You must work in a safe manner or you are breaking the HSWA and are liable to a fine of up to 2000 and/or imprisonment. This means following the safe working practices which are normally used within the industry. The guidelines published by...

It is the duty of every employee and employer in the motor industry to comply with the statutory regulations relating to health and safety and the associated guidelines which are issued by the various government offices. That means you must...

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The Reporting of Injuries,Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 require that certain information is reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). This includes the following: 1.Death or major injury if an employee or membe...

The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health regulations require that assessments are made of all substances used in the body repair shop,for instance paint and body filler. This assessment must state the hazards of using the materials and...

Before using electrical equipment the body repairer is advised to check the following: 1.Cable condition check for fraying,cuts or bare wires. 2.Fuse rating the fuse rating should be correct for the purpose as recommended by the equipment ma...

The normal mains electricity voltage via a three-pin socket outlet is 240 volts; heavy duty equipment such as vehicle hoists use 415 volts in the form of a three-phase supply. Both 240 volt and 415 volt supplies are likely to kill anybody w...

The Electricity at Work Act 1989 fully covers the responsibilities of both the employee and the employer. As a body repairer you are obliged to follow these regulations for the protection of yourself and your colleagues. Some of the importan...

The Health and Safety at Work Act imposes on employers a statutory duty to ensure safe working conditions and an absence of risk in the use of equipment and the handling of materials,and to comply with Regulations regarding safe working pra...

It is a legal requirement that all safety signs used in a bodyshop comply with BS 5378:Part 1. Each of these signs is a combination of colour and design, within which the symbol is inserted. If additional information is required,supplementa...

The colour codes for each type of appliance are as follows: Red for water. Cream for foam. Black for CO2. Blue for powder. Green for halon (BCF). Figures 2.12ac show various types of extinguisher. Although older fire extinguishers are colou...

(a)Good housekeeping means putting rubbish away rather than letting it accumulate. (b)Read the manufacturers material safety data sheets so that the dangers of flammable liq- uids are known. (c)Only take from the stores sufficient flammable...

Fire risks in the vehicle body repair shop cover all classes of fire:class A,i.e. paper,wood and cloth; class B,i.e. flammable liquids such as oils,spirits, alcohols,solvents and grease; class C,i.e. flammable gases such as acetylene,propan...

Because three ingredients are necessary for fire to occur,it follows logically that if one or more of these ingredients is removed,fire will be extinguished. Basically three methods are employed to extinguish a fire:removal of heat (cooling...

Fire is a chemical reaction called combustion (usually oxidation resulting in the release of heat and light). To initiate and maintain this chemical reaction,or in other words for an outbreak of fire to occur and continue,the following elem...

The Fire Precautions (Places of Work) Regulations 1992 replaced and extended the old Fire Precautions Act 1971 as from 1 January 1993. These Regulations are aligned with standard practice in EC Directives in placing the responsibility for co...

The Noise at Work Regulations 1989 define three action levels for exposure to noise at work: 1A daily personal exposure of up to 85 dB(A). Where exposure exceeds this level,suitable hearing protection must be provided on request (Figure 2.1...

One of the most important hazards faced by the bodyshop worker is that of potential damage to the lungs. Respirators are usually needed in body repair shops even though adequate ventilation is provided for the working areas. During welding,...

Safety footwear is essential in the bodyshop environment. Boots or shoes with steel toecaps will protect the toes from falling objects. Rubber boots will give protection from acids or wet conditions. Never wear defective footwear as this bec...

Eye protection is required when there is a possibility of eye injury from flying particles when using agrinder,disc sander,power drill or pneumatic chisel,or when removing glass windscreens or working underneath vehicles. Many employers are...

Head protection is very important to the bodyworker when working underneath a vehicle or underits bonnet while it is being repaired. A light safetyhelmet,normally made from aluminium,fibreglassor plastic,should be worn if there is any danger...

Protective clothing Protective clothing is worn to protect the worker and his clothes from coming into contact with dirt, extremes of temperature,falling objects and chemical substances. The most common form of protective clothing for the b...