Lesson 4. Safe Working Procedures and General Maintenance
| Reference Files | Chapter Test 4 (Chapter_Test_04.pdf) |
| Time | This lesson takes approximately 11¼2 hours to complete. |
| Goals | Explain ESD dangers, and practice ESD safety and prevention
List the basic equipment needed to reduce the risk of damage from ESD and explain how this equipment does its job Set up a conductive workbench mat Clean a monitor screen safely Care for the translucent plastics on Apple products Optimize a hard disk Check for viruses Dispose of batteries safely Back up data files |
In service professions, you have to be prepared for any type of task; you never know whether the next request is going to be as big as a bonfire or as small as a hangnail. In either case, you need to be aware of safe and appropriate tools and procedures. Whether the computers you're taking care of belong to you, a customer, or any large group, this lesson provides the information to help you approach any situation safely and with the proper tools.
In this lesson, you will learn about electrostatic discharge (ESD) safety as well as the details of more general computer upkeep. While these may seem like unrelated topics, they coexist on the continuum of “smart things to know and do so as to not mess up your computer (or anyone else's).”
NOTE
Any time you get under the hood of a computer, you are exposing yourself and the machine to some level of electrical risk. However, nowhere is this risk greater than when you work with the cathode-ray tube (CRT). Specific warnings and guidelines for CRT safety are covered in Lesson 10, “Cathode-Ray Tubes.”