Code of Practice - UCL

PROVISION AND USE OF WORK EQUIPMENT REGULATIONS 1998

Code of Practice August 2004

Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust &

Royal Free & University College Medical School (Royal Free Campus)

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INDEX

1

SUMMARY OF REGULATIONS

2

INTRODUCTION

3

INTERPRETATION

4

RESPONSIBILITIES

5

RISK ASSESSMENT

6

REFERENCES

APPENDIX 1 •

WORK EQUIPMENT RISK ASSESSMENT PROFORMA

APPENDIX 2 •

WORK EQUIPMENT CHECKLIST

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1 SUMMARY OF REGULATIONS Most equipment in the Trust and School of Medicine comes within the scope of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. Both new and second hand equipment is covered, as is personal equipment used in connection with work. Managerial Responsibilities •

To carry out, and keep up to date, risk assessments for the work equipment used by their employees and/or in their areas of control.

•

To ensure that equipment is suitable for the purpose for which it is provided, is used in the correct environment and is only used in a safe way.

•

To ensure equipment is maintained in an efficient state/working order and in good repair. A log is kept of such maintenance.

•

To ensure that where equipment is associated with a specific significant risk, its use is restricted to designated individuals.

•

To ensure provision of adequate health and safety information, instruction, training and supervision, as appropriate, for those using work equipment.

• To ensure equipment provided complies with the relevant EU and UK legislation and standards.

2 INTRODUCTION 2.1

This Code of Practice is concerned with compliance with the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. It explains how the general duties of managers and employees, as set out in the trust Health and Safety Policy, apply to the provision and use of equipment at work.

2.2

Due to the complexity of the subject, only a concise form of the information that is available can be reproduced in this document. (More complete information is available in the Guidance on Regulations, L22.1)

2.3

In the majority of cases, the duties are absolute and not qualified by the term ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’. This means that any failure to comply would be a breach of the Regulations.

3 INTERPRETATION Work equipment as employed within these regulations applies to all equipment and includes: Vehicles Computers Lifting gear Sharps bin

Ladders

Portable drill Laboratory apparatus Biological safety cabinets Floor polisher

Scalpels Butcher's knife laboratory pipettes

These are only a few examples; others are listed in paragraph 62 of the Guidance to the Regulations1. Privately owned tools used at work are also covered by these Regulations. The following are excluded: • Privately owned motor vehicles • Live stock • Structural parts of buildings

4 RESPONSIBILITIES Suitability of Work Equipment ProvUseofWorkEquipment

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Every Head of Department shall ensure for all work equipment under their control, that: 4.1

every item of work equipment provided is suitable, with regard to health and safety, for the purpose for which it is used, the people using it, and the premises and location where it is used. Guidance The key to discharging this duty is risk assessment. See section 5 below.

Maintenance Every Head of Department shall ensure for all work equipment under their control, that: 4.2

work equipment is maintained in an efficient state and good repair, (where it could affect health and safety) and that where machinery has a maintenance log, that this is kept up to date Guidance There should be written instructions on when and how maintenance is to be carried out, the frequency and who should normally carry it out. Those carrying out the maintenance must be competent. See also paragraph 4.19 and associated guidance regarding design of machinery to enable safe maintenance. Records that maintenance has been carried out should be kept within the department, although it is probably not necessary to have all the details if, for example, the maintenance has been carried out by the Works staff, the Works Department should keep full records.

Specific Risks Every Head of Department shall ensure for all work equipment under their control, that: 4.3

where use of equipment is likely to involve specific risks, that the equipment is only used by those who have been authorised to use it and that repairs, modifications, maintenance and servicing are only carried out by competent people and who have received the required training

Information and Instruction Every Head of Department shall ensure for all work equipment under their control, that: 4.4

all people who use the work equipment must have the relevant health and safety information available and where appropriate, written instructions. Also that those people required to supervise or manage the use of work equipment have themselves had the relevant health and safety information and written instructions available to them.

Guidance The information is to include the following: i ii iii iv

conditions and methods of use, foreseeable abnormal situations which may arise and the action to be taken, any experiences of using the work equipment where it may affect health and safety, be easily understandable

Instruction may be verbal where this is considered to be sufficient. Special consideration will need to be given to people with a poor understanding of English. Training Every Head of Department shall ensure for all work equipment under their control, that:

4.5

all those who use work machinery have received adequate training. All those who supervise, teach or manage others in the use of work machinery must themselves been adequately trained

Conformity with Requirements Every Head of Department shall ensure for all work equipment under their control, that: 4.6

that all work equipment provided for use for the first time from 1.1.93 conforms to the relevant European or

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British Standards or Statutory Regulations where relevant Dangerous Parts of Machinery Every Head of Department shall ensure for all work equipment under their control, that: 4.7

access to dangerous parts of machinery is prevented and that any guards provided are suitable for the purpose and that they do not produce other hazards and that protective measures are easy to maintain Guidance This applies to any dangerous part of machinery or rotating stock-bar. There is a choice on what measures may be taken and these are set out in a hierarchy of priorities: i. ii. iii.

iv.

fixed enclosed guards, other guards or protection devices, protection appliances (jigs, holders, push sticks, etc.),

the provision of information, instruction, training and supervision.

Advice on guarding is set out in BS 53044 (Safety Adviser has a copy), BS EN ISO 12100 and various HSE publications. Guidance is also given in Appendix 3 of reference 1, (available in the Library or from the Safety Adviser). A permit to work system may also be relevant. Protection Against Specified Hazards Every Head of Department shall ensure for all work equipment under their control, that: 4.8

there is sufficient protection against specific risks associated with the item of work equipment, and this is to be other than personal protective equipment5, so far as is reasonably practical Guidance The ‘Specified Hazards’ include the following: i. ii. iii. iv.

articles and substances falling or ejected from the work equipment, rupture or disintegration, fire and overheating, discharge from the equipment in the form of gas, vapour, liquid, solid or micro organism,

where these may endanger employees and others. High or Very Low Temperature Every Head of Department shall ensure for all work equipment under their control, that: 4.9

there is adequate protection from parts of work equipment that could cause injury by high or low temperature Guidance The regulations recognise that this may not always be possible to protect all equipment, e.g. hot plates or soldering irons. However, the obligation to minimise the risk of injury remains. Use of personal protective equipment may be relevant here - please refer to the Trust/School Policy5 and Guidance to the Personal Protective Equipment Regulations.6

Controls (Start and Stop)

Start and change of operation Every Head of Department shall ensure for all work equipment under their control, that: 4.10

appropriate controls exist for starting, restarting and change of operation and that they are safe. That start and stop operations can only be performed by the controls provided. Guidance

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The controls should be simple to use and unambiguous. The equipment should not start or change operation except by the conscious action of the person controlling the equipment. This does not apply to automatic machinery, however, if an intervention is required such as clearing a blockage, then the equipment should be solely under manual control. Hold to run controls should be designed so that the ‘stop function’ has priority. The start controls are to be designed so that they cannot be accidentally started, for example, by use of a recessed button.

Stop Every Head of Department shall ensure for all work equipment under their control, that: 4.11

Where appropriate, equipment is provided with one or more readily-accessible controls which will bring the equipment to a safe condition in a safe manner. The stop control should switch off the power where necessary. Also, if necessary for safety reasons, the equipment should be brought to a complete stop by operation of the stop control. Guidance More than one stop control may be appropriate in cases where an operator may not be within easy reach of the main controls. The stop control(s) must have priority over the start and other controls. It may in some cases not be appropriate to bring the equipment to an immediate halt. Also whilst the disconnection of power would be desirable, in some cases, it may be safer to leave the equipment connected. Standard for stop controls BS EN 60201-1

Emergency Stop: Every Head of Department shall ensure for all work equipment under their control, that: 4.12

where appropriate, emergency stop control(s) are provided Guidance This should not be considered to be as the same as the ordinary stop control, but that such a control could be activated in an emergency and would bring the equipment to a safe condition in the shortest period of time. Emergency stop controls should be fitted in workshops where the controls on a piece of equipment may not be in easy reach of a person other than the operator. Their action of the emergency stop would cut the power to the equipment. Standards for emergency stop controls BS EN ISO12100, BS 5304, BS EN 418, BS EN 60204-1

Controls (Operational) Visibility & Markings: Every Head of Department shall ensure for all work equipment under their control, that: 4.13

all controls are clearly visible and identifiable and that they are appropriately marked. Guidance Controls and their markings should be clearly visible and unambiguous. Inappropriate marking could put others at risk. Standard for markings BS 3641

Time to get clear:

Every Head of Department shall ensure for all work equipment under their control, that: 4.14

Once the work equipment has started that there is sufficient time for the operator(s) and others to move to a place of safety should this be required Guidance

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This requirement relates to procedures such as those involving the use of radiation where sufficient time needs to provided for the operator to move to a place of safety. Warnings:

Every Head of Department shall ensure for all work equipment under their control, that: 4.15

where appropriate, in cases of danger, appropriate visible or audible warnings are given.

Control systems:

Every Head of Department shall ensure for all work equipment under their control, that: 4.16

all control systems, so far as is reasonably practicable, are safe. Their operation must not create additional risk. The equipment must ‘fail to safe’ in the event of loss of power. Guidance In the event of a power failure, the equipment should come to a stop and not re-start with the return of power, unless the start control is activated by the person controlling the equipment. Standards BS 5304, BS EN 60204, BS EN 61496

Isolation: Every Head of Department shall ensure for all work equipment under their control, that: 4.17

the machinery is provided with a suitable means of isolation from all sources of energy Guidance It must be possible to make any piece of equipment ‘electrically dead’ where it is directly connected to mains power, and for the power not to be switched on without the knowledge of a person servicing the equipment. It may be necessary to use a locking device on the mains switch to prevent the power switch being activated. See also references 7 and 8.

Stability and Lighting Every Head of Department shall ensure for all work equipment under their control, that: 4.18

the equipment is stable and that there is sufficient lighting Guidance In some cases, equipment will need to be fixed to a solid structure such as floor or wall. Ladders need to be correctly footed and tied during use. Lighting will need to be adequate for the task. Guidance is given in the HSE document HS(G) 38 3 and reference 9.

Maintenance Operations Every Head of Department shall ensure for all work equipment under their control, that: 4.19

the construction of the equipment is such that it allows for safe maintenance, so far as is reasonably practicable, and appropriate measures can be taken so as to minimise risk where it exists. Guidance Maintenance should normally be carried out when the equipment is not in use. If this is not possible, then steps must be taken to reduce any risk to the lowest practical level. The Electricity at Work Regulations 19897, are also of relevance to this point, particularly with regard to live working8.

Markings and Warnings Every Head of Department shall ensure for all work equipment under their control, that:

4.20

where required for reasons of health and safety all equipment is appropriately marked. Guidance This requirement is related to point 4.13 and also applies to the requirement to mark appropriately such items

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as gas cylinders. Some legislation already requires appropriate markings as in the use of radiation or highly flammable liquids. Warnings may be in the form of signs or by means of audible devices or lights. They must be easy to understand and unambiguous. The markings or warnings should comply with BS 5378.

5 RISK ASSESSMENT PUWER does not contain an explicit requirement for risk assessment. According to the Approved Code of Practice L22 this is because there is an over-riding duty to carry out risk assessments in the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations. The trust’s code of practice on risk assessment2 should be consulted for more information on risk assessment. Appendix 1 contains a modified version of the trust’s general risk assessment proforma – the changes are small but help to highlight the special issues arising from the use of equipment. Examples of people who might be more at risk are those with a poor understanding of English and those with disabilities that could affect their being aware of an alarm signal, such as visual or hearing impairment . Assessors are recommended to use the checklist in Appendix 2 as part of the assessment process; this will help them address all the issues.

6 REFERENCES 1.

Safe Use of Work Equipment: Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, Approved Code of Practice and Guidance on Regulations (L22), HSE Books.

2.

Risk Assessment Code of Practice, Royal Free, 2004

3.

HS(G)38. Lighting at Work. HSE Books.

4.

BS 5304: 1988. British Standard Code of Practice for Safety of Machinery. BSI.

5.

Personal Protective Equipment: Policy and Guidance. Royal Free

6.

Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992: Guidance on Regulations, L25. HSE Books.

7.

HS(R)25 Memorandum of guidance on the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. HSE Books.

8.

HS(G)85 Electricity at Work – safe working practices, 2003, HSE Books

9.

Ergonomics - standards and guidelines for designers. Stephen Pheasant, British Standards Institution, 1987. (Safety Adviser has a copy).

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PUWER Department/Area:

RISK ASSESSMENT PROFORMA Date of Assessment:

Assessment No:

THE EQUIPMENT (include: what it is used for, where it is used, who uses it, who owns it)

HAZARD IDENTIFICATION

PERSONS AT RISK (who might be harmed and how?)

EXISTING PRECAUTIONS (use the checklist to see what controls are currently in place)

other risk assessments

ANALYSIS OF EXISTING PRECAUTIONS (are the precautions effective; if not, why not?)

ACTION REQUIRED (what needs to be done control/reduce the risk? Use the checklist to see what is missing)

Action needed

By whom

Target date

Date completed

REVIEW DATE PERSON(S) CARRYING OUT THE ASSESSMENT Print

Signature

Date:

An on-line version of this form is also available on Freenet.

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APPENDIX 1

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2

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11

12

13

14

15 16 17

18 19

Yes

No

N/A

Yes

No

N/A

Are there written instructions covering a) any unusual hazards or complicated features? b) where appropriate, emergency shutdown? a) Has instruction in readily comprehensive form (written or verbal) on all hazards been passed on to all those who use the equipment?

b) 3

WORK EQUIPMENT CHECKLIST

Have any written instructions been provided by the manufacturer and passed on to users?

a)

Have all users of the equipment been given adequate training in correct use, risks and precautions? b) Is a training record kept which verifies this? Is the equipment being used in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions? If it has been adapted, is the adaption suitable and safe? Is the equipment used in an appropriate environment? (consider eg ventilation, damp, flammable conditions). If the equipment is to be moved, is the weight known? Are the start and stop controls clearly marked? Are other operating controls, and the contents of any containers, clearly marked? Are there clear warning notices or markings (eg to wear personal protection, restriction on use, list of authorised users) where appropriate? Are the following checked at appropriate intervals?: a) electrical safety? b) any safety devices? If inadequate maintenance could cause the equipment, guards, or other protection to fail in a dangerous way, is there a system of planned preventive maintenance, including where appropriate the periodic replacement of refurbishing of items before they reach the end of their useful life? Have clear maintenance instructions been given to those responsible for maintaining the equipment? Is protection adequate in relation to: a) items falling from the equipment? b) items being ejected? c) overturning? d) collapse? e) overheating or fire? f) disintegration? g) explosion? Is the equipment made stable where appropriate by bolting, clamping or tying? Is there sufficient general and (where necessary) local lighting? a) Is there protection against contact with hot or very cold temperature, so far as appropriate? b) If the possibility of such contact is unavoidable has appropriate instruction and training been given? In the case of pressurised equipment, is there a written scheme of examination? If gas, fume, dust or aerosols (eg mineral oil) is released when the equipment is used, is there: a) local exhaust ventilation, tested annually? b) a COSHH specific assessment?

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20 21 22 23 24

25 26 27 28 29 30

Are all parts of dangerous machinery guarded? Are all guards sound and in good working order?

Do the guards permit an adequate view of the operation where this is necessary? Is it difficult to bypass or disable the guards?

Can the machinery only be started when a specific labelled start device is used? (NB the normal cycle of automated machinery is exempt from this requirement). Is it impossible to start the machine just by resetting a safety device?

Is there a readily accessible stop device which stops the machinery in a safe way? Where appropriate (ie where in a foreseeable emergency it could help) is there a prominent easily accessible emergency stop device? Can controls be operated safely and easily? Is there any system of work which ensures that nobody is in a dangerous position when machinery is able to be started?

Does the start device need to be activated to restart the machine if: a) b)

the power fails? a control or safety device fails to trips out?

31

If the power is isolated does the machinery come to rest safely without the possibility of access to dangerous parts?

32

Can the equipment be securely isolated from power, to prevent inadvertent reconnection: a) by removing a plug from a socket which is easily visible to the person at risk? or b) by locking it off?

An on-line version of this checklist is also available on Freenet.

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