Safety Net Rigging Techniques Safety Net Riggers are often required to work at height which puts them, and others around them, at significant risk of hazards related to working at height. Regulation 6 of The Work at Height Regulations 2005 (WAHR) details a simple hierarchy for managing work at height: Avoid work at height where […]
High Visibility Clothing BS EN 471 Distribution: Often work is carried out in situations which offer poor ambient lighting conditions. These conditions can sometimes be solved by introducing artificial task lighting as a control. However, it is always best to wear high visibility clothing, which is why high visibility clothing is one item of the […]
The Story of Father Christmas’ First Trespassing St. Nicholas was a Bishop who lived in the fourth century in a place called Myra in Asia Minor (now called Turkey). He was a very wealthy man after inheriting his parents’ wealth after they died. He had a reputation for helping the poor and giving secret gifts […]
Many tasks involve hazards which require respiratory protection, such as: cutting, handling volatile substances or working in confined spaces where oxygen levels could be low. Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) is designed to protect operatives from such hazards. RPE should only be worn after you have taken all other reasonably practicable measures to prevent or control […]
Vibration Exposure and the Law Regular use of vibrating equipment can lead to two forms of ill health, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) and Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS). Symptoms of these conditions include: · Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome: Tingling, numbness, pain and blanching (whitening) of the fingers and loss of strength in the hands. · […]
How Do You Comply With Welfare Laws? Under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1922, if you employ anyone (however short the period) you must ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’, provide adequate and appropriate welfare facilities for them while they are at work. This means you are legally required to provide such facilities unless it is clearly unreasonable in terms of […]
PUWER The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, also known as PUWER, is a pieceof legislation set out under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. As the name suggests these regulations aim to ensure that work equipment and machinery used at work is kept safe. PUWER aims to make sure that the […]
Ladders When working at height, ladders can be a sensible and practical method option for low risk, short-duration tasks that take less than 30 minutes. However, ladders can only be used for work at height when a risk assessment has shown that using equipment offering a higher level of fall protection is not justified […]
What is Plant? (Hint, it’s not a flower) Plant is machinery that processes material by way of a mechanical action which: Cuts, drills, punches or grinds Presses forms, hammers, joins or moulds material Combines, mixes, sorts, packages, assembles, knits, or moulds material Plant also includes lifts, cranes, tractors, earth moving equipment, pressure equipment, hoists, powered mobile plant, plant that […]
Head Protection The two main types of head protection worn on construction sites are Safety Helmets, which are covered by EN397 and Bump Caps which are covered by EN812. The primary purpose of safety helmets is to protect the wearer against injuries to the head due to falling objects, in many instances construction site specific […]