The smaller the company, the more hats that must be worn by each member of management. Duties tend to have a hierarchy, with production at the top and anything that is not directly perceived to affect production at the bottom. As a result, management often has good intentions about health and safety (H&S) issues – but never gets round to acting on them.
Once H&S issues have been sidelined, a mental block tends to develop. Managers know that they need to address the ever-growing folder of H&S work, but do not know where to start. In addition, there are nagging doubts that the subject is too complicated or the end results will be expensive.
A number of H&S issues are typically the most important at timber and furniture sites: manual handling, machinery, noise and wood dust. It is a good idea to pick one of these topics based on its importance to your company. For example, have a look at your accident book or think which of these issues might have the most serious implications. After selecting one, read the relevant guidance, think through the issue in relation to your company, discuss it with operators and managers, record the results, develop an action plan and implement the simple parts so that you can be seen making progress.
Manual handling is a good place for companies to start as around 30% of the sector’s injuries occur during the movement of items using bodily force.There is a very readable piece of guidance, Manual handling – guidance on regulations, available from HSE Books (tel: 01787 881165), in the Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) which tells you how to assess the risk of an operation and it also provides a standard form to use.
Manual handling tasks
The first stage is the identification of manual handling tasks that could pose a risk to safety. Examples might include manually unloading timber deliveries, loading timber onto woodworking machinery, moving coating tins, moving tooling, collecting office paper from the store and packing finished goods.
You can group certain manual handling tasks for consideration as one so it won’t be necessary to perform separate risk assessment on every size of timber passing through each type of machine.
The regulations are interested only in operations that can pose a threat to safety, so the second stage is to identify which of these manual handling tasks will pose a significant risk of injury.
Where a significant risk exists, companies must think how to eliminate it. This may be achieved through the removal of the task or the use of machinery and automation – eg the use of a fork lift truck to move timber around storage areas, or a vacuum handling device for timber panels.
Reducing risks
If elimination or automation cannot be achieved at reasonable cost, consideration should be given to ensuring that the risks are reduced as far as possible. It is easy to assume that the level of risk is purely a function of weight – with a heavy item being more risky than a light one.
The main variables affecting safe lifting have been summarised in the ACOP in the form of a risk assessment checklist. An assessment can simply consist of a manager and a worker that performs the actual operation in question, working their way down this checklist, referring to the written details in the ACOP for further guidance and suggesting actions which could be taken to reduce the risk of injuries.
Once all of the tasks have been assessed, an action plan can be drawn up and responsibility allocated with completion dates.
Action plans
PUWER requires that risks associated with work equipment such as hand tools, machines and lifting equipment are minimised through the assessment of risks, inspection, maintenance and guarding. Only trained operatives should use potentially dangerous equipment and a system of training, assessment and recording should be used to demonstrate competence. All woodworking companies should get a copy of the PUWER Approved Code of Practice and the supplement Safe use of woodworking machinery (available from HSE Books).
The HSE Woodworking National Interest Group provides a series of useful woodworking information sheets covering a wide range of problem issues. These are available from: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/woodindx.htm.
Noise regulations
The Noise at Work Regulations 1989 require employers to reduce the risk of damage to hearing to the lowest level reasonably practicable. If daily personal noise levels are likely to be 85dB(A) or above, a noise survey must be conducted. In reality, most machining environments will be at or above this action level – so surveys should be widespread.
Noise monitoring is an exercise for which small companies should consider external help.
Under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1999 (COSHH), companies must not expose employees to wood dust levels greater than 5mg/m3 and must get as far below this as possible.
