The Devil is in the Detail.
Throughout the term staff and students have been working hard to meet the challenges of working safely in our technical areas during Covid 19. Making spaces and procedures Covid secure was a huge task and we quickly realised the enormous level of detail it involved. Since the initial changes made to our studios and technical areas to make them safe and workable, we have been constantly reviewing our procedures to make any improvements that are needed.
Our workshop was demarcated to allow each student to work in their own socially distanced workstation. Each bench has a cleaning station and a tool collection tray to prevent cross contamination through handling shared tools. We have over 30 cleaning stations in the school’s teaching spaces, the most important of which gives further protection to the personal protective equipment. We have yet to find a solution to the challenge of steamed up safety goggles when wearing a mask.
To provide adequately ventilated and accessible photographic facilities one of our teaching rooms was fitted out with backdrops to allow our Integrated Foundation Year students to safely photograph themselves modelling their wearable devices. To prevent crowding in our large format scanning areas two extra photo booths were set up for students to digitise their work.
An additional making space next to the workshop allows students to complete their textiles work and have access to close at hand (but still 2m away) support from technical staff. Even our mannequins are maintaining appropriate social distancing and wearing face coverings if they have a face to cover.