The Fab Lab Safety Game is a tool for managers of fablabs to ensure the health and safety of all persons involved in their organization structurally. The game is intended for managers, employees and volunteers of a fablab (7-14 people). A game session can be completed in half a day. The participants are divided into three small groups, each of which plays a different role in the game.
The “Manager Infrastructure” is responsible for the lab building and its machines, the “Manager Operations” is responsible for activities, materials and inventory in the fablab and the “Manager Human Affairs” is responsible for all people (staff, volunteers and visitors). Together they form the Management Team.
The core of the game session consists of four cycles:
1. Setting the stage
2. Identifying risks
3. Assessing risks
4. Planning and implementing
The first three cycles consist of group work (within the own role) followed by a short meeting of the Management Team (plenary). The last cycle takes place entirely plenary.
The outcome of the game session is a risk inventory and evaluation plus a plan of action.
The background the game is described in “Fab Safe Game”; Pieter van der Hijden, Lipika Bansal; ISAGA – 46th annual conference of the International Simulation and Gaming Association; Kyoto, Japan; 17-21 July 2015; Springer Verlag, 2016.
The Fab Lab Safety Game – Facilitators Guide by Pieter van der Hijden can be downloaded for free from http://bit.ly/fab12-safety-gamemanual.
The complete Fab Lab Safety Game – kit can be downloaded from https://projects.fablabs.io/@pvdhyden-3829b/the-fab-lab-safety-game.
Sofos Consultancy 