Inspecting with GMS: Quick Reference & Best Practices

Quick Reference Guide

·         On Pit map screen,

o   colors: Green means team is at or above target Inspection state, Yellow is 1 state behind, Red is 2 or more states behind, Red also means "Re-Inspection required", Pink means Re-Check team for non-critical issue, Blue means team is assigned to you.  Eliminated teams are Purple.

o   long-press on team to "Mark" them orange as a personal reminder. Personal reminders are not shared.

o   vertical swipe to view tabular form (Team Attributes screen)

o   horizontal swipe to view team location according to match schedule:

Red means on the field, Yellow means in the match queue

·         On Team Attributes screen,

o   touch on column header to sort by column

o   left-most column colors indicate the team's match schedule location

o   pending column shows number of incomplete checklist items for team

Yellow means checklist completed, needs signature.  Green means signature completed.

·         During Inspection,

o   click Resume (next to Inspect) to view incomplete checklist items only.

o   long-press on checklist item to erase choice

o   game manual is available by swiping left.  Pinch to fit it on screen.

·         Add notes under "Team Notes" (not "Match Notes"). 

o   all notes are shared.

o   mark up a picture note by long pressing the icon

o   delete notes by long pressing the icon, and selecting Delete

·         After recording signatures, enter the names of Team Captain and Team Mentor

o   Signature page is listed as one of the notes

·         On the State screen,

o   add or remove teams from the Inspection queue

o   de-assign yourself or assign others

o   change robot weights

o   change Inspection state or flag team for Re-Inspection

§  Red is Re-Inspection required, Pink is Re-Check suggested

Target Inspection State

The LRI decides when to change the Event's Target Inspection State.  This affects the coloring of teams.

Initial à Unbagged  àWeighed à Safety Checked à Quals Checked à Elimination Checked

Unbagged

·         LRI Sets Target Inspection State to Unbagged.

·         LRI / IM en-queue teams when they say that they want to be unbagged.

·         RI visits each team in their pit, preferably guided by the queue order.

o   Verify that team has registered with Pit Admin (check for packet)

·         Check Robot Lock up Form for dates and times

o   If OK, change Team State to "Unbagged"

§  If team is ready, tell team to go for Weighing (No GMS queue)

o   if not OK:

§  Mark team for Re-Inspection (Red)

§  Add note explaining the issue. 

§  Ask team to fill out Robot Noncompliance form

§  Ask team to get back on the queue when they are done

Weighed

·         When most of teams are unbagged, LRI changes the Target Inspection State to Weighed.

·         RIs visit Red & Yellow teams in pits and encourage them to get weighed

·         Teams queue up at LRI desk

·         Check Robot perimeter size

o   If not OK: Add note and ask team to fix the issue

·         Record Robot weight in GMS (without battery)

o   If not OK: Add note and ask team to fix the issue

o   Record the weight even if it is not OK

·         Take a picture of Robot configuration.  Remind team to get re-inspected if they change ANYTHING

·         Ask if team is ready for Safety Inspection.

o   if so, add team to queue, optionally assign a RI.

o   If not, tell team that they cannot do Practice Matches till they are safety checked

·         If all is OK, change team state to Weighed.

Safety Inspection

·         When most of teams are Weighed, LRI changes the Target Inspection State to Safety Checked

·         RIs can visit teams in pits in order of the Queue.  A RI may be assigned to team.

o   The team is automatically de-queued when the RI starts inspecting.

o   RI should ask team if anything changed after Weighing.  If significant change:

§  send them to get re-weighed

§  take a picture

·         Check for safety issues.  If there are problems,

o   Take another picture, add a note

o   If RI needs LRI's opinion, assign the LRI to this team

o   Tell team to fix the problem and then request to be re-queued

·         If team is ready, continue inspection past the initial checks

·         Set team state to Safety Checked or Quals Checked, as appropriate

o   GMS will indicate to Queuers that the team is OK for Practice

·         If team was assigned to you, de-assign yourself.

Quals Checked

·         When most of teams are Safety Checked, LRI changes the Target Inspection State to Qualification Checked

·         The steps are similar to those in "Safety Inspection".

·         You can stop going through the checklist for various reasons.

o   Tell the team to get back on the Inspection Queue when they are ready

o   The next RI can pick up where you left off.

o   Click on the Resume button to skip completed items in the checklist.

Elims (Playoff) Checked

·         Towards the end of Qualification rounds, LRI changes the Target Inspection State to Elim Checked

o   If API Monitoring is enabled, Teams Rankings will be displayed.

§  Sort by Rankings in the Team Attributes screen

o   Mark the top 20 teams (or so) and call them for Re-Inspection

·         After Alliance selection, LRI sets Game Phase to Elimination

o   If API Monitoring is enabled, eliminated teams will be marked purple

o   Verify that all non-eliminated teams are green, i.e., they are checked.

o   Sort by Rankings, and note the top 3 eliminated teams.  These will be the Reserve teams.  Change their state from Eliminated back to Quals Checked or Elims Checked.  Check Logs to verify they were Elim Checked.

§  Elim Check them if necessary

§  Remind these teams not to pack up and go home

Tips

·         Keep weights consistent: record robot weights without the battery.  Battery weighs around 13.5 lbs.  Makes it easier to detect configuration changes.

·         Take pictures while weighing-in and after each reconfiguration of robot

·         Add a note whenever a team is flagged for Re-Inspection or Re-Check.  Explain the issue.

o   Also add a note when the issue is cleared.  This indicates who cleared it and why.

·         The Resume button (next to Inspect) is handy.  It hides the completed items.

·         Use the number & colors in Pending column to track inspection completions.

·         Each user should be assigned a unique name.  Allows LRI to assign teams to RIs and see who did what in the logs.

·         If you have a PC and a projector, project the live Pit Map to show Inspection states.

·         Having Internet Access is useful.

o   Turn on API monitor.  This enables live Team Rankings, Schedules, etc.

o   Turn on Team Notification.  This gives teams useful information

 

© Rajaram Pejaver, July 2014

FIRST®, the FIRST® logo, FRC® and Gracious Professionalism® are registered trademarks of the United States Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST®) Everything else is mine, unless it is already someone else's, in which case it is theirs, whosoever they are.