short term compute workloads)

  13. Misc

    1. Photos for report to Giving Tuesday donors

      1. Giving Tuesday funds last November, distributed funds

      2. Get comp photos (3-4), send to Peter

      3. Will be sent to donors, do ASAP, hopefully get more funding in the future

    2. Extra meeting spaces

      1. New meeting room in CPH, a little cramped but its another room we have.

      2. Deans board room (about E7 2004 sized) also available

  14. Stuff for sale

    1. Selling thigs is totally allowed, not in inventory

    2. Must be sold as individual

    3. Can go through asset disposal to get official receipt from University, contact Peter about this