Explain the purpose of safe working conditions and procedures Some things to look for: • Clean, organized, and properly lit workspace • Proper procedures for handling equipment • Proper disposal or recycling of components containing hazardous materials After completing this section, students will meet these objectives: • Identify safety procedures and potential hazards for users and technicians • Identify safety procedures to protect equipment from damage and data loss • Identify correct disposal procedures to protect the environment from contamination Teaching Strategy: Safe working conditions protect users from accident and injury. Proper procedures for handling computer components prevent equipment damage and data from loss. Proper disposal of computer components protects the environment. Professional technicians follow proper safety procedures. Customers prefer to deal with responsible technicians. Ask the students to think of themselves as technicians about to enter the workforce. They may see the importance of learning good safety procedures in that context. General Safety Guidelines • Most companies require reporting any injuries, including description of safety procedures not followed. • Damage to equipment may result in claims for damages from the customer. Identify safety procedures and potential hazards for users and technicians General Safety Guidelines - Follow the basic safety guidelines to prevent cuts, burns, electrical shock, and damage to eyesight. As is best practice, make sure that a fire extinguisher and first-aid kit are available in case of fire or injury. CAUTION: Power supplies and monitors contain very high voltage. Do not wear the antistatic wrist strap when repairing power supplies or monitors. CAUTION: Some printer parts may become very hot when in use and other parts may contain very high voltages. Teaching Strategy: • This chapter does not cover the repair of power supplies or monitors. Emphasize that additional training is needed for people who will open those devices. • Even though the voltages a student will see in this course are not dangerous, you could explain the "one hand rule" used by electricians. When using a test probe in a circuit with high voltages, use one hand only, to prevent the body from forming a complete circuit. 1) Dangers of working on computers - List possible dangers to technicians (cuts, burns, shocked, laser dangers, etc.) 2) Precautions and warnings – List ways to protect the technician • Cuts - sharp edges and sharp tools • Burns - hot components such as fuser roller of laser printer • Electrical shock - Unplug power cords. Do not open power supplies or monitors unless qualified. Some high voltage capacitors (in monitors) retain dangerous voltages after power is removed • Damage to eyes - Wear safety glasses. Pieces of cut wire can fly from the wire cutter. 3) You may have a story about damage to equipment or an injury to a colleague in the workplace due to lack of safety procedures. You might consider sharing this and other stories with your students to illustrate the importance of following safety guidelines. It might have a big impact on them. Fire Safety Guidelines Fire Safety Guidelines - Follow fire safety guidelines to protect lives, structures, and equipment. To avoid an electrical shock, and to prevent damage to the computer, turn off and unplug the computer before beginning a repair. Have a fire plan before you begin work: • Know the location of fire extinguishers, how to use them, and which to use for electrical fires and for combustible fires • Have an escape route in case a fire gets out of control • Know how to contact emergency services quickly • Keep the workspace clean • Keep most solvents in a separate area In the United States, there are four classifications for fire extinguishers. A different letter, color, and shape identifies each fire extinguisher classification. Each type of fire extinguisher has specific chemicals to fight different types of fires: • Class A – Paper, wood, plastics, cardboard • Class B – Gasoline, kerosene, organic solvents • Class C – Electrical equipment • Class D – Combustible metals What types of fire extinguisher classifications are there in your country? It is important to know how to use a fire extinguisher. Use the memory aid P-A-S-S to help you remember the basic rules of fire extinguisher operation: P - Pull the pin. A - Aim at the base of the fire, not at the flames. S - Squeeze the lever. S - Sweep the nozzle from side to side. Teaching Strategy: In the US, contacting emergency services will often consist of calling 911. If the technician always carries a working cell phone on his/her person, the contact can be made very quickly, immediately after leaving the fire. • Some types of fire extinguishers will spread fires of the wrong type. Some will be ineffective on other types of fires. More than one type of extinguisher will be needed in most repair facilities. • You might challenge your students to locate and identify the nearest fire extinguishers in your lab. Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) Identify safety procedures to protect equipment from damage and data from loss • Static electricity is the buildup of an electric charge resting on a surface. This buildup may zap a component and cause damage. This is known as electrostatic discharge (ESD). ESD can be destructive to the electronics in a computer system. • Static electricity can build up on you as they walk across a carpeted floor. When you touch another person, you both receive a shock. If the discharge causes pain or makes a noise, the charge was probably above 10,000 volts. • At least 3,000 volts of static electricity must build up before a person can feel ESD, but less than 30 volts of static electricity can damage a computer component. Preventing ESD Damage • Keep all components in antistatic bags until you are ready to install them. • Use grounded mats on workbenches. • Use grounded floor mats in work areas. • Use antistatic wrist straps when working on computers. Climate affects computer equipment in a variety of ways: • If the environment temperature is too high, equipment can overheat. • If the humidity level is too low, the chance of ESD increases. • If the humidity level is too high, equipment can suffer from moisture damage. Teaching Strategy: ESD is one of the potential dangers to computer equipment and data. Climate impacts probability of ESD. Devices that can protect the equipment from ESD damage include; antistatic mats, antistatic bags, and antistatic wrist straps. • Antistatic bags are somewhat electrically conductive, to eliminate differences in potential across the circuit boards stored in them. They are typically colored to indicate this. • If the conditions are conducive, consider letting a student demonstrate static electricity. Power Fluctuation • Voltage is the force that moves electrons through a circuit. The movement of electrons is called current. Computer circuits need voltage and current to operate electronic components. When the voltage in a computer is not accurate or steady, computer components may not operate correctly. Unsteady voltages are called power fluctuations. The following types of AC power fluctuations can cause data loss or hardware failure: • Blackout - Complete loss of AC power • Brownout - Reduced voltage level of AC power that lasts for a period of time • Noise - Electrical interference from generators and lightning • Spike - Sudden increase in voltage that lasts for a very short period and exceeds 100% of the normal voltage on a line • Power surge - Dramatic increase in voltage above the normal flow of electrical current To help shield against power fluctuation issues, use power protection devices to protect the data and computer equipment: • A surge suppressor helps protect against damage from surges and spikes. A surge suppressor diverts extra electrical voltage on the line to the ground. • Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) helps protect against potential electrical power problems by supplying electrical power to a computer or other device. • Standby Power Supply (SPS) helps protect against potential electrical power problems by providing a backup battery to supply power when the incoming voltage drops below the normal level. CAUTION: Never plug a printer into a UPS device. UPS manufacturers suggest not plugging a printer into a UPS for fear of burning up the printer motor. • Teaching Strategy: Dangers to computer equipment and data include; spike, power-in rush, brownout, blackout, lightning, jewelry, spills, and drops. Climate impacts probability of ESD. Devices that can protect the equipment from electrical damage include; Surge protector, UPS, antistatic mats and bags, antistatic wrist straps Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) Identify safety procedures to protect the environment from contamination Computers and peripherals contain materials that can be harmful to the environment. Hazardous materials are sometimes called toxic waste. These materials can contain high concentrations of heavy metals such as cadmium, lead, or mercury. The regulations for the disposal of hazardous materials vary according to state or country. Contact the local recycling or waste removal authorities in your community for information about disposal procedures and services. MSDS is a fact sheet summarizing information about material identification, including hazardous ingredients that can affect personal health, fire hazards, and first aid requirements. • The name of the material • The physical properties of the material • Any hazardous ingredients contained in the material • Reactivity data, such as fire and explosion data • Procedures for spills or leaks • Special precautions • Health hazards • Special protection requirements The MSDS is valuable in determining how to dispose of any potentially hazardous materials in the safest manner. What organization governs the use of hazardous chemicals in your country? Are MSDS sheets mandatory? • Teaching Strategy: Explain Material Safety and Data Sheets and OSHA. These are different for each country. Check for these relevant to your local area. OSHA has no bearing outside of the US. • Businesses may get fined for contamination and employees could be fired. Ethics dictate that we protect the planet. • In your student class, you might ask students to locate MSDS sheets for a few substances they will encounter in their work. Different trade names and chemical names can create some confusion, but that is part of the learning experience. Proper Disposal Protecting the environment by responsibly disposing and recycling • Batteries from portable computer systems may contain lead, cadmium, lithium, alkaline manganese, and mercury. Recycling batteries should be a standard practice for a technician. • Monitors contain up to 4 pounds of lead, as well as rare earth metals. Monitors must be disposed of in compliance with environmental regulations. • Used printer toner kits and printer cartridges must be disposed of properly or recycled. • Contact the local sanitation company to learn how and where to dispose of the chemicals and solvents used to clean computers. Teaching Strategy: Computers and peripherals contain some environmentally unfriendly materials. Most computer components are either hazardous or contain some level of hazardous substances. Describe the proper disposal/recycling of hazardous materials (batteries, electronic devices, and chemical solvents) Tools for the Job Identify tools and software used with personal computer components and their purposes For every job there is the right tool. Make sure that you are familiar with the correct use of each tool and that the right tool is used for the current task. Skilled use of tools and software makes the job less difficult and ensures that tasks are performed properly and safely. Teaching Strategy: Tools can keep you safe, can keep the equipment and data you’re working on safe, can keep your customer safe, and can identify you as a professional. • Technicians need to know the proper use of a tool before using it. • Technicians collaborate using journals, FAQs, and blogs. These communication tools help in creating a knowledge base and help technicians work more effectively. After completing this section, students will be able to perform the following tasks: • Identify Hardware Tools and Their Purpose • Identify Software Tools and Their Purpose • Identify Organizational Tools and Their Purpose Identify hardware tools and their purpose • ESD Tools, include antistatic wrist strap and antistatic mat • An antistatic wrist strap is used to prevent ESD damage to computer equipment. • An antistatic mat is used to stand on or to place hardware on to prevent static electricity from building up. • Hand Tools, include various screwdrivers, needle-nose pliers, hex drivers, wire cutters, tweezers, part retriever, and flashlight • Cleaning Tools, include soft cloth, compressed air can, cable ties, and parts organizer • Diagnostic Tools, include digital multimeter and loopback adapter Teaching Strategy: There is a tool for every job. The wrong tool for the job can injure the technician and the computer component. A professional technician should always have their toolkit available for use in their work. Have tools arranged for easy grabbing when needed. Software Tools Identify software tools and their purpose A technician must be able to use a range of software tools to help diagnose problems, maintain hardware, and protect the data stored on a computer. A technician must be able to identify which software to use in different situations. • Fdisk - used to create and delete partitions on a hard drive • Format - used to prepare a hard drive to store information • Scandisk or Chkdsk - used to check the integrity of files and folders on a hard drive by scanning the disk surface for physical errors • Defrag - used to optimize space on a hard drive to allow faster access to programs and data • Disk Cleanup - used to clear space on a hard drive by searching for files that can be safely deleted • Disk Management - a system utility used to manage hard drives and partitions, such as initializing disks, creating partitions, and formatting partitions. Disk Management has the functions of FORMAT and FDISK, and a few more, but it is performed from the Windows GUI interface. • System File Checker (SFC) – a command-line utility that scans the operating system critical files and replaces any files that are corrupted. • Use the Windows XP boot disk for troubleshooting and repairing corrupted files. The Windows XP boot disk is designed to repair Windows system files, restore damaged or lost files, or reinstall the operating system. Third-party software tools are available to assist in troubleshooting problems. To protect data and the integrity of the operating system and hardware, you should use software designed to guard against attacks and to remove malicious programs. Here is a list of various types of software used to protect hardware and data: • Windows XP Security Center – allows you to check the status of essential security settings on the computer. The Security Center continuously checks to make sure that the software firewall and antivirus programs are running. It also ensures that automatic updates are set to download and install automatically. • Antivirus Program – protects a computer against virus attacks. • Spyware Remover – protects against software that sends information about web surfing habits to an attacker. Spyware can be installed without the knowledge or consent of the user. • Firewall – a program that runs continuously to protect against unauthorized communications to and from your computer. Student Activity: The student course content includes the worksheet, 2.2.2 Worksheet: Diagnostic Software. To complete this worksheet, students will conduct research on hard drive diagnostic programs from at least two different hard drive manufacturers. Answer questions about one of the manufacturer and its diagnostic software.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Jul 2013 13:26:18 +0000
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