Health and Safety POLICY
12. WORKSHOP SAFETY
Safety in the workshops is subject to a number of various risk
assessments and safe codes of working practices which have to be
observed and adhered to by all workshop users and enforced by the
person in charge of these areas. Due to high risk activities
taking place in the workshops access to these areas is restricted to
authorised personnel only. No other person may enter the workshops
without permission.
Workshop Equipment and Tools
- No machine may be used or work undertaken unless the
technician-in-charge is satisfied that the person is capable of doing
so safely. If equipment is fitted with guards these must be used.
Equipment must never be used if the safety guards have been removed.
- Any person working in the mechanical and electronic workshop must
have read and signed the appropriate risk assessment if the work or
equipment they are using has been risk assessed. Risk assessments are
kept in a filing cabinet within the mechanical workshop (B.128).
- No person shall mount any abrasive wheel unless he/she has been trained in accordance with the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. Grinding machines shall only be operated by technical staff and eye protection must be worn.
- Service records of all machine tools, plant and equipment
must be
kept. They must list the date of any service/repair and name of the
person responsible for carrying out that service/repair. Faults which
cannot be repaired immediately should be reported to the
technician-in-charge and a note should be attached to the machine where
it is clearly visible indicating that the equipment is out of
order.
- All Portable Electrical Equipment must be regularly inspected and tested for electrical safety.
- Lifting equipment must be registered with the University’s Engineering Insurers and be subject to annual inspection.
- All air receivers must subject to a thorough examination at the statutorily required intervals.
- Where applicable suitable Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) must be
used. The LEV systems must be subjected to a thorough inspection and
test at least once every 14 months.
- Ladders/stepladders should be individually identified and formal inspections carried out.
- No welding may be undertaken unless the technician-in-charge is
satisfied that the person is capable of doing so safely. During any
welding operation the fume extraction system must be used.
- When using woodworking machines the dust extractor and face masks must be used.
- Equipment must be cleaned after use. Any materials, tools or equipment used must be tidied away.
- Precision measuring equipment, drills, etc. must be replaced in their appropriate cabinets after each working day.
- Tools and equipment must not be removed from the workshop without permission from the technician-in-charge.
Workshop Practices and Personal Protective Equipment
- Eating and drinking in the workshop areas are strictly prohibited.
- When working with machine tools or other equipment with rotating
spindles, jewellery, loose clothing etc. are prohibited and long hair
must be completely covered.
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is supplied and must be
used where necessary. Barrier cream, lab coats/overalls, eye and
hearing protection, dust masks and safety shoes must be used as the
work/risk assessment dictates.
- Lab coats/overalls and safety boots must be worn by technicians operating the machines.
- The gangway through the workshop must be kept clear. Any oil spillage, grease etc. must be cleaned up immediately.
- No hazardous substance to health can be used before a COSHH risk
assessment is undertaken and a safe system of work issued to the users.
Lone and Out of Hours Working
No lone working with hazardous equipment and/or materials is permitted.
Such work can only be undertaken when there are at least two
staff present in the workshop.
Work cannot be carried out outside normal working hours if there is
only one person in the workshop. Any exception from this rule
will depend on the outcome of the risk assessment and the nature of
work to be undertaken.
Workshop users must familiarise themselves with
Part 3 (Electrical Equipment) and Part 4 (Mechanical Equipment) of the University Health and Safety Policy at:
http://www.docs.csg.ed.ac.uk/Safety/Policy/Part3.pdf and
http://www.docs.csg.ed.ac.uk/Safety/Policy/Part4.pdf
Generic Mechanical and Electronic Workshop Risk Assessments can be found at:
http://www.inf.ed.ac.uk/safety/risk-assessments/index.html
