Work Equipment and Machinery

Work Equipment and Machinery

Generally, any equipment, which is used by an employee at work, is covered by the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (1998) regulations, for example hammers, knives, ladders, rumblers, chippers, lifting equipment, motor vehicles. Similarly, if employees provide their own equipment then it will also be covered by PUWER and it will need to comply.

Examples of uses of equipment, which are covered by the Regulations, include starting or stopping the equipment, repairing, modifying, maintaining, servicing, cleaning and transporting.

Your employer should make sure work equipment provided is:

• Suitable for use, and for the purpose and conditions in which it is to be used

• Maintained in a safe condition for use so that people’s health and safety is not at risk

• Inspected, in certain circumstances, to ensure that it is and continues to be safe for use. Any inspection should be carried out by a competent person (this could be an employee if they have the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to perform the task) and a record kept until the next inspection.

• Provided suitable guards, protection devices, markings and warning devices, system control devices (such as emergency stop buttons) and personal protective equipment, where possible

• Providing adequate safe systems of work, information, instruction and training about the specific equipment.

Machinery

Why is machinery safety important?

Working with machinery can be dangerous because moving machinery can cause injuries in many ways:

• People can be hit and injured by moving parts of machinery or ejected material. Parts of the body can also be drawn into or trapped between rollers, belts and pulley drives

• Sharp edges can cause cuts and severing injuries, sharp-pointed parts can stab or puncture the skin, and rough surface parts can cause friction or abrasion

• People can be crushed both between parts moving together or towards a fixed part of the machine, wall or other object, and two parts moving past one another can cause shearing

• Parts of the machine, materials and emissions (such as steam or water) can be hot or cold enough to cause burns or scalds and electricity can cause electrical shock and burns

• Injuries can also occur due to machinery becoming unreliable and developing faults due to poor or no maintenance or when machines are used improperly through inexperience or lack of training.

Before you start

Before starting using any machine you should make sure it is:

• Safe for any work that has to be done when setting up, during normal use, when clearing blockages, when carrying out repairs for breakdowns, and during planned maintenance

• Switched off, isolated or locked-off before taking any action to remove blockages, clean or adjust the machine

Preventing access to dangerous parts

Your employer has a responsibility to prevent access to dangerous parts by using one, or more of the following:

• Use fixed guards (e.g., secured with screws or nuts and bolts) to enclose the dangerous parts, whenever practicable. Use the best material for these guards – plastic may be easy to see through but may easily be damaged. Where you use wire mesh or similar materials, make sure the holes are not large enough to allow access to moving parts

• Interlock the guard so that the machine cannot start before the guard is closed and cannot be opened while the machine is still moving. In some cases,

• Trip systems such as photoelectric devices, pressure-sensitive mats or automatic guards may be used if other guards are not practicable.

Other important controls

• Adequate training should ensure that those who use the machine are competent to use it safely. This includes ensuring they have the correct skills, knowledge, experience and risk awareness, and are physically suited to the task

• Control switches should be clearly marked to show what they do

• Emergency stop controls should be in place, where necessary, e.g. mushroom-head push buttons within easy reach

• Operating controls are designed and placed to avoid accidental operation and injury, use two-hand controls where necessary and shroud start buttons and pedals

• No unauthorised, unqualified or untrained people should ever use machinery – never allow children to operate or help at machines. Some workers, eg new starters, young people or those with disabilities, may be particularly at risk and need instruction, training and supervision

• It may be necessary to use PPE

• Ensure the work area around the machine is kept clean and tidy, free from obstructions or slips and trips hazards, and well lit

Plant and equipment maintenance

• A planned maintenance programme is a good way of reducing risk, as well as having a reporting procedure for workers who may notice problems while working on machinery

• Never take on work for which you are not competent or not prepared, work should be done by specialist contractors

• Set up signs and barriers and position people at key points if they are needed to keep other people out

• Safely clean out vessels containing flammable solids, liquids, gases or dusts, and check them before hot work is carried out, to prevent explosions. You may need specialist help and advice to do this safely