Present: Eden, Quinton, Kenneth, Meaghan, Brennan
- Pit mentorship
- Have students hands on whenever possible - communicate what students need to do in the pit in general
- Good learning experience
- More communication about what the pits are like, especially for new pit students
- Practice sessions running like how the pit would run (checklists), have the checklists done earlier, have the pit setup for a mock run
- 2 is a good amount
- Drive team interactions (hand off from pit to DT & vice versa)
- Meeting in the middle (before reaching pits) was good
- Communication about issues for the pit crew to fix was pretty good
- Best not to have DT members in the pit unless needed
- Robot was operational when it went onto the field
- DT was told if checklists couldn’t be fully completed so they could finish in queue
- Asking more questions post match to get to the bottom of any issues
- Battery management was pretty good, occasionally forgot and had to run back
- Better guidelines for “acceptable” battery charge (100 doesn’t mean full)
- No bad batteries/dead batteries
- Overall pit
- Batteries
- Only take comp batteries to comps
- New battery cart would be really helpful - loading batteries is not great right now
- Pit setup and takedown is a pain, once it was set up it worked well
- Put stuff into the trailer after load in
- Step stool
- Pit bags
- Any extra tables that shouldn’t be there
- Any displays for Impact should be designed to hang properly (no falling down)
- Number of pit students
- ***Should have pit students who are knowledgeable in programming, electrical, and mechanical so they have at least a basic understanding in every area
- 2 students worked okay, 3 could be better
- Prevents DT from needing to be there ideally
- Logs that should be reviewable by pit people
- Logging every single variable during a match, on practice field, etc. - spreadsheet, visualization tool?
- Includes button presses and controller inputs
- Have laminated guide for all button controls
- All pit members should be familiar with this
- Pit members try controlling the robot pre-competition so they’re comfortable with it when testing at comps
- “Test” autos w/ logs, current draw, etc.
- Practice field
- Have a designated spot to write down when we have slots
- Not always sure who should be going
- Sometimes didn’t know goals for practice field slots - communicate that better
- Generally have only the people that really need to be there - space limited, time limited
- Would help with remembering to bring specific game pieces, fresh batteries, ethernet, etc.
- Be 100% ready in terms of software - computer on, code ready to deploy, etc.
- Visit the practice field ahead of time, know where it is and where to park the cart
- Checklists
- Make sure all items are updated & relevant to current robot
- Pit students should be the ones that make the checklists since they will be using them
- Maybe have a box for “was there a problem” to check after match
- Look at reformatting - didn’t need multiple rows for the same thing, can just erase
- Additions
- “In depth inspection on a part of the robot that no one has looked at recently” - would be in a different section or a different sheet (not pre-match specifically)
- Have a list of every section of the robot, pick one to check off until they’re all checked off, erase and start again
- Eg. specific swerve module, specific arm joint, etc.
- “Look at something that isn’t on the checklist”
- Closer inspections and physical checks
- Dealing with pit scouts
- Was good to have someone else talk to them outside of the pit if pit students are busy
- Be familiar with the technical handout
- Prioritize time - if it isn’t a good time, it’s ok to politely tell pit scouts to come back later
- Sitting vs standing
- Chairs/stools take up space when doing systems checks and repairs
- Need to be ready to jump in as needed
- It’s fine to sit when nothing else needs to be done
- Be more conscious & communicative about times where pit students can walk around in the pits to talk to other teams
- When not needed on practice field, in down time when robot is at 100%, etc.
- Send more slack updates for people in the stands and on DT! Did some this year but can do more to keep people in the loop and at ease
- Give better examples/communicate better about intensity level, hustle, and efficiency required as a pit crew member
- Don’t overpack!
- Don’t have extra/unnecessary people in the pit
- Better planning for lunch breaks
- Being more diligent about no horseplay
- Cart improvements
- Spot for driver station
- Spot for battery
- Repair rail attachments
- Ethernet spool
- Batteries