Sector Expertise
Health and Safety for Manufacturing and Engineering
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.
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.
The Risks That Matter Here
- 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
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
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Accreditations & Memberships
Our consultants are Chartered (CMIOSH) and Technical (TechIOSH) members of IOSH, holding Level 6 qualifications in Applied Health & Safety.
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.
Ready to Get Started?
Contact us for a free quote for health and safety support in the manufacturing & engineering sector.