In Tamid 1:4, in describing the daily service of clearing the previous day's ash from the Altar, the Mishna tells us of a reminder the assembled kohanim would give to the one kohen selected for the ash job:
וְהֵם אוֹמְרִים לוֹ, הִזָּהֵר שֶׁמָּא תִגַּע בַּכְּלִי, עַד שֶׁתְּקַדֵּשׁ יָדֶיךָ וְרַגְלֶיךָ מִן הַכִּיּוֹר, וַהֲרֵי הַמַּחְתָּה נְתוּנָה בַמִּקְצוֹעַ בֵּין הַכֶּבֶשׁ לַמִּזְבֵּחַ, בְּמַעֲרָבוֹ שֶׁל כָּבֶשׁ.
"Be careful to not touch the utensil [the shovel] until you have sanctified your hands and feet from the laver." And [they would continue saying],"Look, the shovel is placed in the corner between the ramp [of the altar] and the altar, on the west of the ramp."
I understand why it would make sense to make warning the ash-clearer to wash before starting the service part of the routine. The Torah tells us (Ex. 30:20-21) that making sure to wash before serving in the Temple is a matter of life and death:
בְּבֹאָ֞ם אֶל־אֹ֧הֶל מוֹעֵ֛ד יִרְחֲצוּ־מַ֖יִם וְלֹ֣א יָמֻ֑תוּ א֣וֹ בְגִשְׁתָּ֤ם אֶל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֙חַ֙ לְשָׁרֵ֔ת לְהַקְטִ֥יר אִשֶּׁ֖ה לַֽיהוָֽה׃ וְרָחֲצ֛וּ יְדֵיהֶ֥ם וְרַגְלֵיהֶ֖ם וְלֹ֣א יָמֻ֑תוּ וְהָיְתָ֨ה לָהֶ֧ם חָק־עוֹלָ֛ם ל֥וֹ וּלְזַרְע֖וֹ לְדֹרֹתָֽם׃
When they enter the Tent of Meeting they shall wash with water, that they may not die; or when they approach the altar to serve, to turn into smoke an offering by fire to the LORD, they shall wash their hands and feet, that they may not die. It shall be a law for all time for them—for him and his offspring—throughout the ages.
I don't understand the motivation for the second reminder.1 Why follow a dire warning to comply with the rules with an apparently routine reminder of the location of the tool to use? There are many details of the service about to be performed that the kohanim could remind ash-clearer of, including the location to deposit the ash (described later in this mishna). Why specifically remind him, every time, of where the shovel is?
1. Tosafot Yom Tov s.v. "והרי המחתה" explicitly interprets the second sentence as part of the statement of the kohanim, as is rendered in the Sefaria translation quoted here. This strikes me as consistent with the word "והרי" introducing that sentence. I haven't seen any commentators that interpret this sentence as a description by the mishna rather than an instruction by the kohanim.