Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Workshops

[R Philip Dowds (rphilipdowds]

At Cornerstone in Massachusetts, we were advised early on (our attorney? our 
insurance agent?) that, to minimize liability, our communal workshop should be 
locked, especially to preclude unsupervised children.  Fitting it with a 
programmable padlock or lever handle may help you avoid the whole key 
management thing.

A good workshop should be fitted with a commercial-grade ventilation system to 
help minimize fumes and dust.  Sadly, we don’t have one of those.  Nor do we 
have a sink.  Uncool.

No matter how many rules you post, a workshop is always besieged by entropy, 
always trending toward clutter and mess.  Another feature that helps is an 
assigned Workshop Steward:  A named individual who agrees to keep an eye on 
things generally; sort salvage from trash; ensure tools are operating, and 
safely so; etc.  Without a steward, a  workshop can become unusable in a 
surprisingly short time.

Thanks,
Philip Dowds
Cornerstone Village Cohousing
Cambridge, MA

> On Oct 22, 2024, at 1:45 PM, Dean smith via Cohousing-L <cohousing-l [at] 
> cohousing.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> We’re under construction in the PNW.  One of the first additions to our 
> community is a planned workshop that would contain power and hand tools 
> contributed by members and some purchased in common. I’m concerned about 
> safety and legal exposure of such a workshop.  What if someone gets hurt?  
> What if someone breaths sawdust?  
> 
> What are other communities with worktshops doing about this?
> 
> Dean Smith
> Sunnyside Village Cohousing
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