Rules and Policies

You need to read all the fine print

Access to PPM is a privilege, not a right. Members of PPM are responsible for following all applicable rules and policies listed on this page. Violation of PPM policies and procedures can result in consequences up to and including membership termination.

These Safety Policies and Procedures have been implemented to ensure safe operations of equipment, the operator, other members, and the integrity of the facility. All members are required to implement safety procedures while at PPM. Members should only use equipment for which they have been certified for by a trained PPM instructor. Violations of safety policies will be reviewed based on harm, potential harm, and recurrence. Consequences may result based on severity of the violation, as decided by the Executive Director and the Board of Directors based on the PPM by-laws.

Recording in Progress

By entering Pikes Peak Makerspace, you consent to be recorded by audio and/or video technology. Recordings may be used for internal and/or external purposes, marketing, or safety review. They may be shared with law enforcement or other third parties as required by law. Please leave the premises immediately if you do not wish to be recorded.

Rule and Policy Changes

These rules and policies are subject to change at any time. Changes adopted with a vote from the Board of Directors and/or the membership at a membership meeting will become effective immediately. A summarized version of newly adopted rule(s) will be posted in the space and updated on this page; adapted as necessary for effective communication.

Standards of Behavior

All guests and members must follow the Member Code of Conduct.
Safety is important, if you are unsure of how to safely do something, don’t do it.
The Executive Director or a member of the Board of Directors may ban anyone who violates the Rules and Policies from the premises or online systems. Bans may be appealed in accordance with the Bylaws.
Don't merely respect each other; be excellent to each other.
- We are all here to make things and learn. Every Maker is on their own journey.
- Don't be afraid to ask questions.
- Be helpful and answer questions when you can. If you don't know the correct answer, say so. Don't make something up.
Respect the space
- When you break something, own up to it. If you have any doubt about fixing it, ask for help.
- Don't make someone feel bad for breaking things, help them understand what went wrong.
- Clean, Maintain, Organize, Improve. Always leave the space better than you found it.
- Tools/resources are shared by all members and must stay on the premises at all times.
Operate only those machines and equipment you have been specifically trained and certified to use by a PPM instructor.
Members are not allowed to work in the Makerspace when intoxicated, under the influence of controlled substances, sleep deprived, or emotionally distressed.
Sleeping is not cool, but naps are ok. We are not a hotel nor a place to hide out.
All members are expected to maintain a safe and clean environment at all times.
Smoking cigarettes, cigars or vaporizers is prohibited inside the building.
Do not hack our computer systems. Do not to install unapproved/illegal software.
Do not make alterations or perform major repairs on any equipment without specific permission from the Executive Director.
It is the responsibility of each member to help enforce the Standards of Behavior. If someone is violating the Member Code of Conduct or the Standards of Behavior, politely explain to them why their behavior is not acceptable. Egregious violations should be reported to the Executive Director or the Board of Directors.

Guests

Guests can not occupy the Pikes Peak Makerspace without another keyed Member present.
Guests must sign the Waiver of Liability before entering the building.
Members may not have guests for the first 30 days.
Guests are encouraged to become Members. A member referral bonus is available.
Guests are not allowed to use tools and equipment, except as part of a scheduled class/workshop.
Members are responsible for their Guest's actions, behavior, and safety.

Minors

Minors 18 and under are not eligible for membership nor have an RFID access card to the space.
Minors 18 and under are permitted in the space under limited circumstances only and must be accompanied closely by Parent or Legal Guardian at all times.
1. Limited circumstances means PPM- hosted family events, tours, or brief visits.
2. Accompanied closely means visual range generally, and never in the shop near dangerous tools.
Parents/Legal Guardians are responsible for their children's actions, behavior, and safety.

Formal Complaints

The formal complaint process exists for members to request a discussion be held by the Board of Directors regarding specific actions of another member. Members are expected to discuss their complaints in a calm and polite manner. Mediation is available to resolve issues without the need of a formal complaint.

Formal complaints against another member must be submitted, in writing, to the Board of Directors or to any member of the Board of Directors.<ref>Primary contact is via admin@pikespeakmakerspace.org</ref> The complaint must have, at a minimum, two parts outlined. A "Complaint" part and a "Recommended Solution" part.
The Board of Directors will decide to either hold a special meeting regarding this matter, or will consider it at the next Board meeting in the cycle.
The Board of Directors is not required to act in accordance to the grievance or complainant's "Recommended Solution" part and may devise its own remediation.
Complaints will be added to the agenda of the meeting, without identifying information.
Minutes for the meeting will not be scrubbed of identifying information.
Any disciplinary action requiring involvement of the Board of Directors or officers of the corporation (acting in their role as an officer) will be kept as a written record including but not limited to: the action, reason(s) for the action, and acknowledgement of the accused.

Non-Discrimination Policy

At Pikes Peak Makerspace, we work together to create a community where members are given the opportunity to engage in new experiences, develop new skills, and express their creativity. We welcome interested members regardless of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status. We celebrate a creative space that embraces the richness of our community and is safe and inclusive for all members. We do not tolerate discrimination, biases, harassment or bullying of any kind.

Membership Dues

Members are responsible for managing their recurring payments and canceling their membership. You may do so by logging in the link from your most recent receipt, or by notifying the Executive Director (Slack, email, website, or in person).

Payments that bounce have 7 days to update before the membership is cancelled. You may not use the facility while your payment is past due.

All dues are paid in advance and are recurring. Monthly subscriptions must be paid by credit card. Annual or Lifetime memberships can be paid by check or credit card.

Plan Name	Rate	Notes
Monthly Membership	$55/mo	Our standard membership.
2 Card Bundle	$75/mo	2 memberships
Student Membership	$35/mo	This rate is for members who are currently in school.
Annual Membership	$605/year	One month free ($55x11 months paid up front)
Annual 2 Card Bundle	$825/year	One month free ($75x11 months paid up front
Lifetime	$5000	Non-transferrable.

Corporate memberships available, contact us through the website.

A limited number of private dedicated spaces are available and on a waitlist.

Voting Rights

Members may vote on questions presented at Member Meetings of the Board of Directors.
Please refer to the Bylaws for more detail about voting rights.

Storage

We are not a storage facility. Do not leave personal items and projects laying around in common areas. Additionally, observe the following storage policies.

Project Storage

Projects must be actively attended to until completed and/or removed from the building.
Woodshop/ metalshop projects may be kept on site for up to 7 days as long as the following conditions are met:
1. Green Project Storage Tags must be used in the woodshop/metal shop.
2. Projects must be stored out of the way. (Under tables, in shed, etc)
3. After 1 week, you must either remove your project, or fill out a new green tag for another week. Additional weeks are a suggested $10 donation with a max of 4 total weeks.
4. If your tag has expired, a PPM leader may reach out to you to remove your project.
5. If one week has passed since contacting you and action has not been taken, your project will be considered abandoned and removed from site or the materials made available to other members
6. Be sure your project storage tag is completely filled out with the following information
  1. Name
  2. Todays Date
  3. Expected Completion Date
  4. What I’m Making
  5. Contact Info
On a case by case basis and as space allows, longer term storage may be approved by the Executive Director and/or Board of Directors.

Personal Item Storage

Floorspace is extremely valuable and it is important that the space remain easy to clean and keep organized. Therefore, storage in the front of the building is restricted to lockers and shelves.

Lockers - $5/month
- Must set up recurring payment through paypal
  - Be sure to select "Make this a recurring payment"
- You name must be displayed on the outside of the locker.
- Limited quantities available
Shelf space - $25-$75/month
- Large Totes- $25/month
  - Up to 3 can fit on a shelf
  - Must set up recurring payment through paypal

Small items and sheet materials should be labeled with a date or they are at risk of being removed or used by another member.

Inventory of Parts, Tools, and Equipment

Anything in a work area is available for use by all members unless documented/labeled as training required.
Items of value should be reimbursed or a donation made for them.
Items that require training may be secured, but a path to obtain use of said tool should be documented.
If a person must be contacted to use a tool, 2 or more points of contact must be listed on/around tool.
Storage of materials is not be permitted in committee areas unless there is a defined/documented area.
For items to be considered on display and not storage, items have to be in a designated area.
Anything that is a personal item in a committee area must have gone through the Loaning of Tools & Equipment to the Makerspace
If training is required and not set up at least once a month, the personal item on loan is subject to removal within 30 days.

Events

Scheduling of events is done on a first-come basis, as determined by the calendar management system.
Scheduled events should align with the organizations goals.
Scheduled events take priority over unscheduled events.
Scheduling conflicts should be worked out peaceably by the affected parties. Disputes will be arbitrated by members of the board, or by the Board of Directors as a whole.
All events must be sponsored by a current member, who must be present during the event.
Donations are encouraged but not required to hold events.
Guest access to the facility will be limited as required by the event.
Terms and Conditions for events can be dictated and modified by the Board of Directors.

Types of Organizational Meetings

The Board of Directors holds regular meetings and will announce meetings via email and Slack. Members are welcome to attend.
Classes may be organized and taught by any member in good standing.
Community events should support the goals of Pikes Peak Makerspace.
If an event requires funding, the event proposal form must be submitted.
Membership meetings for projects and community building will be posted on the Pikes Peak Makerspace Events calendar and promoted on Slack.
1. Membership meetings should always include an act of service to the space such as cleaning or updating computers.

Program Areas (Woodshop, Metalshop, Lasers, 3D Printing, etc)

Existing Program Areas should have designated Captains to perform critical maintenance and repair tasks.

A Captain is a volunteer position who keeps the program area in alignment with the goals of the organization and in line with all rules and procedures.There may be a Captain of an entire work area, or a Captain of just 1 particular tool.

Please see Shared Equipment for the current directory of PPM Program Areas.

Committees

Pikes Peak Makerspace is a volunteer driven creative space. Everything good that happens is because a member or a committee saw the potential and took the initiative to make it happen.

Member driven initiatives for new programs and work areas must meet the following criteria:

At least 5 members are required to form a new project committee.
Project committees that impact the way the space operates must be approved by the Executive Director and/or Board of Directors.
Committee must select a chair persons as the primary point of contact and accountability.
The Committee chair person will be responsible for maintaining the list of committee members and providing reports on the status and activities of the committee.
There is no limit to the number of committees a member can serve on.
If the number of committee members drops below 5, the committee will have a grace period of 30 days in order to recruit enough members to remain active.
Each committee is expected to communicate activities to members via Slack, signage, or the wiki. The following information should always be kept current and available for all members to see.
1. The name of the committee chair
2. A list of all active members
3. A brief statement listing the goals or tasks assigned to the committee.
4. How other members can get involved.
Committee meetings must be posted on the calendar and announced on Slack.
Committees can appoint advisory members, who only have communications access to Pikes Peak Makerspace resources, pending Board of Directors approval.

Active Committees

Board of Director Committees

Finance

Fundraising and Grants

Information Technology

Personnel

Policy

Safety

Shop Operations

Social Media, Events, Community Outreach (SMECO)

Project Committees

TESLA (Tools Enabled Safely and Library Access)

Wiki

Wild Apricot Migration

Inactive Committees

Emma Crawford Coffin Race

Proposed Committees

Computer refurbishment

Commercial Use

Pikes Peak Makerspace is a great place to prototype, experiment, and develop your product ideas. When it comes to production runs, the priorities of the organization may require limiting access to the equipment for commercial ventures. The organization exists as a hackerspace and is not designed as a production shop.

The Pikes Peak Makerspace is based on open source ideals and thus encourages its membership to embrace those ideals as well, however members do reserve the rights to all of their creations.

Loaning of Tools & Equipment To The Makerspace

Members can generously provide tools or equipment for use in the space, either by donating them outright or by loaning them.

When equipment is loaned, the following conditions apply:

All loaned equipment must be marked or labeled with the owner's name
The owner must contact the Shop Operations so that they can record the following information:
1. Name of owner
2. Equipment being loaned
3. Serial number if available
4. Terms or conditions of the loan
Equipment is loaned subject to the understanding that it is preferable for PPM to own their equipment, rather than borrow it. PPM may seek to buy equipment in order to replace loaned items, which are then returned.
Loaned items may be returned at any time, by request of the owner or as determined by the Shop Operations Committee.
PPM is NOT responsible for maintenance of loaned equipment, but may maintain it as determined by the Shop Operations Committee.
PPM is NOT responsible for the damage, theft, or loss of equipment. However, efforts will be made to provide reasonably secure storage.

Prohibited Items

PPM members are prohibited from carrying, making, or cleaning firearms inside of the space. Additionally, firearm parts, ammunition, and modifications may not be done inside the space.

Objects that may be perceived as firearms must be cleared with the Executive Director and/or the Board of Directors.

Donations

THIS POLICY TO BE UPDATED

Donations of usable items must be approved by the committee in charge of the location in which the item will be stored/used.
A "freebie shelf" is available for items that are free to use/take for all members. The shelf will be periodically cleared by the Ops committee.
Donations for the "freebie shelf" will be accepted so long as there is available free space in the designated area, and as long as it does not conflict with rule #5.
Donations for the "freebie shelf" that do not fit cannot be left in the space unless approved by the Ops committee
The following items will not be accepted for donation:
1. CRT monitors
2. Paint
Donations to a project are only spent on that project and are spent prior to any DMS allocated money to the same project.
1. If the project is deemed unsuccessful all remaining funds will be returned to the source.
2. Allocated money will be returned to the source fund, if more overages remain the money will be returned to the contributor in proportion to their donation.
3. If the project is deemed successful, accomplishing the stated goal, any unspent allocations will be returned to the committee fund in charge of the project, unspent donations will be returned the contributors according to the proportion of the donation.
Donations of motor vehicles must have written approval of 3 board members.

Finances

THIS POLICY TO BE UPDATED

No authorization or allocation can be made in excess of the moneys available in the General Fund.
Unless an exception has been given by the Board of Directors, funds which have already been allocated for spending from the General Fund may be spent from the line of credit as long as interest is not accrued and an outstanding balance is not kept.
All profits from the sales of items are placed into a related committee's fund (the committee responsible for the item, if applicable) at the Treasurer's discretion.
Refunds for membership dues paid within the last 30 days can be authorized ONLY at the discretion of the Treasurer or President.
Pikes Peak Makerspace must receive a written invoice or receipt prior to payment for any services or goods. This only applies to vendors who regularly provide a written invoice (or receipt) to their customers. If a best effort is not made to provide the treasurer with a written invoice (or receipt) from the respective vendor:
1. Pikes Peak Makerspace will not provide payment for the respective goods or services.
2. If the transaction was already purchased with funds belonging to the Pikes Peak Makerspace, the amount of the respective transaction must be refunded to the Pikes Peak Makerspace.
All property purchases equal to or greater than $500 and having an useful life of one year or more are to be capitalized.
All individual items purchased for less than $500 and having a useful life of less than one year are to be expensed.
Only current procurement officers are allowed to have an active DMS credit card.
1. After changes in procurement officers, it is the responsibility of the Secretary to ensure the credit card company's records.
Only the current President, Secretary, and Treasurer are allowed to be authorized signers on DMS bank accounts.
1. After a change in President, Secretary, or Treasurer, it is the responsibility of the Secretary to ensure the bank's records are updated.

Notes

These notes are not officially part of the Rules or Bylaws and are only meant to provide additional information or an interpretation of the Rules and/or Bylaws. <references />