Fire Prevention and Fire Protection Systems - Assignment Example

Welding is a source of ignition as it is hot process work. It can ignite materials found in the office environment. As a control mechanism, the ignition should be eliminated. All areas within the office environment that welding takes place should be checked to ensure no ignition occurs. Subject to the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR), the activities that involve hot work like flame cutting, welding, or even blow lamps may cause a serious fire hazard. As a result, they should be stringently controlled whenever undertaken in sections that may have flammable materials.

There is also a need to liaise and barter information with contractors obligated by the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 to undertake a risk assessment and notify the person who has commissioned the welding of the significant findings and possible control mechanism that should be used. The contractor should also take fire safety into account as part of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994.To ensure this, a written permit to work for the persons concerned should be acquired regardless of whether it is one of the employees is involved, or a contractor is involved.

The permit is intended to ensure that the welding section is sufficiently safe ahead of the welding activity. It further ensures that precautions and monitoring persist while the welding takes place. The office section and its surrounding sections are monitored for a minimum of one hour after the welding is completed. The impact of the welding on the building should persistently be monitored for general fire safety precautions, including the rising risks due to accumulated wastes, combustible materials, as well as maintenance of sufficient means of escape.

Identifying the risks associated with musculoskeletal disorders from using laptops and headaches associated with poor lighting can be achieved using employee surveys and complaints. The two can be used to determine the views of the employees regarding their workstations.

For instance, any awkward postures, body movement, or finger movement while using a laptop may indicate musculoskeletal disorders. Additionally, employee complaints regarding frequent headaches may indicate poor lighting. Within the context of workplace health and safety anthropometry consists of studying employees’ body measurements to help reveal bad postures and how it relates to the existing workstation design, and whether these are what causes the musculoskeletal disorders while laptops frequently.

It would also help reveal how the windows and lighting bulbs are positioned and how they affect the employees’ eyes, hence causing headache. In particular, study of the employee’s eyes may help reveal the quantity of lighting appropriate for the workplace. Hence, in anthropometry, all aspects of the body are measured, including body height, weight and width, as well as the eyes. On the other hand, anatomy that deals with the structure of the human body, as well as the internal functions of the human body or structures.

They can be used to measure how the position of the employees’ eyes, arms, and fingers are positioned in response to the lighting in the room or from the laptop. Ultimately, anthropometry and anatomy are essential for purposes of risk assessment. Data should then be evaluated. Question 4 A company plans to buy a new box packing machine from Japan directly from a manufacturer and importing it into the UK. Under Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 (as amended by the Supply of Machinery (Safety) (Amendment) Regulations 2011), the machinery has to have been designed and manufactured to meet the minimum European requirements for safety.

In addition, there have to be outward signs of compliance, which are CE that have been marked on the equipment in addition to a document called Declaration of Conformity that the manufacturer issues to the buyer. It declares that the product conforms to the standards. The manufacturer must have carried out conformity assessment processes to ensure that the pertinent essential health and safety requirements (EHSRs) for the machinery have been met. Therefore, the CE marking or certificate of conformity should be available, the user instructions and maintenance instructions in the language of UK company, in this case English, should as well be available (Health and Safety Executive 2015).

Generally, it would be easy to purchase the machine through an importer rather than directly from the manufacturer. This is since in compliance with the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, the manufacturers of a any machinery that has to enter the European market has to design, make and supply safe products that meet the pertinent critical health and safety requirements. On the other hand, the importer only need to make the machinery is safe and compliant b y checking whether it is CE marked and has a Declaration of Conformity as well as the instructions communicated in the importer’s language.

Additionally, the manufacturer is obligated to be fully responsible for the safety and conformity of the machinery. The obligation has to be met ahead of the machinery entering the UK market. On the other hand, the importers do not have responsibilities under the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 (Health and Safety Executive 2015). Question 5 A workplace demands that a machine operator at a recycling plant accesses the spiked conveyor system severally in a single shift. The spiked conveyor system has the potential to put the operator’s health and safety at risk.

Hence, the risks linked to using the spiked conveyor system are managed, such as through selection of the right spiked conveyor system, its proper maintenance, proper training of the operator and minimised risks. As required by the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER), the recycling plant must identify and buy the right work equipment, maintain the equipment and train operators on how to safely use it.