HEALTH AND SAFETY
The CE mark
on
this machine signifies that
an
EC
declaration of conformity is drawn up indicating
that the machine is manufactured
in
accordance
with the Essential Health and Safety
Requirements ofthe 'Supply
of
Machinery (Safety)
Regulations 1992'.
The 'requirements for supply
of
relevant
machinery'
in
the General Requirement
of
the
Regulations are not only that the machine satisfies
the relevant essential health and safety
requirements, but also that 'the manufacture .....
carries out the necessary research or tests
on
components, fittings or the complete machine
to
determine whether by its design or construction
the machine is capable of being erected
and
put
into service safely'.
Persons who install this machine have duties
under the 'Provision
and
use of Work Equipment
Regulations 1992'.
An
indication of these duties
is
given
in
the following extracts, but the user should
be
familiar with the full implications of the
regulations.
REGULATION 5 requires that;
Every employer shall ensure that work equipment
is
so
constructed or adapted
as
to
be
suitable for
the purpose for which it is used or provided.
In
selecting work equipment, every employer shall
have regard to the working conditions and to the
risks to health and safety of persons which exist
in
the premises or undertakings
in
which that work
equipment is to
be
used
and any additional risk
posed
by
the use ofthat work equipment.
Every employer shall ensure that work equipment
is
used only for the operations for which,
and
under conditions for which, it is suitable.
In
this regulation 'suitable' means suitable
in
any
respect which it is reasonably foreseeable will
affect health orsafety
of
any person.
The Provision and
Use
of
Work Equipment
Regulations also include requirements
as
follows:-
regulation 6 - maintenance
regulation 7 - specific risks
regulation 8 - information and instructions
regulation 9 - training
Note:-
Attention is drawn to those requirements
of
the
'Woodworking Machines Regulations 1974' which
are
not replaced
by
the Supply of Machinery
(Safety) Regulations or other, e.g; Regulation 13
of the Woodworking Machinery Regulation, -
'Training', still applies.
Whilst the prime duty for ensuring health
and
safety rests with employers, employees too have
legal duties, particularly under sections 7 and 8 of
the Health
and
Safety at Work Act. They include :-
Taking reasonable care for their
own
health
and
safety
and
that of others who may
be
affected
by
what they
do
or don't do;
co-operating with their employer
on
health
and
safety;
.not interfering with or misusing anything provided
for their health, safety and welfare.
These duties
on
employees have been
supplemented
by
regulation
12
of the
Management of Health
and
Safety at Work
Regulations 1992. One
of
the new requirements
is
that employees should use correctly all work items
provided
by
their employer
in
accordance with
their training and the instructions they receive to
enable them to
use
the items safely.
Noise
Noise levels
can
vary widely from machine
to
machine depending
on
the conditions
of
use.
Persons exposed
to
high levels, even for a short
time, may experience temporary partial hearing
loss and continuous exposure
to
high levels
can
result
in
permanent hearing damage.
The Noise at Work Regulations
1989
place legal
duties
on
employers to prevent damage to
hearing.
There are three levels
of
noise defined
in
regulation 2;
The first action level :-
a daily personal noise exposure
(LEP,d)
of
85dB(A)
