Work Equipment

Large numbers  of people are injured each year operating machinery / work equipment.

Causes of injury:

• Coming into contact with moving parts or material – being hit or getting caught
• Getting trapped between moving parts or material and any fixed structure
• Being hit by material or machine parts that are thrown out / off the machine
• Entanglement in machinery via clothing, hair or jewelery

Other hazards arising from machinery are non-mechanical and include such things as electricity, hydraulic/pneumatic energy, chemicals and noise.

The most common cause of death in the accident mentioned above was being struck by moving machinery and this was caused by a failure to effectively isolate and lock off sources of energy during maintenance operations. Effective isolation procedures, which are understood and followed, are therefore essential.
Protecting people from danger whilst machinery is running is also important and starts with good systems and procedures:

• Selecting the most suitable equipment for the job
• Setting the equipment up with safety in mind to ensure for example there is adequate space and light to work safely
• Maintaining the equipment
• Ensuring people who operate it are properly trained

Where there are mechanical hazards from dangerous parts – usually moving parts – ensuring operators are protected by good guarding is important.
‘Work Equipment’ covers a wide range of things from simple hand tools to massive pieces of machinery.

General Requirements:

• Work equipment  must be suitable for the purpose it is being used for
• It should only be used for its intended purpose
• It must be properly maintained
• Users must be given adequate information, instruction and training on how to use it safely

Other requirements include:

• The dangerous parts must be properly guarded
• People must be protected from specified hazards such as the unexpected disintegration and ejection of a part of the machine
• Very hot/cold surfaces must be clearly marked
• There must be proper control devices so the equipment can be stopped in an emergency
• Must be capable of being isolated from all sources of energy
• Equipment must be stable and adequately lit
• It must be possible to carry out maintenance operations safely
• Work equipment  that could give rise to serious injury if it is not installed properly must be inspected before it is first used and a record of the inspection kept
• Equipment that could give rise to serious injury due to deterioration over time must also be inspected and a record of the inspection kept until the next inspection.