ENGINEERING HEALTH AND SAFETY

Successful health and safety management in small engineering workshops is about identifying
the most frequent and serious risks and adopting the right precautions, taking account of
time, money and resources.

1.1 State health and safety regulations applicable to engineering operations

Health and Safety at Work etc. Act, Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations,
Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations, Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and
Dangerous Occurrences Regulations, Manual Handling Operations Regulations, Lifting
Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations, The Control of Noise at Work Regulations.

Legal Requirements

Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 (No. 10 of 2005) requires:

 Employers manage and conduct their work activities in such a manner as to ensure
the safety, health and welfare of employees.
 That a risk assessment is carried out by the employer or person in control of the place
of work.
 Transport hazards that exist in the workplace must be assessed as part of this risk
assessment and appropriate steps taken to eliminate or reduce any risks found.

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1.2 State employers’ responsibilities to ensure health and safety in the workplace

Is to provide a safe place of work, safe plant and a safe working environment equipment, safe
methods of handling, storing and transporting goods and materials, reporting of accidents,
information, instruction, training and supervision of employees

Under the law employers are responsible for health and safety management. The following
provides a broad outline of how the law applies to employers. Don't forget, employees and
the self-employed have important responsibilities too.

 It is an employer's duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees
and other people who might be affected by their business. Employers must do
whatever is reasonably practicable to achieve this.
 This means making sure that workers and others are protected from anything that
may cause harm, effectively controlling any risks to injury or health that could arise in
the workplace.
 Employers have duties under health and safety law to assess risks in the workplace.
Risk assessments should be carried out that address all risks that might cause harm in
your workplace.
 Employers must give you information about the risks in your workplace and how you
are protected, also instruct and train you on how to deal with the risks.
 Employers must consult employees on health and safety issues. Consultation must be
either direct or through a safety representative that is either elected by the workforce
or appointed by a trade union.

1.3 State the safe working practices that should be adhered to in the workplace
 All workers are entitled to work in environments where risks to their health and safety
are properly controlled. Under health and safety law, the primary responsibility for
this is down to employers.
 Workers have a duty to take care of their own health and safety and that of others
who may be affected by your actions at work. Workers must co-operate with
employers and co-workers to help everyone meet their legal requirements.
 As a worker, if you have specific queries or concerns relating to health and safety in
your workplace, talk to your employer, manager/supervisor or a health and safety
representative.

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Be alert, maintain personal hygiene, protect yourself and other people, emergency
procedures, and report all hazards.

1.4 Name the policies and procedures used to ensure effective health and safety
implementation

Safety policies, codes of practice, safe systems of work.

Implementing your health and safety policy

Your health and safety policy should be a practical guide to how you manage health and safety
within your business.

Monitoring

Ways to check your policy include:

 Where you have set out clear responsibilities for various employees, you can check
that they have actually carried them out to the required standard.
 You can monitor whether people are working in accordance with any rules or safe
methods set out in the arrangements.
 You can walk around the workplace and check for hazards. Hazards are a sign that
safety management needs to be improved.
 Records or registers may be included as part of the arrangements section of your
policy. Check they are being used and what incidents or comments have been
recorded. For example, it is good practice to record workplace safety inspections and
training given to staff.

Involve your workers in your policy implementation

You have to consult all your workers on health and safety. You do this by listening and talking
to them about:

 health and safety and the work they do

 how risks are controlled
 the best ways of providing information and training

Consultation is a two-way process. Allow staff to raise concerns and influence decisions on
the management of health and safety. Your employees are often the best people to

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understand risks in the workplace. Involving them in making decisions shows them that you
take their health and safety seriously.

Some of the ways that you can bring the policy statement to your employees' attention are
by:

 including it in any employee handbooks

 providing it at induction
 including a copy with the contract of employment
 posting it on your intranet sites
 posting it on notice boards
 making the duties in the policy part of your employees' workplace objectives

1.5 Describe the essential health and safety requirements for the protection of operators
and bystanders

Bystander & Resident Exposure

Bystanders are defined by European Commission Regulation No 284/2013aspeople who

casually are located within, or directly adjacent, to an area where application of a plant
protection product is in process or has taken place, but not for the purpose of working on the
treated area or with the treated commodity.

Ensure

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE), designated

safe areas, first aid treatment: location of facilities, location of qualified first aiders.

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1.6 state the types and classification of health and safety signs that are used in an
engineering/manufacturing environment

Warning, prohibition, mandatory, information, fire.

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1.7 Define the roles, responsibilities and powers of personnel witf43h responsibility for
health and safety

Health and safety advisors, health and safety representatives, health and safety executive
inspectors.

1.8 describe the human and environmental conditions that lead to accidents in the
workplace and the means of controlling them

causes of accidents, accident prevention measures.

1.9 describe how to carry out a risk assessment and name potential hazards which may be
identified

Slippery or uneven surfaces, spillages, scrap or waste material, flammable materials, faulty or
missing machine guards, faulty electrical connections or damaged cables, dust and fumes,
contaminants and irritants, materials handling and transportation.

1.10 define what is meant by a dangerous occurrence

Conditions required for extinction, fire prevention, (fire procedures, fire drills, firefighting
equipment for different types of fires extinguishers, automatic systems, eg sprinklers).

1.11 describe methods of fire prevention and control

using barriers and/or tapes, placing warning signs in appropriate positions, informing any
persons who may be affected, isolating power or pressure sources, obtaining official
clearance, safety checks.

1.12 state procedures used to make a hazardous area safe before starting work.

Human and environmental conditions: causes of accidents (human error, lack of due care,
improper behavior and dress, lack of training, lack of supervision and/or experience
tiredness/fatigue, intoxication, unguarded or faulty machinery or tools, inadequate
ventilation, poor housekeeping, dirty, overcrowded and badly-lit workplaces), accident
prevention measures (eliminate the hazard, replace the hazard with something less
dangerous, guard the hazard, personal protection, health and safety education and publicity).

Hazardous area: using barriers and/or tapes, placing warning signs in appropriate positions,
informing any persons who may be affected, isolating power or pressure sources, obtaining
official clearance (Permit to Work), safety checks (ensuring work area is free from hazards,

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any required safety procedures are implemented, any necessary Personal Protective
Equipment (PPE) is in a usable condition, tools and equipment are in a safe and usable
condition).

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