Work equipment
hazards and risk
control
This chapter covers the following
NEBOSH learning objectives:
4. Outline general principles for selection, use and maintenance of work
equipment
2. Outline the hazards and controls for hand-held tools
3. Describe the main mechanical and non-mechanical hazards of machinery
4, Explain the main control methods for reducing risks from machinery
hazards9.1. General principles for selection, use and
maintenance of work equipment 254
9.2 Hazards and controls for hand-held tools 262
9.3 Machinery hazards 267
9.4 Main control methods for reducing risks from
machinery hazards 271
9.5 Further information 283
9.6 Practice NEBOSH questions for Chapter 9 284
9.1 General principles for selection, use
and maintenance of work equipment
9.1.1 Introduction and types of equipment
This chapter covers the scope and main safety and
health requirements for the selection, use and mainte-
‘nance of work equipment as covered by UK's Health and.
Safety Executive (HSE) Safe Use of Work Equipment L22
and ISO 12001-1:2008 and ISO 12001-2:2003 ‘Safety of
‘machinery, basic concepts, general principles for design
It also covers relevant issues in the ILO Code of Practice
‘Ambient Factors in the Workplace 2001. The safe use of
hand tools, hand-held power toals and the proper safe-
guarding of a small range of machinery used in industry
and commerce are included.
Any equipment used by an employee at work is gener-
ally covered by the term ‘work equipment’. The scope is
extremely wide and includes hand tools, power tools, lad
ders (Chapter 6), photocopiers, laboratory apparatus, lit-
ing equipment (Chapter 8), fork-lit trucks (Chapter 8), and
motor vehicles (which are not privately owned ~ Chapter
7). Virtually anything used to do a job of work, including
employees’ own equipment, is covered, The uses covered
include starting or stopping the equipment, repairing, mod
tying, maintaining, servicing, cleaning and transporting,
Employers and the self-employed must ensure that work
equipment is suitable, maintained, inspected if necessary,
provided with aclequate information and instruction and
‘only used by people who have received sufficient training.
Many serious accidents at work involve machinery. Hai
or clothing can become entangled in moving parts, peo-
ple can be struck by moving parts of machinery, parts of
the body can be drawn into or trapped in machinery, and
parts of the machinery or work tool can be ejected.
Many circumstances can increase the risks, including:
‘ot using the right equipment for the task, such
‘as using ladders instead of access towers for an
‘extended task at high level;
not fitting adequate controls on machines, or fit-
ting the wrong type of controls, so that equipment
cannot be stopped quickly and safely, orit starts
accidentally;
not guarding machines propery, leading to ace!
dents caused by entanglement, shearing, crushing,
trapping or cutting;
not property maintaining guards and other safoty
devices;
|B not providing the right information, instruction and
training;
|W_ not fitting roll-over protective structures (ROPS) and
seat belts on mobile work equigment where there is
a tisk of roll over (excluding quad bikes);
not maintaining work equipment or doing the regu-
lar inspections and thorough examinations;
not providing (free) adequate personal protective
equipment (PPE) to use,
When identifying the risks, think about:
@_ the work being done during normal use of the
equioment and also during setting-up, maintenance,
cleaning and clearing blockages;
which workers wil use the equipment, including
those who are inexperienced, have changed jabs or
those who may have particular difficulties, such as
those with language problems or impaired hearing;
@ people who may act stupidly or carelessly or make
mistakes;
guards or safety devices that may be badly
designed and difficult to use or are easy to defeat;
'@ other features of the equipment which could cause
risks, such as vibration, electricity, wet or cold
conditions.
Consider the following
HI Is the equipment suitable for the task?
Ae all the necessary safety devices fitted and in
working order?
8 Ave there proper instructions for the equipment?
Ws the area around the machine safe and level with
‘no obstructions?
Has suitable lighting been provided?
Has extraction ventilation been provided where
required, for example on grinding and woodwarking
machinery?
BY Has a risk assessment been done to establish a
person's competence or training requirements to
control particular machinery? This is very important
for everyone.
Are machine operators trained and do they have
enough information, instruction, training?
IB Are people adequately supervised?
| Aro safely instructions and procedures being used
‘and followed?@ hine operators u:
without loose
a special PPE?
a is oF devices being used properly?
a ‘artied out correctly and in a safe
a d tools being used and property
maintained?
9.1.2 Suitability of work equipment and
basic safety standards
Standards and sequirements
When work equipment is provided it has to
supply a
ent and its
This involves:
its inital integrity:
@_ the place where it will be used
{the purpose for which it will be used.
ups of
tn many national le
law that deal with the provision of work equipment:
systems there
0
led the ‘supply’
of regulations is
y) Regulations 2008,
chinery
facturer
ery is safe when supplied and is
with the appropriate standards.
the users of work equip:
alled the ‘user’ law
work equipment, tts
ol
roperly m
@
primary purpose is to protect people at work (for
example, the UK Provision and Use of Work Equip-
ment Regulations}.
wemploy e top quip-
type, ensure that tis correctly used and
maintain it in a safe condition. When buying new
ment, the ‘user’ has to check that the equipment complies
with all the ‘supply’ law that is relevant, The user must
check that the machine Is safe before itis used.
Most new work equipment, including machinery in par~
ticular,needs to comply with therelevant standards that are
applicable to that equiprnent and the temitory into which the
ipplied, Throughout the world there are
many standards such as CEN (Comité Européen
de Normalisation) and CENELEC (Comité Européen de
Normalisation Electrotechnique) in Europe, ANSI (A\
can National Standards Institute), ASME (American So
ety of Mechanical Engineers), CSA (Canadian Ste
Association) and ISO (International Organization for Stand
ion), The ILO have also produced a new Code of
Under ‘user
mento th
machine is bei
ds
the Workplace requires the folowing
‘Measures should be taken, in serra th
who design, manufacture, ce ide or
transfer machinery, equment or substances
(@) satisty themselves, as far.
and practicable, that the
‘ment or substance does not ‘ental dangers
for the safety and health of those using i
correctly;
(b) make available:
(i) information
(instructions on how known hazards are to
be avoided.
‘Suppliers of equipment, processes and, a
cuss substances, whether manufacturers, import-
ers or distributors, should ensure so far as is
practicable that the design is such as to eliminate
or control the hazards and risks to safety and
health from hazardous ambient factors at work.
Where suppliers become aware of new informa-
tion concerning the hazards and risks presented
‘by equipment, processes and hazardous sub-
stances, they should provide, as appropriate
updated information and instructions.
Designers should ensure, as far as is practica:
ble, that the levels of hazardous Cee
‘nised plant and equipment standards.
MeuM/2011
in March
marking
Practice of the Use of Machin
which was agreed in January 2012
2012, Within the EU, machinery shot
‘when purchased (Figure 9.1}
Ce
Figure 9.1a CE mark