Introduction
The Distribution Room is a combined resource centre for the London School of Film, Media and Design. Its aim is to provide a ‘one stop’ shop for all the equipment, facilities booking, consumable sales and advice for students working within the School.
We hope to offer more than just booking of kit and paying for paper; we will be offering demonstrations, exhibitions, screenings, showcases.
SiSo (Stock in, Stock out) booking system
The Distribution Room uses an online resource, SiSo (stock in, stock out) to manage all technical bookings through the School. Depending on your course you will be given access to a wide range of equipment and facilities, some of which you will need specialist training (please see the section ‘Inductions’). If some of the equipment is not available to your course please see The Distribution Room staff.
To log in to SiSo, please go to this address using your normal logging in details provided by IT
(same as Portal and Blackboard):
Information on how to book equipment and how to fill out a risk assessment for your booking is provided in the next section ‘How to book equipment, rooms and key facilities’.
Also, inductions and demonstrations on how to use The Distribution Room and SiSo will run in the first few weeks of the semester.
The Distribution Room location and opening times
Room: BY.01.015
Contact – Josh Sjoroos. Distribution room phone number is 0208 231 2260
Opening Hours
Monday to Friday 09.00am – 17:00pm – See notice on the door for extended opening times in the semester.
Weekend Closed
General Information and Rules
- Students must complete induction on how to book on Siso before booking.
- Training / induction must be completed on certain equipment for it to be loaned.
- Bookings should be made online and in advance, where possible.
- Walk-in requests will take longer to process and will still need to be submitted in a timely manner, to allow staff to review risk assesments.
- Equipment must be collected on time or your booking will be deleted.
- £6 fine per item per day if the equipment is late (please see ‘Fines’)
- All fines must be cleared in 28 days or further steps will be taken. Students not paying their fine after 14 days will be banned from the system until paid.
- An authorised risk assessment form will need to be completed before most equipment is loaned.
- All equipment will be checked in and out by a member of staff. Kit cannot be returned if not complete.
- A booking made at a particular time must be returned by that time on the last day of the loan.
- Equipment will have either a 3 day, 5 day or 7 day booking period.
Fines
Fines are set at £6 per day, per item. This means that if you have a number of items out on loan, there is a chance you can accrue a large amount very quickly.
The fines are there to safeguard you, no other reason. If an item of equipment is brought back late it means there could be another student who does not get their kit. This could mean real expense for that student (imagine if they have paid for models, actors, crew, transport, location costs, etc).
If you cannot return the equipment on time please let us know before the return time. If you are ill and cannot get in please do your best to let us know as soon as you can. We may in certain circumstances ask for a doctors note before deleting the fine.
We do not want to fine students. It is much more important to get the equipment back into the store for the next booking, in good condition and working. If there are any problems, accidents or thefts, please let us know as soon as possible (please see information about equipment insurance), 9 times out of 10 we can come to an arrangement and help you get back on track.
Major Projects
For final year students there will be times where you will need to work with equipment for an extended period. The SiSo system allows you to book equipment for a set duration (3, 5 or 7 days depending on the equipment). The major project facility allows individual or groups to book equipment for longer periods. The procedure is as follows:
- Discuss with your supervisor the project and gain agreement with them and your course leader to proceed.
- Complete a Risk assessment for the project listing the equipment needed and the dates you want them (ask your supervisor to authorise this risk assessment).
- Email the details to LSFMDDistroom@uwl.ac.uk, with proof of authorisation from your supervisor and course leader. It is strongly suggested that this is done 2 weeks in advance of collection date to ensure equipment is available and not booked by other students.
Equipment Insurance
If you take out equipment from the school we encourage you to take out insurance as it is your responsibility if it is damaged or lost. The University does not cover any breakages, theft or losses whilst the equipment is being loaned.
There are a number of options for insuring loaned (or hired) equipment. However, be aware that most general insurance companies will not automatically insure ‘hired in’ equipment, without adding this to your policy. If in doubt, please seek advice from a member of staff before proceeding.
The Association of Photographers – reduced cost insurance (for 1st year) with William Carson & Co
If you are a photography student (and there’s some benefit for moving image students too) we recommend that you join the Association of Photographers. This part is free and has several benefits because UWL is an affiliate. You also get an introductory offer of insurance from William Carson & Co, which does cover you for hired-in equipment (meaning the borrowed equipment from our store) plus obviously your own equipment. Please see this website: www.the-aop.org/membership/join-us/student
Work outside of the UK
If you are going abroad with the equipment you must take out adequate insurance and produce the policy to the Distribution Room/technician before the equipment is released. You will also need to do a Risk Assessment for this and get this approved by your lecturer along with the Distribution Room before you book your travel.