Health and safety is a important aspect to any task which is partaken in, you need to be awake of all the dangers and how to avoid anyone getting harmed.
In every workshop there are specific health and safety rules which need to be followed, after my first induction into the workshop I am now aware of the main risks and procedures to follow when using the equipment.
While in the workshop there is,
- NO food/drink allowed, unless it is a bottle of water which can not leak, leading to damage of work.
- NO MP3 players, if you are working on a certain machine which can easily break, such as a Ban Saw, you are more likely to hear an accident before you see it, so if you are listening to MP3 players you will not hear if the machine sounds as if it is breaking. By not listening to music you are less likely to create a Heath and Saftey risk because you can asses the machine by its sound.
- NO working under the influence of any substances. If you come into the worship after previous intoxication and you are unable to work to your full advantage, staff will ask you to leave the workshop as this is a very serious danger hazard. If you are incapable of working to your full capacity due to any substance abuse it will lead to a serious danger hazard toward yourself and others.
- ALWAYS have manors because if you are rude to the staff or have a bad attitude, you will not get what you want or staff with not help you, being polite will ensure that the staff help you with your needs and this way you will get work done quicker. Manors cost nothing.
- ALWAYS read health & safety notices on doors before entering the room, these may have rules which you did not know applied.
- You MUST have hard shoes on and sensible clothing, this is to make sure that looses clothing does not get caught up in machinery.
Each piece of machinery is labelled with a specific logo, each logo has a different meaning as to who is aloud to use which piece of equipment. Machinery which has a GREEN circle on can be use by any person who has had their induction to the specific piece of equipment, this can be use unsupervised. YELLOW squared labelled machines can only be used if you have had an advanced course as well as your previous induction. RED triangle logos show that only staff can use these pieces of equipment, this means that if you are wanting to use it you need to find the staff who will happily help you, all you need to do is tell them the measurements and design you would like and they will do it for you.
When working with certain materials, you need to understand the processes and tools which can be used with them, each material needs a different tool/ process as it will allow the final outcome to have the quality required. When working in industry you need to be able to understand what goes into creating a certain piece of work, if your client asks you how/ why something was done and you do not know the answer to the question, it will have a bad reflection on your knowledge and understanding, as well as showing the lack of input you’ve had on creating the design. You always need to be hands on in projects as this will ensure you to have the best knowledge as to how you’ve created a certain construction.
PPE- PERSONAL PROTECTION EQUIPMENT
PPE is a very important aspect to Health & Safety, your health is one of the most crucial aspects of working in a workshop. You always need to ensure that you are protecting yourself from any harmful situations which may occur when using any of the machines. To avoid any dangers occurring, PPE is used to protect the most important parts of our body, such as our eyes, lungs and ears. Each of these body parts have ways of protecting themselves from harmful situations however we need to have an input in ensuring they have the full protection.
A lot of the machinery can cause serious risk towards the eyes as debris may come off our work and damage them in a serious way, to avoid this from happening PPE requires you to wear eye protection glasses at all times when using any machine in the work shop. These glasses will help with keeping any dangerous debris from coming into contact with our eyes and reduce the risk of a serious health issue. If you are found not to be wearing eye protection, you will be given a verbal warning, however if are found to still not have followed this rule, you will be asked to leave the premises.
Certain rooms require different safety equipment, if a room has a sign saying ‘EAR PROTECTION NEEDED’ then this means that noise levels will be dangerous to the ear. When working in a loud environment for a long period of time, the ears will begin to take strain, this can lead to long term hearing difficulty. Wearing ear protection such as ear plugs/ ear muffs will allow you to reduce the risk of a health issue. The same rule applies for ear protection as it does for eye protection, if you are caught without them, you may be asked to leave the workshop.
Protecting your lung/breathing is one of the most important aspects when working in a workshop where people will be sanding, drilling and cutting woods which may cause damage to ourselves. Woods such as MDF and Plywood are made using adhesives, when these certain types of materials are being manipulated they let off dust, to protect yourself from damaging your lungs and reducing the risk of lung infection, you always need to wear a dust mask, these help prevent breathing in dangerous dusts which can then lead to more serious issues. Because the dust that is let off when being drilled/ sanded/cut is so fine we do not realise the risk it can cause. Secondary dust is the most harmful to ourselves as it can cause even more damage to our bodies as it has been able to lay around and become a lot more harmful than what the dust which comes straight off the wood would be. Masks can be found in the store room and are free to have, when working in an environment which has harmful debris, it is very common that these masks will be free of use for anyone who is in need.
While in the induction we were taught to use a Hand Drill, Jig Saw, Ban Saw and a Double Disk Sander, all of these pieces of machinery need to be used with PPE, they are all very dangerous and can cause serious harm to yourself and others around you. When electrical appliances which needs to be plugged into a electrical source, you need to use specific equipment.
When working in a busy environment, the voltage of certain machines may be lower than the average plug, in this instance you would need to use a transformer. Transformers are used for low voltage plugs as it is less dangerous, the transformer is then plugged into a normal voltage socket which is located from the ceiling above everyones work, this ensures that it is out the way and can not cause damage to yourself or anyone around you. However, because the transformer is rather heavy you need to be careful that you do not drop it on your feet as it can cause serious damage. Depending on how many sockets the transformer has on it, the weight will vary, if it is too heavy to carry, ask someone politely if they would help you bring it to where your work space is.
After doing this workshop/ induction I am now able to use this machinery with out any assistance, it has given me the opportunity to learn new skills, as well as using certain methods I have yet to discover, I found it very interesting and helpful to have this workshop as it now opens me up to using different techniques when I come to creating my designs. I look forward to learning more new methods for creating models as it will expand my knowledge even further giving me a wider variety of techniques to use.
Health & safety is an import an aspect of anything you do in life and if it is followed correctly you will lower the risk to your health as well as other, it will give you more responsibility and independence as it is there to be followed individually.
- “Safety doesn’t happen by accident.” – Author unknown
Peta-Louise Krog 
2 thoughts on “HEALTH & SAFETY INDUCTION 1”