Workshop Processes, Practices and Materials

Bruce Black

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781317665793
• Edition: 5
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Civil Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Workshop Processes, Practices and Materials is an ideal introduction for entry level engineers and workshop technicians, as well as engineering university students with little or no practical experience. With detailed illustrations throughout and simple, clear language, this is a practical introduction to what can be a very complex subject. It has been significantly updated and revised to include new material on current Health and Safety legislation, gauging and digital measuring instruments, as well as modern measuring techniques such as laser scan micrometer, co-ordinate and visual measuring systems. A new chapter on an introduction to CNC milling and turning has been added. This book covers all standard workshop topics, including safe practices, measuring equipment, hand and machine tools, metal and plastics materials, joining methods including welding, presswork, primary forming, casting and moving loads, making it an indispensable handbook for use both in class and the workshop. Its broad coverage makes it a useful reference book for many different courses worldwide.

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• Health and Safety chapter covers current best practice and has been checked by a certified health and safety examiner.

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• Addition of modern measuring techniques using laser scan micrometer, co-ordinate and visual measuring systems.

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• Addition of an introduction to CNC milling and turning.

CHAPTER

1

Safe practices

Almost everyone working in a factory has at some stage in his or her career suffered an injury requiring some kind of treatment or first aid. It may have been a cut finger or something more serious. The cause may have been carelessness by the victim or a colleague, defective safety equipment, not using the safety equipment provided or inadequate protective clothing. Whatever the explanation given for the accident, the true cause was most likely a failure to think ahead. You must learn to work safely. Your workplace will have its own safety rules so obey them at all times. Ask if you don’t understand any instruction and do report anything which seems dangerous, damaged or faulty.

1.1 Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA) (as amended)

This Act of Parliament came into force in April 1975 and covers all people at work except domestic servants in a private household. It is aimed at people and their activities, rather than at factories and the processes carried out within them.

The purpose of the Act is to provide a legal framework to encourage high standards of health and safety at work.

Its aims are:

to secure the health, safety and welfare of people at work;

to protect other people against risks to health or safety arising from the activity of people at work;

to control the keeping and use of dangerous substances and prevent people from unlawfully having or using them;

to control the emission into the atmosphere of noxious or offensive substances from premises.

What the law requires is what good management and common sense would lead employers to do anyway, i.e. to look at what the risks are and take sensible measures to tackle them.

1.2 Health and safety organisation (Fig. 1.1)

The HSWA established two bodies, the Health and Safety Commission and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). These were merged in 2008 to form a single body, the HSE. The HSE is a statutory body established by the HSWA (as amended) which consists of a chairperson and between 7 and 12 executive directors.

The HSE Board is responsible to appropriate ministers for the administration of the 1974 Act.

Figure 1.1 Health and safety organisation

The HSE’s mission is: ‘the prevention of death, injury and ill health to those at work and those affected by work activities’.

HSE’s aims are to protect the health, safety and welfare of people at work, and to safeguard others, mainly members of the public, who may be exposed to risks from the way work is carried out.

HSE’s statutory functions include:

proposing new and updated laws and standards;

conducting research;

providing information and advice;

making adequate arrangements for the enforcement of health and safety laws.

In recent years much of Britain’s health and safety law has originated in Europe. Proposals from the European Commission may be agreed by member states who are then responsible for making them part of their domestic law. Where HSE consider action is necessary to supplement existing arrangements, their three main options are to provide:

1. guidance;

2. approved codes of practice (ACOPs);

3. regulations.

Guidance – can be specific to health and safety problems of an industry or of a particular process used in a number of industries.

The main purposes of guidance are to:

help people understand what the law says;

help people comply with the law;

give technical advice.

Following guidance is not compulsory, but if followed, will normally be enough to comply with the law.

Approved codes of practice – offer practical examples of good practice. They give advice on how to comply with the law by, for example, providing a guide to what is ‘reasonably practicable’.

Approved codes of practice have a special legal status. If employers are prosecuted for a breach of health and safety law, and it is proved that they have not followed the relevant provisions of the approved code of practice, a court can find ...