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Education

Every Student Safe. Every Machine Accountable.

RFID access control, certification tracking, and real-time safety monitoring for K-12 woodshops, CTE programs, and university makerspaces. Only trained students operate equipment. No exceptions.

30+
Campus Deployments
6,000+
Students Managed
0
Unauthorized Access Incidents
Lab Admin Dashboard
Live
Active Tools 3 of 15
Table Saw #1 J. MARTINEZ Certified
Laser Cutter A. PATEL Certified
CNC Router K. CHEN Denied
Today's Stats PM2.5: 12 µg/m³
187
Certified
3
Denied
The Challenge

Safety Can't Depend on
the Honor System.

Running a workshop with dozens of students and dangerous equipment is a daily exercise in risk management. Paper sign-offs and verbal check-ins aren't enough.

Untrained Students on Dangerous Equipment

A student walks up to the table saw while the instructor is helping someone else. No way to physically prevent an uncertified student from flipping the switch. One incident changes everything.

Paper Certifications Have No Teeth

Sign-off sheets get lost, forged, or ignored. When a parent or administrator asks for proof of training compliance, you're scrambling through filing cabinets. No timestamps, no digital trail, no defense.

Liability Exposure Every Day the Shop Is Open

OSHA compliance, district safety requirements, insurance audits. If something goes wrong, "we told them not to" isn't a legal defense. You need proof of enforcement, not just policy.

No Data for Budget Justification

When the principal asks if the CNC router is worth the investment, you have nothing but anecdotes. No utilization reports, no student engagement metrics, no evidence for grant applications.

Your Solution Stack

Four Systems. One Platform.

Every tool a school workshop needs to go from "we hope students follow the rules" to "the system enforces the rules." Pick what you need — they all work together.

🔐
Access Control

RFID student IDs gate every machine. If a student lacks certification, the equipment physically will not power on. No exceptions, no workarounds.

  • RFID reader on each controlled tool — lockout at the power level
  • Real-time certification verification before equipment powers on
  • Works with existing school ID cards and mobile wallets
  • Complete audit trail — who accessed what, when, for how long
  • Multi-tier permissions: student, TA, instructor, admin
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⏱️
Time Tracking

Automatic session logging from tap-in to tap-out. Know exactly how many hours each student spends in the shop, on which machines, every semester.

  • Automatic session start/stop tied to RFID access events
  • Per-student, per-machine usage reports exportable to CSV
  • Utilization data for grant applications and budget requests
  • Lab hour tracking for course credit and certification programs
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🌬️
Environmental Monitoring

Continuous air quality sensors track PM2.5 and ductwork pressure in real time. Automated alerts when thresholds breach. OSHA-ready compliance logs.

  • Real-time PM2.5 particulate monitoring with threshold alerts
  • Ductwork static pressure tracking for collection efficiency
  • 8-hour time-weighted average logs for OSHA documentation
  • Historical data and trend reports for safety audits
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💨
Dust Management

Automated blast gates and VFD-controlled dust collection. When a student powers on a tool, the correct blast gate opens and the collector adjusts — instantly.

  • Motorized blast gates open/close automatically per tool activation
  • VFD speed control adjusts collector power to match active tools
  • Filter pressure monitoring with replacement alerts
  • Integrated with access control — collection starts when a certified user taps in
Learn More
Trusted Across Campuses

Running in 30+ Facilities.

From high school woodshops to R1 university fabrication labs, GRIT is the access control and safety platform institutions trust.

University of Illinois
  • Siebel Center for Design
  • Architecture Fabrication Lab
  • Krannert Center
University of Arizona
  • Engineering Design Center
  • Salter Labs
  • Library Makerspace
Penn State University
  • Campus Makerspace (200+ users)
Stevens Institute of Technology
  • MakerCenter
Missouri S&T
  • Innovation Lab
CCAC West Hills
  • Community College CTE Program
Why GRIT for Education

Built for How Schools Actually Work.

No subscription lock-in. Data stays on your network. Works with what you already have.

🎫
Works With Existing Student IDs

No new card system needed. RFID readers work with your current school ID credentials and Apple/Google Wallet.

📥
CSV Bulk Import

Import 200+ students from your student information system in minutes. Works with Canvas LMS and standard SIS databases.

💰
No Subscriptions. Ever.

Capital expenditure model. Buy once, own it. No monthly per-seat fees. No SaaS budget surprises. Budget-friendly for schools.

🔒
On-Premise Mesh Network

Student data stays on your school network. Offline-first. FERPA-friendly. No cloud dependency. Your IT team stays happy.

📊
Canvas LMS Integration

Certification requirements can sync from your Canvas courses. Students complete a module — their access updates automatically.

📱
Apple & Google Wallet

Students add their lab credential to their phone. No lost IDs, no replacements. Just tap to access certified equipment.

What a Lab Setup Looks Like

Start Small. Scale Fast.

One hub covers your entire lab. Add readers and triggers as you grow. Here's a typical 15-machine deployment.

Typical 15-Machine Lab

Starting at ~$2,900

A complete deployment with access control on every tool, air quality monitoring, and full certification tracking. Everything your lab needs from day one.

1 GRIT Hub — the brain of the system. Manages all readers, triggers, and sensors over an ESP-NOW mesh network.
15 GRIT Track Readers — RFID readers mounted at each tool. Students tap their ID to unlock.
15 Plug Lockouts — inline between the tool and the outlet. No certification = no power.
Air Quality Sensor — PM2.5 monitoring with OSHA-ready 8-hour TWA logging.
No subscriptions. No cloud required. Student data stays on your lab network.
Scale anytime. Add blast gates for automated dust collection, more readers for new tools, or E-Stop Triggers for emergency shutdown capability.
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Lab Admin Dashboard

Real-Time Visibility Into Every Machine.

Everything a lab director, CTE coordinator, or workshop teacher needs — at a glance.

Admin Dashboard — Live
Students Certified
187
Across all machines
Access Denied Today
3
Untrained attempts blocked
Lab Utilization
78%
This week average
Air Quality
12
PM2.5 µg/m³ — Safe
Compliance & Safety

From Policy to Enforcement.

GRIT doesn't just document your safety rules — it physically enforces them. Every tap, every denial, every session is logged.

Tuesday morning, Period 3. Twenty-two students file into the woodshop. Each taps their school ID at the door reader. The dashboard lights up — 22 students signed in, 18 certified on the table saw, 12 on the band saw, 7 on the CNC router. A student walks to the CNC and taps their ID. Red light. Access denied — they haven't completed Module 3 yet. The machine stays locked. No confrontation. No guesswork. The system handled it. Meanwhile, the air quality sensor reads 14 µg/m³. The dust collector is running at 60% — exactly what's needed for the three active tools. At the end of the period, every session is logged. Every access attempt — approved and denied — is timestamped. That's your audit trail.

From the Field

What Lab Directors Say

We went from paper sign-off sheets to RFID in one semester. Two unauthorized access attempts were blocked in week one alone. The utilization reports helped us justify a second laser cutter to administration. GRIT paid for itself before the end of the academic year.
— Dr. Sarah K., Fabrication Lab Director · Midwest University

Build Your Lab Setup Today

Lab directors, CTE coordinators, and facilities managers — get a no-pressure consultation on what works for your workshop. We'll scope exactly what you need and provide a quote. Most labs deploy in a single day.