Work equipment hazards and control

This chapter covers the scope and main requirements for work equipment as covered by Parts II and III of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER). The requirements for the supply of new machinery are aiso inciuded. Summaries of PUWER and The Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations are given in Chapter 20. The safe use of hand tools, handheld power tools and the proper safe-guarding of a small range of machinery used in construction work are included. 

Employers and the self-employed must ensure that work equipment is suitable maintained inspected if necessary provided with adequate information and instruction and only used by people who have received sufficient training. 

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In addition to fire safety legislation, health and safety at work legislation also covers the elimination or minimization of fire risks. As well as the particular and main general duties under the HSW Act, fire risks are also covered by specific rules, such as for dangerous substances and explosive atmospheres, work equipment, electricity and other hazards. Thus, environmental health officers or HSE inspectors may enforce health and safety standards for the assessment and removal or control of process-related fire risks, where it is necessary, for the protection of workers and others. 

We put a lot of effort into improving safety by adding protective equipment onto our plants, new and old gas detectors, emergency isolation valves, interlocks, steam curtains, fire insulation, catchment pits for LPG storage tanks, and so on. We also introduced new procedures, such as hazard and operability studies and modification control, or persuaded people to follow old ones, such as permits-to-work and audits. 

Table 13.16 sets out the major waste disposal methods, and potential hazards from toxic waste deposition are indicated in Table 13.17. The range of precautions required at land tips depends upon the risk, e.g. the nature and degree of contamination and the work to be undertaken. It will, however, encompass personal protective equipment a high standard of personal hygiene enclosure, possibly pressurization, and regular cleaning of vehicle cabs vehicle washing facilities site security, and control of designated dirty areas. Air monitoring and medical surveillance may be required.

The data on probabilities given in this example are for illustration only, and do not represent actual data for these components. Some quantitive data on the reliability of instruments and control systems is given by Lees (1976). Examples of the application of quantitive hazard analysis techniques in chemical plant design are given by Wells (1996) and Prugh (1980). Much of the work on the development of hazard analysis techniques, and the reliability of equipment, has been done in connection with the development of the nuclear energy programmes in the USA (USAEC, 1975) and the UK. 

Preparation of Equipment for Maintenance The essential feature of this procedure is a permit-to-work system The operating team members prepare the equipment and write down on the permit the work to be done, the preparation carried out, the remaining hazards, and the precautions necessary. The permit is then accepted by the person or group who will carry out the work and is returned when the work is complete. The permit system will not make maintenance 100 percent safe, but it reduces the chance that hazards will be overlooked, lists ways of controlling them, and informs those doing the job what precautions they should take. The... 

The principal hazard associated with these and other flame-, heat-, or spark-producing work is the introduction of unauthorized ignition sources into areas of the facility. Control of hazards related to portable equipment and hot work requires developing and maintaining a comprehensive hot work procedure. 

The Records Conservation Section has five years of satisfactory experience treating a variety of unique works with Wei To solutions. A survey of conservators and scientists in other institutions verified the chemistry was sound and the results were aesthetically acceptable. The problems to be resolved were mechanical, involving equipment choice rather than the chemistry of the treatment (11). The hazards inherent to the system could be isolated and controlled at the treatment site. The solvent, approximately 90% dichlorodifluoromethane and 10% methanol by volume, has a maximum allowable concentration of 982 ppm in air (12), a level many times more than expected in workroom air. Incorporation of solvent recovery equipment not only reduces unit treatment cost but avoids a potential detrimental effect on the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere by dichlorodifluoromethane. 

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