Health & Safety laws, regulations and impacts on the designing and making process

The health and safety executive and an awareness of relevant regulations to manufacturing industries:

• Help prevent work related injuries/ill health
• Try find what happened/how to prevent accidents
• Find out who is responsible for the accident
• Free support for business
• Manage risks correctly for better productivity
• Provide a guide for workers so that they can stay safe
• HSE works with trade unions, businesses, academics
• Target industries with the greatest hazards (construction)
• Legal powers
• Manage risks
• Investigate
• The HSE has led to the UK being one of the safest countires in the world

The HSE outlines its 5 steps to risk assessment:

1. Identify the hazard
2. Identify the people at risk
3. Evaluate the risks
4. Decide upon suitable control measures
5. Record risk assessment

• Under this act of parliament, employers are legally required to do all that is reasonably practicable to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of employees
• This also applies to the health and safety of non-employees such as students and visitors to the school
• The following regulations are procedures to safeguard the risk of injury to people

Personal protective equipment (PPE):

• Personal protective equipment at work regulation (1992) state that employers have basic duties concerning the provision and use of PPE at work
• PPE is defined as all equipment which is intended to be worn or held by a person at work and which protects them against one or more risks to their health and safety
• The main requirement of the regulation is that PPE is to be supplied and used at work whereever there are risks to health and safety that can't be controlled in other ways

The regulations also require that PPE is:

• Properly assessed before use to ensure it is suitable
• Maintained and stored properly
• Provided with instructions on how to use it safely
• Used correctly by employees

Signage:

• The safety signs regulation require employees to display an appropriate safety sign and instruction wherever a significant risk cannot be avoided or reduced by other means

• Legislation to prevent, reduce or control people's exposure to hazardous substance in the workplace

Hazardous substances include:

• Substances used directly in work activities such as adhesives, paints and cleaning agents
• Substances generated during work activites such as fumes from soldering and welding
• Naturally occurring substances such as dust
• Biological agents such as bacteria and other mircro-organisms
• Chemicals
• Fumes
• Mists
• Biological agents
• Vapours
• Dusts
• Nanotechnology
• Germs that cause disease

Uses: Paints, glues, bleach

Issues that need to be considered under COSHH regulations:

• Safe storage
• Chemical ingredients
• Measures to take if ingested/comes into contact with skin/eyes
• Disposal instructions
• Instructions on how to use substances correctly
• What PPE needs to be worn

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs):

• Give off vapours that can cause dizziness and nausea
• Hazardous when used in confined areas
• Risk assessment must be carried out with VOCs to reduce their danger

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