Sector Expertise

Health and Safety for Manufacturing and Engineering

Name: Integral Safety Ltd
Address: 53 John Cooper Way, Coalville, Leicestershire, LE67 4AP, GB
Telephone: 01530 382 150
Price range: ££

Guarding, noise, vibration, dust and fume are where manufacturing risk actually lives, and where enforcement attention tends to land. We help you get the controls right and prove they work.

Get a Free Quote 01530 382 150

Health and safety consultant discussing machine guarding with a production manager

Chartered (CMIOSH) Advice led by a Chartered Member of IOSH
20+ years Protecting Midlands workplaces
Local to you Based in Coalville and Melton Mowbray
Free quote Clear, fixed prices with no obligation

Why it is different

Manufacturing & Engineering: What Makes This Sector Different

The East Midlands has one of the densest concentrations of engineering and advanced manufacturing in the country. Derby's aerospace, rail and automotive base alone supports a deep supply chain of specialist SMEs, and Leicestershire adds food production, plastics, textiles and general fabrication to that.

These are the businesses where health and safety stops being paperwork and becomes engineering. Machinery guarding, local exhaust ventilation, noise exposure and hand-arm vibration are measurable, testable things, and the questions a client audit or an inspector asks are specific. We help manufacturers put controls in place that hold up to that.

Know your risks

The Risks That Matter Here

The hazards we see most often in manufacturing & engineering, and the ones a regulator or client will ask about.

Machinery guarding and interlocks under PUWER
Safe isolation and lock-off during maintenance and setting
Hand-arm vibration exposure from grinders, sanders and hand tools
Noise exposure, hearing protection zones and health surveillance
Local exhaust ventilation (LEV) performance and testing
Welding fume and respiratory protection
Metalworking fluids and occupational dermatitis
Forklift and pedestrian segregation
Manual handling of components and stock

The law

Your Legal Duties

The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) govern machinery guarding and safe use, and the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 and Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 set exposure action and limit values that are legally defined numbers rather than matters of opinion. COSHH 2002 requires LEV to be examined and tested at least every 14 months. These are the duties where "we thought it was fine" is not a defence, because the exposure is measurable.

How we help

What We Do for Manufacturing & Engineering Clients

PUWER assessments and machinery guarding reviews
HAVS exposure assessment and a workable tool control regime
Noise assessment and hearing protection zoning
COSHH assessments for your actual substance inventory

Face-fit testing for welders and anyone using tight-fitting RPE
Workplace transport and traffic route reviews
Accreditation support for CHAS, SafeContractor and client audits
IOSH Managing Safely for supervisors and cell leaders

Relevant services and training

“Integral Health and safety Consultants have been undertaking H&S audits for the past twelve months on one of our large value developments. They have dealt with various issues that we have had very quickly using minimal hassle to us. Their Site Visits are weekly and their paperwork is always prompt. We would recommend Integral Health and safety consultants to any business that wants a reliable and professional company to take care of their health and safety issues.”

Mick Starkey S & S Contracting Ltd

Questions

Manufacturing & Engineering: Common Questions

How often does LEV need testing?

COSHH requires a thorough examination and test at least once every 14 months for most systems, and more frequently for certain high-risk processes. Just as important, and often missed, is that the system needs to still match the process it was designed for. Move a bench or change a tool and the extraction may no longer be capturing anything.

What triggers HAVS health surveillance?

Health surveillance is required where employees are regularly exposed above the exposure action value, and for anyone likely to be particularly at risk. In practice, if operators are using grinders, needle guns, sanders or similar for meaningful parts of the day, you should assume it applies and assess properly rather than guess.

Our machines are old. Do they still need to meet PUWER?

Yes. PUWER applies to work equipment regardless of its age. Older machines predating current standards do not get an exemption; they need to be assessed and brought to a safe standard, which often means retrofitting guarding or interlocks. Age is a reason to look harder, not a defence.

Can you help us pass a customer audit?

Yes, this is a common reason manufacturers call us. Larger customers increasingly require CHAS, SafeContractor, SSIP or their own bespoke audit before awarding work. We help you get the underlying arrangements right and the evidence organised so the audit is a formality rather than a scramble.

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