Mounting pressures on workshop managers to meet strict production deadlines can mean that more routine but essential work is pushed down the to-do list. Daltons Wadkin can ease the burden by offering a complete support package including planned preventative maintenance (PPM), local exhaust ventilation (LEV) testing and certificated operator training.
Having these core elements of workshop safety covered by one expert supplier reduces administration costs and helps ensure legal obligations are not overlooked.
It is important to remember that regulation five of PUWER requires that every employer shall ensure that work equipment is maintained in an efficient working order and in good repair. With a PPM contract from Daltons Wadkin routine service visits include a multi-point check covering safety features – guarding, stopping times etc – mechanical component checks and resetting factory datums where applicable. A detailed report is then submitted highlighting any remedial action required.
LEV testing is an area often overlooked by employers. Wood dust can cause asthma, which carpenters and joiners are four times more likely to get compared with other UK workers. Chapter ten of HSG258 states that every employer’s LEV system requires statutory thorough examination and testing by a competent person. The maximum time between tests is set down in COSHH and for most systems is 14 months. In practice this is normally taken to mean annually.
Combining a machinery service visit with an LEV inspection therefore makes perfect sense.
Daltons Wadkin’s P601 qualified inspection engineers will make a thorough examination and on completion submit an LEV report highlighting any areas that do not comply.
Lack of supervision and inadequate training is a dangerous combination in any working environment, but especially in the woodworking industry. To comply with regulation nine of PUWER employers must ensure that all persons who operate machinery or assist with machining receive adequate training. Daltons Wadkin provide inhouse and site-based training for novice learners, experienced operators and supervisors covering woodworking machinery, abrasive wheels and portable power tools.
All of the company’s trainers are time-served machinists qualified for effective teaching and assessment. As a PIABC quality-assured centre, companies can be assured to receive the very highest standards of training.
For further information on Daltons Wadkin’s range of support services, to arrange a free quotation or just to chat through requirements, contact a member of the team.
0115 986 5201
www.daltonswadkin.com/services/
