IDMI Operation and Safety SOP for Phase II

General Guidelines
  1. Anyone experiencing cold/flu symptoms or coming in contact with a sick person must not come to the IDMI facilities, must inform their PI, and must self-quarantine at home for at least 14 days.
  2. Only users with a current equipment reservation that requires in-person use of equipment (equipment, sample preparation equipment, computer workstations) are allowed to enter the IDMI facilities. All other people (PIs, colleagues, observers, visitors, etc.) are prohibited from entering the IDMI facilities until further notice.
  3. All people must wear a clean face covering and gloves and remain at least 6 feet apart at all times in the IDMI facilities.
  4. Occupancy limits of all rooms have been determined by IDMI and room occupancy limits are posted on the door(s) of each room. Before moving between rooms, people must verify aurally and visually that room occupancy limits are not violated. Check and be sure that you can enter the room and maintain occupancy limits. Otherwise, do not enter the room.
  5. Volunteers, visitors, undergraduate students are not allowed in the IDMI facilities until further notice.
  6. One-on-one discussions should occur virtually, except when truly necessary to conducting research or maintaining lab safety.
  7. Personal safety also needs to be considered at this time, especially when working in the lab alone. Hazardous procedures should not be carried out when working alone. A Working Alone Reference Guide is available from EH&S.
  8. Research that generates large volumes of hazardous waste and/or necessarily involves chemical, biological, radiation or other hazards is prohibited without prior approval from IDMI staff.
IDMI users SOP

In addition to the general guidelines listed above, IDMI users must observe the following rules in order to use the IDMI facilities during Phase II:

  1. Each user must fill out this online form (https://forms.gle/dkxPRU6ZeXe6GQdf8) prior to gaining access to the facilities.
  2. Users must ensure that their PI has sent an email to idmi@uci.edu with the following text:

Dear IDMI staff,
As a P.I., I certify that my Phase II group research plan has been approved by my School’s Dean (list name of school) and I authorize my group members (list full names of all IDMI users in the group) to resume use of the IDMI facilities. My group members understand and agree to follow IDMI’s Phase II Users SOP.
Thank you,
Name of P.I.

3. Previously trained users of machine or equipment must email idmi@uci.edu to request a reservation.

Users must follow special safety rules during Phase II:

a.  Only users with a current equipment reservation that requires in-person use of equipment (equipment, sample preparation equipment, computer workstations) are allowed to enter the IDMI facilities. Walk-in users without reservations are not allowed. Co-workers, guests, visitors, and other people not essential to operating the equipment(s) are not allowed.

b.  There is no equipment training during Phase II. Only existing users may use the IDMI facilities.

c.  Mail-in designs are a good alternative for all users (especially outside users) who want to get work done by IDMI staff for service or collaboration projects.  Please email requests to idmi@uci.edu with technical drawings and any special requests. The IDMI staff will quote you for the service and, upon acceptance, will produce the part and notify the user when the part is ready for pick-up in a box in the IDMI suite.

d.  Users who have symptoms of sickness, have a fever, or were exposed to a person with COVID-19 must not enter the IDMI facilities, must inform their PI and EH&S according to UCI regulations, and must self-quarantine at home for at least 14 days.

e.  Users must wear a clean face covering at all times in and around the facilities. Appropriate face coverings may be available to academic users from their PIs, Schools, or EH&S. The IDMI facilities will not provide face coverings to users. Users without face coverings will not be allowed inside the facilities.

f.  Immediately prior to entering the facilities, users must wash their hands with soap for 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer. There are restrooms near each facility. Hand sanitizer stations are also available at each building entrance. After washing hands, users should not touch the door handles with bare hands (use paper tissues or your arm instead; paper tissue can be disposed in trash bins located near the door inside each lab).

g.  Users must wear clean gloves at all times in the facilities. Gloves will be available at each facility entrance. Please put the gloves on immediately after you enter an IDMI facility. Do not use your bare hand to touch anything in the labs! Normal lab gloves cannot be used to handle chemicals. Do not use contaminated gloves to touch door handles, keyboards and other frequently used areas.

h.  Users must maintain a 6-foot distance with staff and other users. Please follow staff instruction if needed to maintain distance.

i.  Users must obey room maximum occupancy limits that are posted on the door(s) of each room in each facility. Before moving between rooms, users must verify aurally and visually that room occupancy limit will not be violated and if necessary wait until occupancy limit can be maintained before proceeding into the room. To prevent traffic jams, users should end their session, clean up and leave the room at least 5 minutes before their scheduled end time. Similarly, users should begin their session ~5 minutes after their scheduled start time to ensure that the previous user has left.

j.  Users must have their cell phone with them at all times. Emergency contacts are posted in each facility near the entrance. Please check and keep a copy of the emergency contacts before using the equipment.

k.  As always, no food or drinks are allowed in the facilities.

l.  If an experiment requires two people to come within 6 feet of each other for a short period of time, users must submit a plan and receive approval in advance. Special PPE must be prepared in advance.

m.  To maintain physical distancing, each facility room has a posted occupancy limit, as follows:

  • ET 137 Machine Shop – max users: 5
  • ET137A Grinding – max user: 1
  • ET 136 Machine Shop Storage – max user: 1
  • ET 141 Weldshop – max user: 1
  • ET424 Saratech – max user: 1
  • ET 425 SLM – max user: 1
  • ET 436 Class Lab – max users: 3
  • ET 437b Shopsabre – max user: 1
  • ET 449 Stratasys – max user: 1
  • ET 449a Objet – max user: 1
  • ET 449b Dimension – max user: 1
  • ET 449c Fortus – max user: 1
  • ET 449d Connex – max user: 1
  • ET 449e Trotec – max user: 1
  • Calit2 2302 FABWorks – max users: 3

These occupancy limits should be self-enforced by users (e.g., by checking the occupancy of each room before entering it and, if full, waiting to enter). The occupancy limits will also be enforced by IDMI staff. Users in violation of these limits may have their usage privileges revoked.

IDMI staff SOP
  1. IDMI’s top priority is your health and safety. Staff should work on campus whenever possible, but there is no pressure to work in any situation in which you feel that your health and safety are at risk.
  2. Staff who have symptoms of sickness or were exposed to a person with COVID-19 should report it and stay at home.
  3. Staff must wear a clean face covering and gloves in the facilities. Staff do not need to wear this PPE while alone in their offices. No staff member will share an office with any other person. The front desk staff can remove their mask when no one is in the suite, but will wear it as soon as someone enters the suite.
  4. Staff must frequently wash their hands with soap for 20 seconds and/or use hand sanitizer while at work.
  5. In the event where staff must interact with users in person, please rigorously maintain a six-foot distance. Staff may ask the user(s) to move around the room as needed to maintain this distance.
  6. Staff must clean frequently touched areas at least twice a day using disinfectant wipes, IPA, ethanol, or bleach solution. Cleaning supplies will be provided by IDMI.
  7. Equipment training is suspended during Phase II.
  8. Staff are authorized to enforce the SOP and discipline users who violate the rules. Please remain vigilant and responsive to the changing circumstances.
  9. Please share any concerns and suggestions with Lorenzo Valdevit, Ben Dolan or Don Fruta.
UCI Safety Protocols and Guidelines
  1. OR’s Research Continuity Website
  2. Checklist for Phase 2 Research Activity
  3. EH&S Website
  4. EH&S COVID-19 Training Resources
  5. EH&S Guidance of Working Alone
  6. EH&S Cleaning Procedures
  7. UCI’s Face Covering Protocol

Safety is the top priority of IDMI facilities. This includes your personal safety, staff safety and equipment safety.

For personal safety: Please read the UCI safety related documents at EHS website and safe training related link

For equipment safety: Please follow the equipment SOP and instructions of IDMI staff.

 

IDMI maintains state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities. Our equipment is available to UCI researchers, students, industrial partners, and members of the community. We operate two distinct facilities, each with its unique flavor and philosophy. Click on the RapidTech and Fabworks links for detailed descriptions of capabilities and rules of engagement for each facility.

RapidTech is our high-end facility, featuring some of the most advanced manufacturing equipment on the market, with a clear emphasis on additive manufacturing (3D printing) technologies. The state-of-the-art equipment at Rapidtech is operated by our skilled technical staff and our student super-users. Training on all the equipment is provided to PhD students with a clear research need. Undergraduate students and members of the community can engage our technical staff for their fabrication needs. The equipment at RapidTech is primarily used for research, graduate education, advanced professional training and industrial services.

FABWorks is our maker space, where design and creativity run wild. FABWorks hosts a suite of prosumer-level technologies, covering a wide range of manufacturing processes (from 3D printing to laser cutting and sewing), and is available on a do-it-yourself basis, after free training sessions and by payment of nominal hourly fees. This facility is open to all members of the community, with and without affiliation with UCI. FABWorks is heavily used for our education and outreach activities, training a generation of students on how to think about making stuff…

The IDMI Machine Shop is a well-equipped machine shop offering mills, lathes, drill press and welding capabilities.

The Saratech Lab is our additive manufacturing room housing three high-end machines offering unique build capabilities.  Click the logo to learn more!

For an at-a-glance comparison of our facilities, see the chart below. To find out more about each facility, please follow the links above.

Desktop 3D Printing x x
Commercial 3D Printing x
Metal 3D Printing x
Laser Cutting x x
Laser Scanning x
CNC Routing x
Moulding x x
Basic Electronics Supplies x
DIY Training x
CAD Design Services x

IDMI Administrative Office
444 Engineering Tower, Irvine, CA 92697

RapidTech
Engineering Tower, Irvine, CA

FabWorks
2302 Calit2 Building, Irvine, CA 92697

IDMI Machine Shop
137 Engineering Tower, Irvine, CA 92697