R13 Health and safety
Initial skills rating ****
September 2011
Apprenticeship years
A lot of my working life has been in an environment where health and safety issues were paramount.
The first year of my apprenticeship took place in a training centre learning to use metalwork machines. We learned to use each machine safely and behave in a manner that would not only keep ourselves safe but everyone around us. It was important to be tidy and follow many safety procedures. It is not an environment to play around in as there were too many dangers.
In the second year we progressed to working in a large factory which included occasional trips to the foundry. I remember although we had not had the specific dangers of the foundry explained to us, we knew how to have a healthy respect for what and who was around us. We learned not only how to work in this environment but how to travel around it safely.These skills have stayed with me and automatically come into play when I visit places like timber merchants or plumbing centres, and anywhere they use fork lift trucks. Personal protective clothing was very important and as I have learned new techniques I have continued to learn about new types of clothing.
The first year of my apprenticeship took place in a training centre learning to use metalwork machines. We learned to use each machine safely and behave in a manner that would not only keep ourselves safe but everyone around us. It was important to be tidy and follow many safety procedures. It is not an environment to play around in as there were too many dangers.
In the second year we progressed to working in a large factory which included occasional trips to the foundry. I remember although we had not had the specific dangers of the foundry explained to us, we knew how to have a healthy respect for what and who was around us. We learned not only how to work in this environment but how to travel around it safely.These skills have stayed with me and automatically come into play when I visit places like timber merchants or plumbing centres, and anywhere they use fork lift trucks. Personal protective clothing was very important and as I have learned new techniques I have continued to learn about new types of clothing.
Electricity
I know that electricity provides a risk of electrical shock and that one should never mix electricity with water. In case of injury disconnect the power supply and never touch someone that has been shocked and remain in contact with the power supply. If possible use something non-conductive like a wooden broom handle to separate the two and raise the alarm for help.
Working in a school
As a technician working in a school I became aware of
CLEAPPS and BS4163.
Working in a school provided yet another aspect of safety. No longer was considering my own safety enough, now I needed to consider the safety of students who may have little or no idea of safety in a workshop for themselves.Running is a definite no especially when carrying tools. I would often show students how to carry tools safely and how to work with them safely. Students would often start gesticulating with something sharp in their hands, oblivious to almost causing injury to someone else.Sound was another good indicator when something was about to go wrong or going wrong.
Working in a school provided yet another aspect of safety. No longer was considering my own safety enough, now I needed to consider the safety of students who may have little or no idea of safety in a workshop for themselves.Running is a definite no especially when carrying tools. I would often show students how to carry tools safely and how to work with them safely. Students would often start gesticulating with something sharp in their hands, oblivious to almost causing injury to someone else.Sound was another good indicator when something was about to go wrong or going wrong.
Performa’s
I have struggled to extrapolate the information directly from CLEAPPS and BS4163 not because it is difficult but I find the screen jumps and it is not easy to locate the relevant information when you can only view a small window at any one time.
I am going to look at the hard copies kept in the workshops.
Ah hard copies are so much easier to look at than the computer screen. I found it much easier to see what information can be found where. I have gone away with a list of reference numbers relating to each machine. This should make it much easier to get back to where I want to be if the screen jumps or just locating information in the first place. If I put lathe in the search box it tends to come up with a reference to lathe in some index rather than the safety information connected to the lathe.