Covid Policies

Normal operations have been modified during the coronavirus pandemic to maintain safety and compliance at Asmbly. Where conflicts arise in policies documented elsewhere, the versions outlined here take precedence.

Rules & Expectations

• All shop area/machine use at the space must be scheduled in Skedda - our online scheduling system.
  • If you have NOT made a reservation via Skedda, you are NOT allowed to use machines or shop areas.
• Our mask requirements follow APH recommendations and vary depending on what stage we are in. See details below in Stages in Austin's COVID-19 Risk-Based Guidelines. To verify what stage Austin is currently in, visit their website here.
  • Note: Many of our members use Gill Masks.
• No food in the workshop areas.
  • Closed drinks are permitted in all areas of the space, however food is restricted to the lounge only.
• Stay home if you don’t feel well, if you have potentially been exposed, or if you have any of the symptoms of COVID-19 disease including but not limited to fever, rash, vomiting, diarrhea, shortness of breath, cough, loss of sense of taste or smell.

Guest Policy

To minimize the number of people in the space, we are only allowing 1 guest per member at a time. 

Please note the following:

• Members must be present with their guest at all times.
• Guest must be listed in Skedda.
• Guest must be 13-years-old or older.
• Guest must follow any COVID-19 rules in place.
• Guest must sign the entry waiver.
• Guest cannot use any shop-owned tools; they may help you with your project only.
• Members are responsible for their guest.

Skedda

To ensure availability of tools and reasonable occupancy levels in the space, all time is scheduled through our private venue in Skedda. Members receive an invite to create an account for our venue in Skedda via email after completing membership onboarding (see How to Join on our main website for more info).

General info about Skedda:

• Facility hours are 5 AM - 2 AM, 7 days a week.
• Areas or specific machines in the shop are listed in Skedda as "spaces".
• Each member may book up to a certain number of hours per week across all workspaces (count resets on Monday).
• You must provide a mobile phone number to complete your booking.  This will not be visible to other members, except the Board of Directors and designated Skedda admins.  This allows us a direct means to contact you in the moment should we need to speak with you during your reservation.
  • Note:  Only your Booking Title is visible to other members in Skedda.
• There are multiple slots available for booking the woodshop.  There is no difference between them, it simply allows for multiple members to work in the woodshop at the same time.  Members booked for the woodshop at the same time should work together to maintain distance, sanitation, and coordination of shared machinery.
  • If you know you will be heavily using a specific tool in the woodshop during your reservation (e.g. router table), feel free to indicate that in the Booking Title field to let other members know.  
  • If another member booked concurrently in the woodshop has provided contact information or you wish to reach out to them through Discourse, you may contacting them to game plan in advance how you will work together in the shop.

Equipment-specific time limits

There are a few machines in the space with high demand which have limits on the length of bookings. Additionally, we only allow one "active" reservation at a time for these machines. An "active" reservation is defined as a reservation that will occur at some point in the future. A second active reservation may be made with "bumpable" in the Booking Title field. This indicates a soft reservation that another member may bump if they need the time.

• Lasers - max 3 hours
• Wood CNC - max 4.5 hours 

How to Bump a Reservation

Member’s personal contact information is not shared in Skedda unless that member decides to share it in the title of their booking.  If the member has provided a mode of contact and you are comfortable reaching out, you may do so directly.  If a member has not provided their contact information in Skedda, you may also search for them in Discourse and reach out to them directly there.

If you would prefer not to contact the member directly, you may also email membership@asmbly.org and we will help make the adjustment. Remember we are a volunteer run organization, so requests will take time to fulfill. Please give at least 24 hours advance notice when requesting help bumping another member's reservation and wait for confirmation before going to the space.  If another member requests to “bump you” and take your soft reservation, please kindly respect their request.

Stages in Austin's COVID-19 Risk-Based Guidelines

Asmbly has used Austin-Travis County's COVID-19 Risk-Based Guidelines, as well as many other sources, for guidance on adjustments to operations during various levels of severity during the pandemic. The stages are numbered from 1 to 5 where 5 indicates the highest risk of community transmission and 1 indicates the lowest risk. Below are differences in our operations based on each stage.

All Stages

The following applies to all stages:

• Woodshop slots available for booking: 6 (+ artisan workbench)
• Members weekly allotted hours: 24

Stage 5

This stage indicates a high level of community transmission and risk. The city advises to restrict all activity outside the home to only what is "essential." Members are encouraged to consider whether their visit to Asmbly is truly essential during this time.

• Masks required regardless of vaccination status
• No in-person meetup groups at the space.
  • If you'd like to host something virtually, contact membership@asmbly.org

Stage 4

• Masks required regardless of vaccination status
• No in-person meetup groups at the space.
  • If you'd like to host something virtually, contact membership@asmbly.org

Stage 3

• Masks optional for those who are fully vaccinated
• Max size for in-person events at the space: 15
  • In-person meetups at the space permitted if sponsored by an Asmbly member and approved by the board

Stage 2

• Masks optional for those who are fully vaccinated
• Max size for in-person events at the space: 20
  • In-person meetups at the space permitted if sponsored by an Asmbly member and approved by the board

Stage 1

• TBD