HSE has announced that their inspectors are continuing to visit businesses across Great Britain as part of their targeted HSE welding fume inspection programme.
HSE is checking that businesses who are undertaking welding processes and use water-based metalworking fluids to check that they are being correctly managed to minimise the exposure and risk to workers’ health. During an inspection, you should be able to demonstrate that the controls being used are effective at protecting the health of your workers.
HSE has provided a number of resources to help businesses control exposure and manage the risks during the manufacturing process. Yet, HSE has reported in their ‘Work Right to protect workers’ lung health’ eBulletin: that: “During our inspections, one of the main issues identified for controlling exposure to metalworking fluid mist has been the lack of local exhaust ventilation (LEV) on CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machines.”
They also reported that: “Less than half of sites inspected in our targeted inspections programme had procedures in place to review their welding fume controls.”
Top Tips to Pass a HSE Welding Fume Inspection
HSE have assembled some guidance to help your business ensure they are protecting workers’ health and prepare for an inspection. In the two-page PDF, there’s a series of questions of businesses that carry out metalworking fluid processes and welding fume processes. You should consider the following:
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Click to download the ‘Preparing For Your HSE Fabricated Metal Inspection‘ PDF.
Welding Fumes
We’ve assembled a truckload of advice and resources to help business owners and duty-holders provide welding fume-free workplaces on our Welding Fume Extraction page. We’re accustomed to helping businesses who undertake MIG welding, TIG welding, gas metal arc welding (GMAW), flux-cored arc welding (FCAW), stick welding (shielded metal arc welding (SMAW)) and laser cutting.
We offer a wide variety of different welding fume extraction solutions for a wide variety of industries and sectors, such as Welding Extraction Arms (pictured above). We’re experts at capturing welding and cutting fumes in the workplace and safely removing them to help your business provide a pollution-free workplace. Our solutions include portable solutions to complex reverse pulse filtration systems.
Please note, HSE advise that LEV is the primary measure to control the risks from welding fume. Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) is a secondary control method.
Metalworking Fluids
We’ve also assembled a tonne of advice to help businesses provide oil mist-free workplaces. Visit our Oil Mist Extraction page. We help businesses control airborne contaminants, such as tramp oil, that derive from CNC machine tools, milling machines, cutting tools and CNC mills.
We offer a wide variety of different Oil Mist Extraction products available for a wide variety of industries and sectors. We’re experts at capturing oil mist and safely removing them to help your business provide a pollution-free workplace. We work in the metalworking industries such as automotive, aerospace, medical device manufacturing, power generation and general precision machining.
Read an Oil Mist Extraction case study we completed recently.
What Do the HSE State?
Under the HSE’s Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002, employers are required to consider the effectiveness of the controls in place to minimise exposure to welding fume and metalworking fluids.
Other HSE Resources
HSE has also produced task-specific COSHH Essential guidance to help business owners and duty holders meet the control standard expectations for both Welding Fume and Metalworking Fluids. in the workplace.
Is It Worth Taking The Risk?
Earlier this year, HSE fined an engineering company £100,000 after an employee had an allergic reaction whilst cleaning out a grinding machine and coming into contact with metalworking fluids. The company were fined £100,000 and ordered to pay costs of £639.59.
Request your FREE LEV Site Assessment Today!
If your business uses metalworking fluids or undertakes welding activities, we have the solution for you. We’ll call to arrange a convenient time and date to visit your site. We’ll analyse your working processes, assess the substances used and the contaminants generated. We’ll work out how best to control the dust and fume in a way that’s in line with your COSHH risk assessment. Next, we’ll design you a comprehensive LEV system that adheres to HSG258 guidance and send this you to via email.
We’ll do all this to ensure we fully understand your dust and fume extraction requirements and help you to provide a pollution-free workplace!
This is an amazing service we do for thousands of businesses that undertake welding fume processes or employ different types of CNC machines throughout the UK and Ireland every year. We work with such a wide variety of industries, from manufacturing, industrial, woodworking, pharmaceutical and automotive workshops to schools, colleges and military establishments.
Request your FREE, no-obligation LEV site assessment today!
Why Choose Auto Extract Systems?
Auto Extract Systems is the UK’s leading LEV company. Over the last 20 years, we’ve helped thousands of businesses create dust and fume free workplaces. We have steadily been building and diversifying into new industries to help businesses provide pollution-free workplaces with comprehensive LEV (local exhaust ventilation) systems. Our team of P602 qualified LEV system design engineers have over 80 years of combined experience, the know-how, and the ability to specify comprehensive LEV systems to help your business meet HSE’s HSG258 guidance.
As experts in all things LEV, we can help your business become COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) Regulation 2002 compliant with a tailored LEV solution. We provide comprehensive design, installation, maintenance and certification services across a range of industry sectors. Find out more about us here.
