Work Equipment (General) Flashcards
PUWER 1998
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations
Reg 4 (1) PUWER
Requires every employer (or self-employed) person to ensure work equipment provided for use at work is so constructed or adapted as to be suitable for the purpose for which it is used or provided
Definition of Work Equipment
Any machinery, appliance, apparatus, tool or installation for use at work.
Extremely wide scope and covers almost any equipment used at work
Motor vehicles under PUWER
Any motor vehicle not privately owned is included under PUWER, however more specific road traffic legislation takes precedence.
Definition of Use under PUWER
Starting, stopping, programming, setting, transporting, repairing. modifying, maintaining, servicing or cleaning
3 aspects to consider for suitability and safety of work equipment
1) Initial integrity
2) the place it will be used
3) the purpose for which it will be used
Ergonomics
Employers must consider ergonomic risks of work equipment
Ergonomic principles to take into account
Allowing for variability in the operators physical dimensions
Providing enough space for movements
Avoiding a machine-determined work rate
Avoiding monitoring requiring lengthy concentration
Adapting the man/machinery interface to the characteristics of the operative
Effective work equipment controls
Accessible
Identifiable
Usable
Regs 14 - 18 PUWER
Deals with controls and control systems
Equipment controls
Located in a safe position and easy to identify and understand the effect it has and what equipment it effects
Stop Controls
Should bring equipment to a safe condition in a safe manner and take priority over operating or start controls
Emergency stop controls
Provided at control points and other appropriate locations to enable action to be taken quickly
EHSRs
Essential Health and Safety Requirements for controls
Reducing the need for access
Need for access for operators and maintainers should where possible be designed out before manufacture by automation or remote systems
Anthropometric guard design
Guards designed and constructed to prevent any part of the body from reaching the danger zone
Openings in guards
Should be sufficient distance to prevent the person reaching the hazard
Testing effectiveness of guard openings
Carry out a reach test with the machinery at rest and in a safe condition
Barriers
Where guards are not practicable barriers can be used to prevent people reaching the danger zone
Calculation of safety distance measurements required for barriers
Height of Danger Zone (a) Height of protective structure (b) Horizontal distance (c)
Recommended height of perimeter fencing for barrier
1.8m
Risk Assessment under PUWER
No specific requirement however implied and referenced under several of the regulations (4,6,7,11,12)
Identify Hazards
Consider who may be harmed
Evaluate the Risk
Ensure the adequacy of control
Initial Integrity
When work equipment is first provided for use it meets certain essential H&S requirements.
Location and purpose of use
Employees must not be put at any additional risk as a result of using the equipment in a particular location and/or for a particular purpose.
Employer must assess the risks associated with location and purpose of use to ensure no additional danger is posed
Equipment should only be used for tasks it was intended for.
Ensuring equipment is Suitable
Employer has to foresee any likely problems that might arise which could affect H&S of operators while they are using the equipment and address them.
Installation where safe operation is critically dependant
Must be properly installed by competent person
Competent person must carry out suitable inspection before use
Deterioration of work equipment
Wear and tear or the effects of damp or corrosive atmosphere could lead to significant risk to operator. Periodic suitable inspections should be arranged.
Exceptional circumstances which may result in need for inspection
Major modifications, refurbs or major repair work
Known or suspected serious damage
Substantial change in nature of use
Protection against specific hazard under PUWER
Material falling from equipment Material held in equipment being thrown out Parts breaking off Parts coming apart Overheating or fire Explosion of equipment Explosion of substances in the equipment
Risk control hierarchy - PUWER
Eliminating Risks
Taking ‘hardware’ (physical) measures
Taking ‘software’ (management) measures
Absolute duty under PUWER for Maintenance
Maintain work equipment in and efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair.
Efficient relates to how it might effect H&S not productivity.
MTBF
Mean Time Between Failures - failure incidence
MTTR
Mean Time To Repair - Reducing downtime after failure
Why are Maintenance Strategies required?
To reduce the likelihood of ‘chance failures’ and to replace components before ‘ware out failures’ occur
Maintenance Methodologies
Breakdown
Planned Preventative
Condition Based
Breakdown Maintenance
Practice to restore defective or damaged equipment to full operational capability and reliability and ‘as built’ condition.
Cannot be scheduled,
Only appropriate if the failure does not present an immediate risk.
Should not form the basis of a maintenance policy or be the major percentage of the maintenance workload
Planned Preventative Maintenance
Lubrication, oil changes, parts replacement, adjustments, alignments, cleaning etc.
Scheduled at pre-determined intervals.
Can reduce unexpected failures but can be expensive as it is often carried out without regard to equipment condition
Condition Monitoring
Effective to diagnose the symptoms of impending failures.
Can include sampling and analysis, vibration monitoring, Non-Destructive techniques and electrical testing.
The availability of trend analysis can help reduce the number of breakdowns.
Inspection Reg 6 PUWER
Every employer to ensure that, where the safety of work equipment depends on the installation conditions, it is inspected to ensure it has been installed correctly and is safe to operate
Inspection regimes are required for what equipment?
Fairground Rides
Machinery where the danger zone is approached during operation
Complex automated equipment
Integrated production lines