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Welcome to the FIRSTWebconference

2005 FRC Field

Supervisor Training

Guide

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Introduction & Overview

Facilitator: Hutton Snow FIRST Director of Engineering

Facilitator: Chris Mikus

The Field Supervisor plays a key role in coordinating the flow of events on the field and is crucial to a successful outcome. It is a demanding and rewarding position that will challenge your organizational, operational, and diplomatic skills.

The following material assumes some basic knowledge of how a FIRST Robotics Competition event works (experience with at least one previous competition).

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Responsibilities

Establishing event flow and keeping the event on schedule Starting and finishing on time – not late, not early

Training the field reset folks and ensuring a job well done Identifying and resolving issues by including the

appropriate subject matter expert. Must be a catalyst for resolving problems

YOU are ultimately responsible for making sure everything on the field goes smoothly – the buck stops here, nothing is “not my job” if it involves the field

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Principles Requires great diplomacy and many judgment calls If there is a rule, follow it or you will be asking for trouble If there is not a hard and fast rule, keep in mind that you

need to be able to apply the decision across all teams if necessary

Need to be decisive Employ the appropriate subject matter experts in

resolving issues. The Tech Advisor, Head Referee, Lead Robot Inspector, and IFI representatives are your first choices for most issues you can’t resolve yourself

Remember that your actions will be closely watched and the teams are looking for consistency and no favoritism

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Principles (cont.)

Necessary behaviors: Be polite – “please” and “thank you” go a long way Be humble – don’t be afraid to ask for help Be approachable – you have to know what’s going on Be patient – stay calm and work things through Be a good listener – show empathy but then get to the point Be flexible – there is more than one way to accomplish most

goals Be professional – you are representing FIRST

At the end of they day you won’t be able to keep all people happy but if you are consistent and fair you’ve done the best you can

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Key Team Members

Constant communication is key. More is better. Strive to over-communicate.

You should establish a productive rapport with the following people who will be crucial to your success

FIRST Tech Advisor He/She is your “go to” person for technical issues All these people have done your job in previous years and know

the ropes They are responsible for assisting with field set up / training for

others / tear down and resolving technical issues throughout the competition

Check in regularly and get feedback on how things are going

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Key Team Members (cont.)

Event Manager Establish start and end times for each day Review VIP appearances and needed support Review media plans & establish ground rules for camera

operators & photographers Keep them updated on progress versus schedule

Head Referee Review interaction between field reset and refs Establish what signal they will give you for indicating scoring is

over and its OK to enter the field Emphasize importance of fast scoring – establish feedback

method on pace (“I’m going to let you know if I think you are taking too long!”)

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Key Team Members (cont.)

Head inspector Establish method of communicating which teams passed

inspection Review anything to watch out for on the field (e.g., tires that

could become a problem) Head Queuer

Key individual for keeping the event on schedule Establish flow patterns and expectations for queuing Establish importance of communication Let them know that while you want to call teams early to make

sure they are ready, we don’t want to call teams too early.

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Key Team Members (cont.) Innovation First Representative

Establish rapport, let them know how much you are counting on them for things to go smooth technically

Establish who checks robots for green LED’s and who gives emcee the “ready to start”

Either one or both of you Review plan for drivers meeting

Pit announcer Establish expectations for staying on schedule. Let them know that if

teams are missing from the queue they will be expected to help find them

Too much chatter over the pit can be bad. Teams will tune it out and miss real information. We are looking to the teams to watch the schedule so they know when to report to the field. Less announcing.

Review with lead queuer the need to call teams early but not too early

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Key Team Members (cont.)

Head Scorekeeper Play key role in getting scoring entered and the next match

ready Make sure they have a direct line to tech support if needed

(Tech Advisor should be able to provide direct line to support personnel)

Emcee Review process of giving introductions prior to each match Let them know who will tell them when we are ready to start

Usually either yourself or the Innovation First person – you decide

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Key Team Members (cont.)

Volunteer Coordinator Discuss how many volunteers you need for field set up, queuing,

etc. Emphasize the need to have reliable volunteers for queuing and

field setup and preferably some good percentage who work all 3 days

This really helps maintain consistency and timing Establish process for having the volunteer coordinator work all

volunteer additions/subtractions that effect the field through you

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Key Team Members (cont.)

A/V Manager Make sure you know how to find him/her in case of emergency May also want to get to know the DJ so you can influence the

music selection since you are going to be listening to it for 12 hours a day

It is also ok to ask them to turn it down if necessary. It tends to drown out the game announcer

Use A/V Manager with regards to Union Sites or not. They will know best how to handle.

Head Judge Introduce yourself in case they need anything to do with the

field/competition flow

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Equipment

You will be on a radio Good for communication with queuers, pit announcer, A/V,

Event Manager, Innovation First tech support Scissors / pocket knife

In addition to carrying a knife, it’s a good idea to put scissors for carpet trimming in a central location

List of matches / schedule and a pen to keep track of progress

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Equipment (cont.)

A watch with a second hand – preferably a sport watch with a stop watch

Know where the tool box is and check to make sure it has the necessary stuff for field maintenance

Make sure you know where the cleaning supplies are

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Field Set Up & Checkout

The Field Supervisor is responsible for field setup and breakdown.

The FIRST Tech Advisor is a resource to advise and support the Field Supervisor to ensure timely field setup.

Check with the Volunteer Coordinator to insure that you have enough people to assist in setup and breakdown.

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Event Flow

Review overall schedule with Event Manager, emcee, and lead queuer Start and stop times each day Match numbers and scheduled breaks / intermissions for each

day Lunch break schedule

Reminder: elimination pairings are always going to be before lunch this year.

Schedule for opening and closing ceremony speeches, special adjustments done to the field, etc.

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Queuing

Review with queuing team the traffic flow of robots to / from pit

Establish in painful detail: Where on-deck robots are to wait How robots will get loaded on the field Where carts will go while robots are on the field How robots come off the field You have to have a universally recognized, consistently followed

traffic flow Need to check that robot numbers correspond to the numbers on

the scoring system Make sure everyone understands stations Red 1, Red 2, Red 3,

Blue 1, Blue 2, and Blue 3

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Queuing (cont.)

Alliance team members must decide their robot position on the field prior to stepping onto the field

The drivers must be under the computer-assigned driving position Establish that queuers are ultimately responsible for making sure

the right robots / drivers get to the right playing spot You and the field setup folks will help but queuers need to be

responsible Emphasize to the team their importance in keeping the event on

schedule Let head queuer decide where to post queuing people Establish radio channel for queuing info Review guidelines for how long we will wait for missing teams

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Pit

Get to know the pit manager and pit announcer as they will be very helpful in communicating any messages you may have to the teams

Know the pit layout so you can find teams if necessary, although you will most likely stay on the field

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Field Reset

Meet with field reset team and review: Importance of speed and accuracy in reset

No one under Age 12 Review field configuration – exactly how you want it set

up – be firm! Review importance of not touching any robot or piece of

field until referee gives OK sign (establish what the OK sign is)

Review rules for what to do with tetras that leave the field Tetras do not get returned to the playing field Tetras are recycled through the stacks of tetras

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Field Reset (cont.)

Assign a head reset person Review field maintenance procedures

Trimming carpet snags Re-taping lines Replacing damaged tetras – decide when a tetra

needs replacing and establish where reserve is Picking up trash

Put robot parts that look important in a central place Have trash cans around for debris

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Field Reset (cont.)

Establish a sense of pride in how the field looks, including sidelines Picking up trash Keeping things neat and organized Keep judge’s tables/area clean

Review where you want people posted (if important) Gates onto field Human player stations Helping teams get set up and disconnected

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Field Reset (cont.)

Establish protocol for people taking a break Who gets notified, etc.

Figure out who will be working which days and let the volunteer coordinator know if you need more people or have too many

Emphasize the need for being punctual – you are counting on these folks to be on time

Make sure everyone has safety glasses and understands they need to keep them on to be near/on the field

Tell the volunteers that they must wear their volunteer shirt and try to look neat

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Practice Day

An opportunity to work out kinks in traffic flow and field setup An opportunity to practice announcing This is when the teams learn the match timing, get the feel of the

human player mats, etc. THIS IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO SET THE TONE FOR THE 2 DAYS OF COMPETITION WITH THE TEAMS.

Make sure you have a schedule of rounds Know if / how the scoring system enforces schedule Keep rough tabs on how many teams are passing inspection Look for wear and tear on the field Don’t swap out tetras unless absolutely necessary Let rookie members of your team know that the intensity level will be

substantially higher tomorrow – don’t get too comfortable

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Practice Day (cont.)

Make sure the scoring system is working properly Work with Innovation First personnel to swap out cables,

if necessary, at end of day They will likely change them at noon on Friday and Saturday

Perform field maintenance at end of day Vacuum carpet and trim loose ends Check tetras Field markings Clean glass – both sides Clean HDPE triangular shapes – yellow, red, and blue Make sure the green vinyl on the vision tetras is replaced if

necessary

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Driver’s Meeting

This will be the responsibility of the FIRST Tech Advisor and the IFI representative but you may want to weigh in on field and flow issues.

Work out with Innovation First personnel and head ref the topics for the driver’s meeting (this should be scripted ahead of time but there may be additional topics) Innovation First will review technical issues with controls and

scoring system Head Ref will review point of the rules they want to emphasize

(disqualification etc.)

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Driver’s Meeting (cont.)

You should review: Traffic pattern Importance of getting on and off field quickly Safety glasses and operators badges Schedule – times indicated on the match list are for reference only – you

MAY GET AHEAD or behind Here to have fun – gracious professionalism No replays Make sure a team rep is available for elimination pairings See head ref for questions about action on the field See you for questions about action off the field

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Event Introduction

Review schedule with Event Manager Set up field the way the Event Manager wants it Let queuers know to load the first teams and have on-

deck teams ready before the start of the opening ceremonies

Check that the robots can establish communications by powering them on.

Let teams on the field turn off their robots to save power

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Qualifying (Seeding) Rounds

Always know what round you are on and where you are versus the expected time schedule May want to keep a stop watch to capture the cycle time from

one round to next – good way to monitor pace versus plan If not on target, then look for the bottlenecks and fix them

Field set up time Getting teams on / off field Getting teams connected / disconnected Referee scoring time (work with refs to improve) Emcee / announcer taking too long

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Qualifying (Seeding) Rounds (cont.) Early on focus on field set up and make sure this goes

smoothly Once field reset is going well take a look at how queuing

is going Periodically check in with all key people to make sure

everything is going smoothly FIRST Tech Advisor Lead queuer Pit announcer Event Manager Head referee Innovation First personnel Scoring table

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Qualifying (Seeding) Rounds (cont.) Coordinate breaks for those who need them Look for trouble Keep people pumped up End of Day One, perform field maintenance

Replace tetras as necessary Carpet vacuum and trimming Cleaning glass Field markings Trash pickup Clean HDPE triangular shapes – yellow, red, and blue Make sure the green vinyl on the vision tetras is replaced if

necessary

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Qualifying (Seeding) Rounds (cont.) Start of Day Two

Ask field set up and queuers to get there early (but not ridiculously early)

Verify time of volunteer breakfast Meet with group to confirm roles / responsibilities Confirm introduction schedule with Event Manager Decide with FIRST Tech Advisor and IFI rep if another driver’s

meeting is needed to refresh things Repeat start up as on Day One

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Elimination Pairings

Alliance pairings will be done before lunch this year and make that announcement

Review with emcee how pairings will work Where they will line up Process used

Process used will be the same for all events

Make sure alliance captain bibs are available Bibs should be numbered 1 through 8

Undoubtedly there will be some team representatives missing – be prepared to send some runners to the pit to track them down

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Elimination Pairings (cont.)

Help scoring table keep track of selections if necessary

Make sure if a team declines a selection that they understand the consequences (they will be out of the competition)

Once selections are done, meet with alliance captains to review the rules for making the match-ups

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Elimination Pairings (cont.)

This year there will be a bench, i.e., the next 8 seeded teams after the alliance pairings are complete If 1 of the 3 robots in an Elimination alliance is unable

to continue, the Alliance captain may chose the the next seed on the bench… it must be the next one in order and an Alliance can go to the bench only once

Once selections are done, be sure to get a printout of the pairings, get them to the queuers, and keep a copy for yourself

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Elimination Pairings (cont.)

Before the eliminations begin, review revised traffic pattern with queuers and field setup folks Need a holding place for teams waiting for their next round Think this through! Don’t underestimate the chaos that can

ensue when teams come off the field and look for a place to wait.

There will be twice as many teams on deck so be prepared Be flexible! Try not to move the teams around unnecessarily.

Don’t let the robots go back to the pit if they are in the elimination rounds

There will be some FIRST-provided batteries at the scoring table for use by teams. They must be returned.

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Elimination Rounds

Help queuers in the early stages to make sure they have the hang of the new flow

Help manage the turnaround time on the rounds to stay on schedule, but give the teams as much time as possible to reset and cool down.

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Elimination Rounds (cont.)

Encourage the emcee to fill in any dead time and entertain the crowd

Work with crowd control to make sure the field perimeter doesn’t get too crowded and the people in the stands can see

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Awards

Check with Event Manager to see how he / she wants the field set up

Quickly clean up the carpet, but there is most likely no time to vacuum.

DO NOT GIVE OUT Tetras These will need to be collected and stored away.

They will be used for practice at the next event. Help staff with medals, etc. Good time to give positive feedback to the event

team as warranted

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Clean Up

Help the FIRST Tech Advisor with field breakdown and clean-up