JT Education

Archive for the ‘Work Equipment’ Category

Conveyor systems installed twenty or thirty years ago are reaching the end of their working lives, leaving companies to foot the bill. Although keeping conveyors up to date and running efficiently is essential to most parcel handlers, funds to replace worn equipment can be difficult to source due to the current economic climate.

For businesses looking to reduce costs, there are other options. Old conveyor systems that have become inefficient may be eligible for refurbishment. With the proper engineering, refurbished conveyors run just as well as new ones, and come with extended guarantees to prove it.

Compared to buying new equipment, refurbishing conveyor systems is cost effective and leads to substantial time savings. However, companies should carry out an assessment first to ascertain viability.

Refurbishment viability assessment

First, it must be established whether the existing conveyor layout will meet future needs. Anticipated business growth may increase throughput requirements and necessitate a bigger system. Companies should also survey existing equipment to check its condition and performance potential.

What constitutes a refurbishment?

If a refurbishment is viable, there are a small number of reputable can also supply brand new control panels and completely rewire equipment to ensure it meets current legislation. In the case of telescopic boom conveyors, they will replace all internal components, clean the machines down to bear metal and respray them to look as new.

Replacing control systems

Although the mechanical components of conveyors are easy to refurbish or upgrade, control devices and systems are different. Manufacturers used to fit units with binary flags, photocells and self adhesive reflectors – dated technologies that no longer meet the requirements of a busy parcel handler.

Companies should consider fitting refurbished conveyors with modern control systems, which use lasers, absolute encoders, and frequency inverters to detect the position of every item on the line. They route and divert parcels automatically, and manage the entire operation at high speed. Fitting modern control systems to refurbished conveyors can greatly improve their performance.

Modern software for efficient running

Businesses refurbishing conveyors may also need to replace the operating software. Operating software is extremely complex and performs a wide range of functions. These include matching orders to pallet loads, controlling pallets’ storage location, and keeping detailed records on the shelf lives of products and how long they have been in storage.

In the 1980′s and 1990′s, operating software for conveying systems was highly bespoke, time-consuming to develop, and cost many hundreds of thousands of pounds. It has advanced radically over the last ten years.

Today’s software features improved functionality at a lower cost – companies can buy standardised off the shelf packages for as little as £100,000. Plus, off-site commissioning leads to significant time savings. Using modern operating software to run refurbished conveyors helps ensure their efficient, smooth operation.

How safety legislation affects refurbishment

Health and safety at work has become increasingly important over the last thirty years. There are now comprehensive regulations and employers have a legal duty to protect their staff. They are also liable for accidents that occur.

Indeed, if someone dies as a result of an accident at work in the UK, companies can face criminal prosecution under the new Corporate Manslaughter Act (introduced in April 2008). This is punishable by an unlimited fine, which could potentially bankrupt a business.

In the UK, conveyors fall under the Provision & Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. These specify work equipment must be suitable for use, maintained in a safe condition and regularly inspected to ensure it stays this way.

Conveying systems built in the 1980′s and 1990′s may not comply with this legislation, so companies carrying out refurbishments must bring the equipment up to date.

This includes making controls accessible and marking them clearly to allow operators to switch off a machine if an accident occurs, adding emergency stop buttons, and covering dangerous areas (e.g. the areas where the sections retract on a telescopic boom conveyor) with guard plates.

To conclude

The current economic climate is forcing businesses to scrutinise their budgets and reduce costs. Refurbishing conveyors is a viable, realistic option, and companies would be wise to consider it before scrapping old systems.

You will no doubt have heard about the energy saving benefits associated with LED lighting, but have you considered how these long life lamps can impact upon health and safety at your place of work? A clue to the challenges involved in changing a high bay lamp come in the name – they are fitted in high and often difficult to reach places. This article examines the health and safety issues surrounding replacing high bay lighting and how LED lighting can reduce the risks involved in working at height.

As a responsible business owner you are no doubt aware of the health and safety regulations concerning working at height. The working at height directive outlines the following guidelines when it comes to working at height:

As part of the Regulations, duty holders must ensure:
• all work at height is properly planned and organised;
• those involved in work at height are competent;
• the risks from work at height are assessed and appropriate work equipment is selected and used;
• the risks from fragile surfaces are properly controlled; and
• equipment for work at height is properly inspected and maintained.
There is a simple hierarchy for managing and selecting equipment for work at height. Duty holders must:
• avoid work at height where they can;
• use work equipment or other measures to prevent falls where they cannot avoid working at height; and
• where they cannot eliminate the risk of a fall, use work equipment or other measures to minimize the distance and consequences of a fall should one occur.
The Regulations include schedules giving requirements for existing places of work and means of access for work at height, collective fall prevention (e.g. guardrails and working platforms), collective fall arrest (e.g. nets, airbags etc), personal fall protection (e.g. work restraints, fall arrest and rope access) and ladders. *

When replacing high bay lighting these guidelines must adhered to and the most important consideration should be how to avoid any risks involved in working at height, for example by reducing the number of times that high bay lights require replacing. Not to mention reducing the financial implications of purchasing new lights/lightbulbs and costs involved in the hire or purchase and use of safety equipment/qualified personnel needed to physically change the lighting.

The technology in the LED market has now developed to offer industrial LED lighting solutions that match the luminous efficacy of metal halide (100 lm/w) yet last for a longer period of up to 50,000 lighting hours. That’s around 3 times that of metal halide lamps and when you consider the aforementioned costs and safety considerations that are involved in replacing high bay lights, LED can offer considerable financial benefits to business owners.

In industrial lighting applications where large areas need to be lit for extended periods during the day and overnight, lighting can prove to be a huge proportion of energy consumption. These costs can also be reduced with the installation of high power LED lighting. Unlike traditional SON and metal halide high bay lighting, LED offers instant illumination with no warm time, so immediately companies will save on 100% of the energy used when lights have to be left on overnight, or switched on early so that there is enough light to work in once the working day begins. Once you add these savings on energy to the savings that can be made on replacement costs it becomes clear that the future of safe and cost effective high bay lighting lies with LED lighting solutions.

Writing a Health & Safety Policy from scratch
Any organisation with five or more employees is legally required to have a written Health & Safety Policy (Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 section 2(3)). It shouldn’t be a complicated document but it does need to be a concise summary, stating how your business manages safety.

If you’re thinking about writing your own Health and Safety Policy there are a few things you’ll need to consider. Your Policy should clearly set out how you manage Health and Safety, who is responsible and when things must be done. Starting a policy from scratch isn’t easy, particularly if you haven’t written one before and you don’t have access to professional advisors.

Some of the things you need to consider are:

* A general statement
* Responsibilities
* Health and safety risks
* Consultation with employees
* Safe plant and equipment
* Safe handling and use of substances
* Information, instruction and supervision
* Competency for tasks
* Accidents, first aid and work related ill health
* Monitoring – accidents and work related sickness
* Emergency procedures

Updating an existing Health & Safety Policy
Once a Health and Safety policy has been written it’s important that it’s regularly reviewed and not just left on the shelf. This should be done whenever changes occur within the business and on a regular basis (at least annually).

Examples of when a Health and Safety Policy will need reviewing include:

* If the work process changes
* At the introduction of new technology or equipment
* When any organisational changes occur
* When Changes in legislation occur

Health & Safety in your Workplace
The HSE website advises: “It is an employer’s duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees, and other people who might be affected by their business”, and that “the employer must do whatever is reasonably practicable to achieve this.”

Good management of workplace safety represents not only good business practice, but also it can improve both performance of staff and the business in general. Unfortunately whilst complying and keeping pace with statutory change is extremely time consuming – especially given the growth of the compensation culture – it is essential to ensure you are not left exposed in the event of an accident or injury in your workplace.

Guide to LOLER (Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations)
Your obligations as an employer
The LOLER Regulations aim to reduce risks to people’s Health and Safety from lifting equipment provided for use at work. To further complicate matters, any lifting equipment used is also subject to the requirements of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER).
LOLER – requirements of LOLER

The LOLER Regulations require that equipment used is strong and stable enough for the particular use and marked to indicate safe working loads, positioned and installed to minimize any risks. Unfortunately though without Health and Safety Experts in-house, it’s difficult to know where to start.

When hiring an Edmonton DJ service for a school dance, wedding or corporate event it is important to select an experienced DJ service. There is no substitute for years of knowledge. Make sure when booking an Edmonton DJ service that you ask about previous clients and the number of years the staff has provided DJ services to the area.

DJ companies that have been in the industry for some time understand how to make an event successful. In this article we’ll point out some of the crucial things to keep in mind when hiring a DJ company.

When selecting an Edmonton DJ make sure you are confident that their DJs can create a fun and inviting atmosphere. State of the art sound equipment is important, but if no one gets up to dance or participate it doesn’t matter how great the music sounds. Many Edmonton DJs are trained specifically by the company so that they are dependable, competent and entertaining. Not only will the DJ bring fine equipment and great tunes, they will also inject their personality into the event in a positive way.

Your event details will be shared with the company. Make sure you find out if the Edmonton DJ service spends time planning and preparing for your event. It is great if you know which Edmonton DJ is assigned to your event. Make sure you have contact information so you can get a hold of the Company and the individual DJ. That way, as you think of questions to ask or make changes to an event you can be sure the Edmonton DJ is aware and can answer any of your questions.

A qualified DJ service in the Edmonton area is likely to have several sound units for multiple events. Ask to find out if they do. A DJ service that has multiple units means they can handle equipment malfunctions and sound equipment that gets bumped and broken by partying clients. The company can simply grab some of their other sound stuff to accommodate the unlikely scenario of non-working equipment.

Companies in the Edmonton DJ industry often carry the latest, state-of –the art technology when it comes to sound. You can check with the DJ service about other equipment to make your event sizzle. L.E.D. lighting, digital music playback, other lights and even video screens can transform your event from an “okay” experience to a “wow” event. A company in the Edmonton DJ industry that possesses the latest equipment will probably also be aware of the latest entertainment trends.

An event that depends on well-delivered sound and music will require a well-trained DJ Technician. You can be sure the technical aspects of making the sound and lights work in the room or space will be attended to. Many Edmonton DJs successfully project their own unique personality from behind the microphone. An entertaining DJ working with great sound equipment, backed by an experienced staff and company means your event will be great.

Did you know that there is technically no legal requirement for you to have the electrical appliances within your workplace, or the residency of your tenants, PAT tested? It’s true; there is no law that insists that it must be undertaken. Things are never as simple as they seem though, because although it isn’t written in stone that a PAT testing company must darken your door once every year, the law does state that every item of electrical equipment must be ‘safe, well maintained and suitable for the purpose for which it is being used’. And the way to ensure that this is the case? PAT testing.

Failing to ensure that your electrical equipment is safe will certainly cost you, with some serious cases facing unlimited fines and jail terms. Without evidence to show that you have kept your electrical equipment maintained and tested imagine the repercussions should an employee or tenant suffer an electric shock, or be injured in a fire caused by an unsafe electrical appliance. The risk simply isn’t worth it.

It is true that many faults with electrical devices can be spotted with simple visual inspection. You can see that the plug for your computer has a crack through its centre, or the obvious burn marks on the cable from your kettle. What you can’t see is what is happening beneath the surface. You can’t see the condition of the wires within the plug itself, or whether the earth wire is doing its job successfully. That is why it is essential that all electrical appliances are tested frequently; there is no other way to stay compliant with the legislation related to PAT testing.

Several sections of legislation correspond to the maintenance of your electrical appliances; let’s consider some of these now:

The Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974

It seems that the UK has gone health and safety mad in recent years, but when it comes to ensuring that electrical appliances are safe this makes perfect sense. Section 2(1) of this particular act informs an employer that it is their responsibility to care for their employees and to keep them safe.

The Electricity at Work Regulations, 1989

Any and every piece of electrical equipment is technically covered by the Electricity at Work Regulations. This legislation is designed to prevent injuries that could be caused from working with electrical appliances. It clearly specifies that all electrical systems must be maintained so as to prevent danger (as far as is reasonably practicable).

The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations, 1998 (PUWER)

This final piece of legislation that we will consider is very clear in its instruction that all electrical work equipment must be suitable for its purpose, and maintained to a state of efficient working order and good repair. Any equipment to be used in work should be constructed, or adapted, to be suitable for what it will be used for, and should be used only for operations for which it is deemed to be suitable.

Hopefully you now understand that although PAT testing is not technically a legal requirement, it is something that must be undertaken to ensure the continual safety of you and your employees.

Creating a Fall Protection Plan

It is presumed that the having access to conventional fall protection equipment / method is feasible and won’t create a greater danger. The problem of demonstrating infeasibility or increased hazard is with the actual subcontractor.

Fall arrest is the type of fall protection that involves the safe stopping of a person currently falling. Fall arrest system means a system created specifically to secure, suspend, or help in retrieving a workman in or from a perilous work area

There are numerous types of height safety equipment there for avoid accidents whenever working from height, one of the most frequently used piece of kit is generally a fall restraint system, this consists of the regularly seen full body safety harness that is donned over clothing and then fixed using a lanyard and connector e.g. Karabiner, onto a fixed anchor point stopping the user from falling over the edge on the structure from which they’re operating ; these products can nevertheless be restricting, but nonetheless substantially reduce the danger of falling when they are made use of correctly.

For example, you need to evaluate the work system, height safety and equipment specifications for a specific job, look at the nature with the work being done as well as the surrounding environment, access along with restrictions and the training course must then provide specific instruction for how to complete the task safely.

Fall protection equipment made available are to be used simply for fall protection purposes. Fall protection starts with a plan, and this begins in the design

Working at height safety training courses are needed lessons intended for employees that find themselves at a job that’s geared toward at height responsibilities.

Safety shouldn’t be a second thought any time a utility worker is climbing a telecommunications tower a hundred feet from the ground or a laborer is cleaning windows from a suspended scaffold fifty feet off the ground. There isn’t time to be thinking about “am I safe? ” or “am I wearing the appropriate PPE? ” That question should have been sorted out by a safety supervisor before a worker turns up for work.

Equipment Care and Inspection
Keeping equipment in good working order is important. Equipment inspections should be carried out by workers prior to use.

Impact Loading

Any kind of fall arrest system or component that has been used to arrest a fall (impact loading) should be immediately taken out of service untilI it is examined and determined safe by a competent person to be undamaged.

For more information and guidance on
Fall Protection visit http://www.leadingedgesafety.co.uk/guidance
.

Working at height

After the fall – Suspension Trauma/Orthostatic intolerance – the need to plan for rescue

Roger H Smith of Leading Edge emphasises the importance of thorough rescue planning

Planning for rescue and emergencies when employees work at height is a legal and moral responsibility for all employers. Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 obliges employers to ensure all work at height is properly planned, and Regulation 4(2) notes that “planning of work includes planning for emergencies and rescue”.

Often we think of rescue as simply a matter of dialing 999, but calling the local fire brigade does not add up to an effective rescue plan. Response times can be too long and not all brigades have the capability to rescue from height.

Even in the most safety conscious employers’ workplaces accidents happen, so a rescue plan is an essential component of working at height and should be managed via a working at height method statement and risk assessment, and be ingrained through training and practice.

The lack of any form of post-fall rescue plan – relying on employees improvising to rescue a colleague — not only puts the victim at risk, but also puts rescuers in harms way. Unplanned attempts at rescue often result in secondary and tertiary injuries or fatalities.

Time is tight

The reason planned rescue by trained people is so important is that the danger is far from over when the fall arrest equipment does its job. Anyone hanging in a harness is at risk of suspension trauma; as the blood drains from the top half of their body, depriving the brain of oxygen. The critical thing is to get them to the ground as quickly as possible — any more than 10 minutes in suspension and the risk of irreparable damage increases rapidly (see HSW February 2006).

The rescue plan must provide for self-rescue by employees who remain conscious after a fall, where their equipment allows them to get to safety. Workers must be trained and practised in self rescue.

But even where a fallen worker appears to be able to help themselves, the plan must require colleagues to act as though they are incapable, since the situation might change and time is at a premium.

The plan must give clear direction for anyone who witnesses a fall to know who on site at the time is responsible for rescue and to alert them immediately, plus the emergency services where available. This means ensuring every worker has emergency phone numbers to hand and knows the site location to direct third parties.

The plan must set out the hierarchy of rescue options available on site for getting employees to safety — from dedicated rescue equipment, such as additional harnesses, controlled descent devices or winches, to access using work equipment such as mobile elevating work platforms, plus locations of first aid equipment and any rescue-specific items.

Though speed is of the essence, the plan must make co-workers responsibilities clear and emphasise the importance of not endangering themselves during the rescue.

Death by rescue

As the casualty is returned to the level, another critical point occurs. The plan must ensure that all staff know that usual first aid procedures do not apply and the fallen worker must not be laid flat because of the risk of stale blood from the legs rushing back through the body poisoning their major organs and causing potentially fatal toxic shock. The plan must ensure all workers know to put the casualty into a sitting “W” position with their legs bent, unless they are suspected of having a spinal injury.

Other considerations for a plan include how to ensure any wreckage/equipment is set aside to help later investigation, allowing for unusual structural features that might complicate a rescue and ensuring materials are provided in translation where large numbers of migrant workers are on site.

However well thought out, a rescue plan (like a risk assessment) is useless if it is filed away and forgotten. You need to ensure that everyone who could be involved in a rescue: managers; supervisors; and workers are fully trained in the types of situation that might call for a rescue, what their roles are and how to use the equipment you provide. Rescue operations are carried out under extreme pressure, whatever training your employees have had or are yet to have, will determine how they react.

The training should be kept topped up with regular practice sessions or drills, keeping employees on their toes but also checking that they can act inside the necessary five-minute window. Just as the plan needs updating with any change of circumstances, personnel or equipment, so does the training.

Leading Edge supplies height safety equipment and training (www.leadingedgesupplies.com). Leading Edge have published a 82 page hard back book on rescue guidance and equipment, available free of charge For a free copy, telephone 01329 827997 (also available on CD and as a PDF download at www.leadingedgesupplies.com

P.S. Leading Edge are looking for international partners, if this is of interest please call or email Drew Beardmore at 441329827997 and drew@leadingedgesupplies.com

Having worked in one of the grander offices around London it is beneficial discovering what the businesses policy is for Portable Appliance Testing ( PAT Testing ). Every piece of electrical equipment in the office and work area should be looked at to make sure it is in line with the Electricity at Work Regulations 1998 which states that  “As may be necessary to prevent danger, all systems shall be maintained so as to prevent so far as reasonably practicable, such danger.” This basically means that every bit of electrical equipment that has a plug on it must be regularly looked at to make sure its sustained safety in the work area and like so many things items may have been missed. Any bit of equipment that has been PAT tested will have a PAT testing sticker stuck to it saying when the equipment was looked at and which business checked it.
Not only will this help show in the case of an accident that the employer has been showing due care for its staff but also makes sure that any problems will not cause a loss of life or fire in the business area. The alternative reasons this is advisable is that if you are ever visited by health and safety officers or fire officers the initial things they will probably ask for is to see your Portable Appliance Testing documents.  The provision and use of work equipment regulations state that “every employer shall ensure that work equipment is so constructed or adopted as to be suitable for the purpose for which it is used or provided”. Legal jargon but what it boils down to is that if you use dangerous equipment at work you are at fault. 
Each year there are about 1000 accidents in the work area that involve electric shocks or burns, and these are just the ones that are actually told to the Health and Safety Executive. About 30 of the accidents are terminal. With insurance businesses lessening the cover that they put forward to businesses with more and more limitations to payouts. Health & Safety requirements and ISO standards are gradually getting stricter as to what is acceptable in the work area and most businesses need to make sure that they are complying with their fire risk assessment responsibilities.
What all of this basically boils down to is that every individual has accountability to ensure that they are aware of the equipment they are using, and if there are no stickers on your equipment saying whether it has been safety checked. Talk to one of your bosses or contact a local PAT testing business to make sure you and the people you work with stay safe.

———-

For advice on PAT Testing or to find some more frquently asked questions on Portable Appliance Testing be sure to check out the links.