Contextual Interview - Mark, SCAD ID Shop Manager

Although we were hardly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning at 9am, Lauren and I interviewed Mark, the ID shop manager, about his general shop experiences as well as experiences specific to many of the machines. We began by recording the interview on my digital mp3 player, but the noise in the shop soon put that to an end. We did take detailed notes though…

The interview took about 1 ½ hours, and during this time we were able to talk about approximately half the machines in the main shop. We eliminated one of the questions (Can we watch you use this machine?) because he was providing us with a lot of quality information by simply discussing the machines, and although we would have liked to continue our interview until it was complete, time restrictions prevented us from doing so.

Mark also printed out the SCAD - SBA Model Shop Safety Manual for us. I was surprised to see the detailed amount of information contained inside for each machine, and a bit disappointed that the manual was not available to students, especially those in Model Shop class. The information is divided by machine, and although it is mostly text it would be a good reference to have available to anyone who wants to look at in the shop.

Some of the things we learned from Mark are that he feels that every machine in the shop is dangerous, but that the most dangerous machine is the Band Saw. He pointed out that dull blades increase the danger of any machine because the user must employ additional force on the material. This danger is often underestimated, and students rarely notify him of a dull blade. He also noted that some students get very upset when he corrects their behavior in the shop, and that students need some sort of incentive to behave correctly.

Mark sharpens all the tools for the Lathes himself because the Grinder is not adequately covered in Model Shop class.


He told us that many of the projects assigned are way beyond the skill level of the students. Also, he feels about 10% of the students in the shop just don’t have an adequate enough understanding to be there, but that they must be allowed anyway because they are in the Model Shop class.

2/07/2005