Hardware Testing Instructor Responsibilities

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Always Remember: Supporting Hardware Testing volunteers is our number one priority as staff instructors! This means:

• Welcoming incoming volunteers at the beginning of the shift
• Introducing yourself to volunteers you haven't met before, or whose names you don't remember
• Giving volunteers choices about the kind of work they want to do that day, based on HT's needs, when possible
  • Appropriately engage each volunteer in an appropriate task, trying to get all tasks covered
  • Which volunteers are present during your shift? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Do they want to learn something new? Match up their interests with priority tasks
• Teaching volunteers how to test different kinds of gizmos, based on their interest, or facilitating another volunteer to teach them (as appropriate)
• Making them aware of their resources, *especially* our documentation, but also Google, the FG wiki, other volunteers, and you!
• Being available for any questions that they may have
• Remaining patient and friendly while maintaining good boundaries
• Providing volunteers opportunities to work on special projects, as is needed and appropriate
• Be sure to thank volunteers for their work as they leave

Oversight Checklist

Beginning of Shift

• Check meetingwords.com/whiteboard
• Prioritize tasks based on current stock, Store and Build needs - and update the white board
• Welcome volunteers and direct them to prioritized tasks
• Monitors need to be set up or taken down at the beginning of every shift
• Remember to delegate! But if no volunteers are available:
  • Swap RAM
  • Sort Incoming
  • Sort boxes of power supplies that come from Receiving, routing them to other areas
  • Sort small Hard Drive Lock Box into big Hard Drive Lock Box

During Shift

• Be available to answer volunteers' questions and to support their endeavors
• Power adapter should be sorted and taken to the different areas necessary - laptops, am land, store, av
  • Pull all RAM from receiving and the system evaluation area to be sorted and tested
  • Stock the Build room with RAM, cards, load hard drives, sort also pull items into appropriate boxes
  • Repair failed machines as necessary
  • REPORT PROBLEMS WITH MACHINES WHEN THEY HAPPEN (either to those with the know-how to fix 'em or in RT)
  • Sort incoming shelf in hardware test area for interns to test according to the needs of the different departments
  • Check on the flow of work source materials to the different departments

End of Shift

• Make sure volunteers clean up their areas and that the area is neat and organized for the next shift
  • This includes emptying all yellow recycling bins - make sure all volunteers are familiar with this process!
    • Report any problems with tools, machinery to appropriate staff -create a RT ticket for any needed items

End of Day

• Lock up all hard drives - remember to check Store Returns bin & Incoming shelves
• Put away testing equipment
• Set up hard drives to test over night, but not on the weekend/holidays
• Load RAM to be started the next morning (unless a volunteer did it)
• Turn off all unused computers and LCD monitors
• Empty small Lock Box into big Lock Box and make sure it is locked
• Make sure TARDIS is locked - BOTH LOCKS

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End of Week

• Shutdown any hard drives that are still running & return them to the big Lock Box
• Turn off the TARDIS's ceiling fan

Hardware Testing Tasks

• Power Supply Sorting
• Card sorting &testing
• External Hard Drive Enclosure Testing
• External Optical Drive Testing
• RAM Testing
• Motherboard Testing
• Processor Testing
• Video Card Testing
• Network Testing
• Wireless Keyboard & Mice Testing
• Wireless Cards - PCI and laptop PC Bus
• Empty Recycling Bins
• Monitor, TV, Projector test