Health & Safety Learning Aid : Short Video

Accident Statistics in Industries (Courtesy : H.S.E Website)

Accident Statistics


 A large number of accidents are happening die to the lack of proper health and safety in the industries over the year. We have made a research on health & safety executive website and found out the statistics of accidents happened in the year 2009/2010. Alarmingly the list of people injured or died is very long. This states that health & safety rules and regulations may not be followed in those workplaces or the employees are unaware of the health & safety at work practices. A summary of those statistics are given below.


# According to statistics, about 1.3 million people were suffering from an illness that they believe was caused or made worse by their current or past work. 
# 2249 people died from mesothelioma which is an occupational disease and thousands more from other types of occupational cancers and diseases.
# 152 workers were killed at work, a rate of 0.5 fatalities per 100000 workers.
# 121430 other injuries to employees were reported under RIDDOR (The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) a rate of 473 per 100000 employees.
# 233000 reportable injuries occurred according to the labour force survey, a rate of 840 per 100000 workers.
# 28.5 million days were lost overall (1.2 day per worker), out of which 23.4 million due to work related ill heath and 5.1 million due to workplace injuries.

# 1033 offences were prosecuted by HSE and ORR, 287 offences were prosecuted by local authorities and 15881 enforcement notices were issued by all enforcing authorities.

Although this list seems to be very big, there is another side for these statistics. From the past years, there has been a significant decrease in the accident statistics since the health & safety rules and regulations are put in place. There has been a good progress in providing health & safety conditions for the employees.

# The work related ill health fell by 15% between 2001/02 and 2009/10.

# Over the ten-year period from 1999/00 to 2009/10, the rate of reported fatal and major injuries to employees fell by 13%.

# The rate of reported over-3-day injury fell by 33% over the ten year period.

# A significant 45% fall in the reportable non-fatal injuries as well.

# Average working days lost per worker as a result of work related ill health fell by 28% over the decade.

These statistics convey only one message to us. With the proper health and safety rules and regulations in place and properly followed by the industries, there is only a very little danger of causing injuries to the employees. So Health & Safety at workplace is most important.

General Health & Safety in Engineering Workshop

As well as the rules to be followed when working with tools and machines, there are some general health & safety procedures to follow in a workshop. A typical engineering workshop would be filled with all the machines, tools, a number of warning signs, students working around etc. So it is very important to understand what are the risks involved in working inside a workshop, what is the meaning of different warning signs, where are the emergency exits in case if something went wrong and how can the injuries be avoided. The biggest hazard in a typical engineering workshop is the students themselves. It is very important to fully concentrate on the job they are doing and assess how safe they can do it. Students who are messing around in workshop by merely talking to others, doing some other activities put risks not only to their lives but to their friends’ as well. That must be stopped. You must listen to the teachers and you must understand that this is not a child’s play, this is the serious thing. Control yourself and concentrate on what you are doing. Also care and consideration should be considered when working with tools. When chiselling, the chisel should be positioned within the palm so that it will not slip while working. It can injure you if it slips. When working with drills, all the safety procedures must be followed. The metal piece you are working on must be securely held in a clamp, otherwise the fast rotating drill will cause the metal piece to slip and fly out, injuring the people around. Always wear safety goggles when working with the drills. Small safety practices can prevent the risk of injuries by a huge amount.



Always remember in mind that each area of workshop has a risk attached to it. An important thing to do after using the drills is Cleaning. Drilling a metal piece will result in small metal bits lying around the drills. So after drilling, you must clean the area and all the small bits and pieces must be binned. No debris should be left around in the workshop. Workshop are must always be clean. A safe and clean environment is essential when working. Before starting each work, the teachers will give a brief introduction about the topic and they will clearly state how this work would have to be done, what tools you need to do it and the importance of this work. Listen carefully before jumping to start work. Listening is a major key in attaining knowledge. You wont always understand fully on the first time. Doubts can be there. It is most important that you must ask teachers these doubts and clear them. Keeping the doubts in mind and starting the work will never help you at all. All doubts must be cleared. Before starting any work on the workshop, it is advised to apply the safety cream on hands. Since most of the times you will be working with metal pieces and tools, make sure you are safe from any skin problems caused by these. After finishing working on the workshop, wash your hands thoroughly. Cleanliness is another important thing in workshop. Remove all the debris on the floor after working. Work as a team and concentrate as an individual. Always make sure you are well aware of the different safety features installed in the workshop. The emergency exits in case of a fire warning, the emergency stop button on the drills, the place to put back all the tools etc.

General Health & Safety in Aircraft Industry

Health & Safety rules and regulations are followed in all aircraft engineering workshops. The Health & Safety Executive regulates the industries to ensure these rules and regulations are followed. Successful health and safety management in workshops is all about identifying the most frequent and serious risks and adopting the right precautions, taking account of time, money and resources. According to the management of health and safety at work regulations 1999, the employers must assess risks to the health and safety of their employees and they have to plan, organise, control, monitor and review the preventative and protective measures taken as a result of the assessment. A lot of accidents are happening over the year in the aircraft industries. Most of them happens due to the movement of vehicle, people and goods. According to the Workplace regulation 1992 and approved code of practice, the employers must provide a safe place of work to the employees and proper amount of space have to be provided for the movement of machineries, pedestrians as well as vehicles. Aircraft industry workshops involve a large number of vehicle movements throughout. So this have to be taken care of. Cleanliness is also important when working with aircrafts. The floors and stairs should be clean, the dust, refuse and the waste should be removed regularly and clear all the spillages promptly. Workshop should be properly maintained.

Aircraft industry works contains working with tools and machines ranging from very small to very large. So proper amount of lighting must be provided in the workshop. Employers are responsible to provide a good level of local lighting at work stations and special fittings for flammable and explosive atmospheres to reduce the risk of ignition and explosion. Proper ventilation is also essential. Employers must also provide a reasonable temperature inside the workshops and there must be a number of toilets depending upon the number of people working in the workshop. All the lifting equipments must be maintained thoroughly and all the workers should be get trained to use those equipments. It is the duty of the employees then to follow safe systems of work laid down by their employers, use mechanical aids provided by their employers properly and remember to use the training provided. Everyone must wear the Personal Protective equipments provided. Workers must be well aware of the placing of first aid kits and how to use them. All emergency exits should be marked clearly and in case of am emergency, workers should know the assembly points. Care and consideration is the two key factors which ensures the safety of the workers in the aircraft industries.

Chiseling Safety

A chisel is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge of blade on its end for carving or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone or metal. When using, the chisel is forced into the material to cut it. The driving force may be manually applied or applied using a mallet or hammer. Chisels have a wide variety of uses. Different types of chisels are constructed quite differently in terms of blade width or length as well as shape and hardness of the blade. They may have wooden piece handle attached or may be made entirely of metal. Although chisels are small tools compared to other, the risk of getting hurt by using a chisel is high. Concentration is the key when working with chisels. In aerospace engineering workshop, chisels are used on metal pieces. So there is a strong possibility for the chisel to slip if not used with care. Students when working with chisels must ensure that he is comfortable with using the chisel and is not under any other disturbance.

The safety steps to consider when using chisels are as follows.

1) Never hold the work piece in your hand.

2) Make certain that the work piece is securely held in a vice or by a G cramp to a bench.

3) Always work away from you. Never push the chisel towards yourself.

4) Hold the chisel properly. Hands should be positioned accordingly when pairing horizontally and vertically.

5) If the chisel slips off the bench, do not try to catch it. It can hurt your hand.

6) Be careful as you carry a chisel across the workshop. Hold it with the cutting edge pointed on the floor.

7) When you have finished using the chisel, put it back in its rack or cupboard.

Pillar Drilling Safety

Pillar drill is a large version of normal drill and it has a long column which normally stands on the floor or can be mounted on a table. Because of its larger size it is capable of being used to drill larger pieces of materials and produce larger holes. A pillar drill consists of the following parts (numbered as shown in the diagram)

1) Locking Lever which prevents the lowering of the drill assembly.

2) Chuck which is a holding device for the drill bit.

3) Safety guard.

4) Work Table.

5) Work table lock which holds the table in position when the height has been selected.

6) Pillar which is the column.

7) Lowering handles which rotate to lower the chuck assembly.

8) Pulley Gearing.

Special care and consideration must be taken into account when working on a considerable large machine like Pillar drill. Each bit of work has a risk attached to it. Proper understanding of working of each part and the understanding of work we are going to do in the drill is important. Below are the list of safety steps to follow when using the pillar drill.

1) Always use the safety guard.

2) Must wear goggles when drilling materials.

3) Clamp the material down properly or using the machine vice.

4) Never hold materials by hand when drilling.

5) Always allow the chippings to clear the drill by drilling a small amount at a time.

6) Listen and follow all the teachers instructions.

7) Always make sure that you are well aware of the emergency stop button in place if something goes wrong.

8) Don’t ever panic when using the drill.

Health & Safety At a General Engineering Workshop

Accidents are Most common in workplaces due to lack of safety features and carelessness of people. This Following video gives you a rough idea about how accidents can occur in a workplace. Don't think that the video will be boring. Its really funny one and worth watching!