A Code of Practice for the safe installation, operation and maintenance of Thermal Spraying Equipment

 
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3. An outline of employers duties

3.1 All employers have duties towards their employees to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, their health, safety and welfare while they are at work. These duties are outlined in the Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974.1 These duties also extend to people who they do not employ but who may be affected by their undertaking; this may include members of the public, clients and contractors, inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive and other officials when they visit the premises, and those in the vicinity who would be at risk from fire, explosion, emissions etc.

3.2 Employers have a duty to manage safety by allocating responsibilities to individuals. There is also a requirement to obtain competent advice. Employers must assess the risks to which their employees and others are exposed, make arrangements for their control, and ensure that all legal requirements are met. Arrangements must include adequate training and refresher training, and such health surveillance as is appropriate to the risks. They must also make plans for emergencies, to include fire and explosion. These requirements are outlined in the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations.2

3.3 The Management Regulations2 explicitly require the employer to undertake risk assessments. Risk Assessment has five stages3,4

    1. Look for the significant hazards.
    2. Decide who may be harmed and how.
    3. Evaluate the risk, and decide whether the control measures are adequate - if not, then consider whether the hazard can be removed altogether or the control measures can be improved.
    4. Document the findings (this is a legal requirement where an employer has five or more employees).
    5. Review, in particular if evidence shows that the risks are greater than at first thought, if working methods change, or if technological advances render the assessment invalid.

3.4 The employer must comply with the:

  • Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations,5
  • Manual Handling Operations Regulations6 for the handling or lifting of loads, and/or the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations,7
  • Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations8 in relation to the workplace itself and its basic facilities,
  • Control of Noise at Work Regulations,9
  • Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations,10
  • Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations, 11
  • Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, 12
  • Electricity at Work Regulations13, and
  • Environmental Protection Act.14

However, note that this is not an exhaustive list.

3.5 This code of practice gives an overview of the key hazards that should be considered in a thermal spraying operation, gives further guidance relating to the legal constraints that apply, and suggestions regarding the control of risk. However, it must be stressed that employers must apply the knowledge from this booklet, and other sources of information to their own particular circumstances.

 

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