FEATURE HEALTH & SAFETY
NAVIGATING THE EVOLVING FIELD OF WORKPLACE SAFETY
Bradley Guardmaster and Schneider Electric, which offer products such as Allen Bradley TLS-Z GD2 RFID coded guard interlock switches, and the Schneider Electric XUSL IP67 protected light curtains. The products offered are relevant for those maintaining, upgrading or designing a new machine, and are all covered by the relevant EN ISO standards to meet the new requirements of the Machinery Safety Directive.
By Michael Narayan, Northern Europe product manager – safety & consumables, RS Components
W
orkplace safety is a requirement and concern for businesses of all shapes
and sizes in the manufacturing industry. The issue covers far more than just personal protection equipment; ensuring everyone from the MD to the shop floor operator is kept safe in the workplace is paramount – the importance of which is highlighted with the annual European Week for Health and Safety at Work, taking place this month. The campaign outlines some major health and safety considerations, including an ageing workforce, stating that by 2030, workers aged 55–64 are expected to make up 30 per cent of the total workforce in many European countries. Add these social considerations to the changing legislation around safety requirements, evolving products and equipment, and varying levels of health and safety staff within businesses, and navigating the field of workplace safety becomes somewhat of a challenge. However, the pain points can be reduced and relieved by making smart choices when choosing distributors. Working closely with a distributor that invests in product knowledge, technical know-how and relationships with manufacturers can help health and safety professionals keep their workplace safe and adhere to the latest legislation, whilst creating efficiencies through working in a more streamlined way.
10 OCTOBER 2017 | FACTORY EQUIPMENT
GETTING PERSONAL Personal safety is, and will always be, a crucial part of health and safety requirements. However, coming more to the fore in the latest PPE regulations is the damaging and lasting effect that harmful noise can have in the workplace – becoming one of the latest top health hazards, in the same risk categorisation as respiratory and fall protection. RS Components’ close working relationship with lead PPE equipment manufacturers such as 3M means customers benefit from advice and guidance around the latest products and those most suitable for the job. The company’s hub for health and safety operators provides information and videos on issues such as suitable ear protection, amongst others. The 3M range of ear protection features ear plugs and defenders – including those that can be attached to a safety helmet – as well as communication ear defenders from the PELTOR range, which offer ‘speak and listen’ and ‘listen only’ options.
MANAGING MACHINERY RISK Machines can be a major source of potential hazard and it is important to ensure that any entry points to working machinery are properly guarded. This can be with physical or optical guarding. RS works with leading suppliers such as Allen-
ELECTRICAL SAFETY As well as the immediate personal risk to the operator or engineer, electrical safety measures must also cover avoidance of injury to others, as well as ensuring the work being carried out is performed in compliance with current regulations. The use of electrical safety test and
measurement equipment is vital here, including PAT tester kits such as the Seaward Apollo 500, insulation testers such as the Megger MIT420/2 and electrical wiring and earth testers. Voltage indicators with proving units are a must, as well as lock-out equipment to ensure circuits cannot be accidentally energised while still being worked on. Fluke Connect allows Fluke test
equipment to be placed in a potentially dangerous area, close to live equipment, while measurements are relayed to a smart phone, which can be read by the engineer in relative safety well away from the hazard.
BEING LEGISLATION AWARE The RS hub aims to resolve the pain points around the latest requirements with regards to workplace safety and offers a full resource section with information on the required standards for each of the safety areas. Buyers of safety equipment can make
their job easier by working with one supplier and through efficiencies that can be created in the procurement of products. Research from RS highlights that the cost of MRO procurement is 2:1 versus product cost, representing significant savings if all requirements are sourced from one distributor.
RS Components
uk.rs-online.com/web
/ FACTORYEQUIPMENT
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