Consumer Safety

Question 1

What are the main legislations that protect employees involved in manufacturing?

Answer 1

• The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
• The Personal Protective Clothing Regulations 2002.
• The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) 2002.

Question 2

Under the legislation what are workers generally obliged to do?

Answer 2

• Make the workplace safe and free from risks to health.
• Ensure machinery is safe and safe working practices are followed.
• Ensure dangerous items and substances are removed and stored safely.
• Provide sufficient welfare facilities.
• Provide safety information, training and supervision as necessary for health and safety.

Question 3

How does training ensure the safety of employees?

Answer 3

• Employees are trained in the safe operation of the equipment they use.
• This may include taking health and safety courses and being tested against Health and Safety Executive (HSE) standards to prove competence.

Question 4

How does guarding of machines ensure the safety of employees?

Answer 4

• HSE regulations require most machines to be guarded to prevent employees hurting themselves.
• Devices to cover saw blades, to infra-red light beams that switch off the power to the machine if the beam is broken.

Question 5

How does personal protective clothing ensure the safety of employees?

Answer 5

They may be issued with protective clothing, such as overalls, dust masks, safety boots, goggles, etc.

Question 6

How does extraction ensure the safety of employees?

Answer 6

If dust or fumes are produced in the manufacturing process, extractors are used to protect employees.

Question 7

How does COSHH ensure the safety of employees?

Answer 7

They are a set of regulations and guidance for the storage and handling of potentially dangerous materials.
The regulations include details of how the materials should be labelled, safely used and stored to protect employees.

Question 8

How do risk assessments ensure the safety of employees?

Answer 8

A risk assessment is a calculation of the hazards associated with a manufacturing process or job, an assessment of whether the risk is a low, medium or high one, and a description of how the hazard can be controlled. All employees are legally obliged to carry out risk assessments for their operations.

Question 9

What is Health and Safety Executive (HSE)?

Answer 9

A government advisory service that helps companies meet health and safety obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Question 10

Which piece of legislation concerns the safety of electrical consumer goods, and what does it require?

Answer 10

Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994.
It requires mains voltage items to be well insulated and contain measures to protect consumers from electric shock or fire.

Question 11

What areas have Product Directives been placed in by The European Union?

Answer 11

• General product safety.
• Machines.
• Toy safety.
• Noise emissions from domestic products.
• Low voltage electrical equipment.

Question 12

Which mark can be placed on products when they meet the relevant EU directives?

Answer 12

CE Mark

Question 13

What does the CE mark mean manufacturers can do?

Answer 13

They can sell their product in the EU.

Question 14

If manufactures want to display the CE mark on their product, what must they do?

Answer 14

They must have them tested by the British Standards Institute. The BSI test the product against the agreed standards.

Question 15

On passing the BSI test what mark can manufacturers display on their product?

Answer 15

BSI Kitemark.