M any companies have a tendency to perceive health, safety and environmental issues as peripheral unless regulators are actively chasing on specific areas. One result is that they keep insufficient health and safety documentation. It’s a common trait in the woodworking industry. But a variety of written records are required to show that issues have been recognised, risks have been assessed and control measures have been implemented.

Failure to keep written records can leave companies vulnerable on two counts. First, certain documents are required by law, eg written risk assessments relating to manual handling tasks that pose a significant risk to health. They are required by law in order to ensure that a business has conducted a logical and systematic analysis and reduction of risk. If an employee picks up a significant injury, it may be investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after it has been reported under the requirements of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995. The HSE would want to see evidence that a suitable risk assessment had been conducted and an improvement plan formulated and implemented. Failure to have the correct documentation would leave the company open to a criminal prosecution.

Civil action

Second, a lack of correct documents would also hinder the company if the employee were to bring a civil action. The likelihood of the latter is rising with the increasing numbers of ‘no win, no fee’ and ‘have you been injured at work?’ style advertisements. Unfortunately, working methods in the timber industries are often based on common sense rather than a systematic and documented evaluation and control of risks. If a new employee is injured and has received only ad hoc training on correct manual handling techniques, the company will find it difficult to prove that it has taken all reasonable precautions. However, the company will be much better equipped to defend itself if it has a written risk assessment for the task and it has implemented the subsequent improvement plan, trained the specific employee and has a signed training record for the individual.

It is worth noting that a company is not protected just because it has ‘done’ a risk assessment. This document is worthless if the findings are not acted upon.

A long list of documents can be required by sites and the list opposite can be used as a self-assessment checklist.

With regard to the practical issues of health and safety management, there are a number of key issues within the industry which are frequently neglected, including machinery, manual handling and noise.

In 1999, the HSE successfully prosecuted 22 timber and furniture companies for machinery issues after they failed to address the requirements of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER). These prosecutions resulted in fines of £57,000 – not to mention the associated court costs.

PUWER requires that risks associated with work equipment such as hand tools, machines and lifting equipment are minimised through 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 possess (and have read and acted on) a copy of the PUWER Approved Code of Practice and the supplement ‘safe use of woodworking machinery’.

Record-keeping

Common problem areas include the absence of any form of proof that risks have been assessed and the lack of evidence that a company is addressing any elements of machinery that require upgrading such as guarding, braking and tooling. Often training records are not kept and there is a failure to assess the competence of newly hired experienced hands.

A common injury scenario involves employees using the wrong machine for a task. A company without a comprehensive training programme and relevant records will struggle to prove that the employee has been trained, assessed and authorised to use certain machines for specific tasks.

Few woodworking industry accident books are without reports of manual handling injuries such as back strains and crushing incidents. A common problem issue revolves around the fact that we all conduct manual handling at home, while shopping and playing sport. Therefore, companies can be tempted to adopt a laissez-faire attitude – assuming that their employees know all about correct handling techniques.

In reality, manual handling tasks at work typically result in greater risk as they may involve larger weights, more awkward manoeuvres, longer carrying distances and greater repetition.

Therefore, companies should ensure that they have identified the major types of task with a significant potential to cause manual handling injuries. The potential for automation should be assessed and where this is not reasonably practical, a written risk assessment should be performed to ensure that controls minimise the risks to a reasonable level. As ever, the recommendations of this assessment should be prioritised and acted upon.

Noise levels

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 is likely to be 85dB(A) or above, a noise assessment must be made by a competent person. In reality, most machining environments will be at or above this action level – so assessments should be widespread.

It is common to find that companies have had noise monitoring conducted on their behalf but have failed to act on the findings. Machine shops will typically have noise levels averaging in excess of the second action level (90dB(A)) and should be designated as ‘hearing protection zones’, with those within being required to wear hearing protection at all times. If one or two employees do not bother with hearing protection and management turns a blind eye, the use of hearing protection by the majority will soon lapse. Again, training is vital to ensure that employees are aware of the risk of hearing damage, actions to minimise that risk, how to obtain hearing protection and its correct use.

Making an effort

Although the above information on documentation, machinery, manual handling and noise is by no means an exhaustive overview of common problems for the wood working industry, companies that have successfully addressed these issues will be well placed in their efforts to manage and improve health and safety performance.