Health and Safety Feature Library
Operations Engineer's library catalogues editorial features going back five years.
Access to all archive material is free to all, including non-members of IPlantE
(the Institution of Operations Engineers) or BES (Bureau of Engineer Surveyors), under
the umbrella of SOE (Society of Operations Engineers). However, to discover the
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19/12/2022
A squash and a squeeze
The HSE’s Confined Spaces Regulations 1997 defines them as “any place including any chamber, tank, vat, silo, pit, trench, pipe, sewer, flue, well or other similar space in which, by virtue of its enclosed nature, there arises a reasonably ...
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21/09/2022
Documenting Ex repairs
Wherever there are gaseous atmospheres and dust, there is the potential for explosions with disastrous results. It is easy to see why legislation relating to hazardous areas and ensuring it is followed is important. When repairing ...
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08/04/2021
The enemy in the room
In a further move to protect the workforce, HSE inspectors are targeting firms that flout the rules on dealing with dust hazards. And high on the list of offenders is hardwood. By Brian Wall
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18/05/2020
Controlling the risks
The Health and Safety Executive recently reminded companies to protect the health of workers by controlling the risks from welding fume. What measures can be put in place?
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07/03/2019
Dust busting
Exposure to dust and other particles can result in breathing and lung problems. Luckily there are different solutions available to employers and employees to reduce dust intake, and campaigns looking to shake things up
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05/10/2012
Hidden assassins
Every year, thousands of people in Great Britain develop occupational asthma or die of lung diseases, because of airborne contaminants they inhale at work. Brian Wall reports
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07/12/2011
Extracting rewards
Avoiding risk, safeguarding the workforce and complying with health and safety regulations are key goals of dust and fume extraction equipment. But there's also a financial reward to be reaped, reports Brian Wall
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06/10/2011
Plant safety at any cost?
Don't get me wrong: it's hard to argue with current moves to streamline health and safety legislation, in line with Lord Young's 'Common Sense, Common Safety' report – especially given that chief among the aims is to reduce the ...
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01/02/2009
Busting the dust
Whether it's fumes from the manufacture or application of paints, solvents, chemicals and rubber, or dust from processes such as sanding, grinding or machining, plant engineers need to be concerned with correctly applied dust and fume ...
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01/02/2008
Dusting off better control practices
It is one thing to extract and trap dust and fumes, but quite another to do so efficiently and at minimum cost. But that's what we have to do: it is important to minimise energy and consumables usage, as well as complying with health and ...
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01/02/2007
Risks unmasked
There has been a succession of advances in dust and fume control in recent times, resulting from better equipment, improved modelling packages - to ensure that the dust and fumes actually go where they are supposed to go and smart systems ...
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01/02/2006
Pollution Solution
Whether you look at the heavy engineering manufacturers, pharmaceutical, petro-chemical, or continuous process industries, copious volumes of dust and fumes are generated. These fumes and dusts have to be processed before they can be ...
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01/02/2005
Dust and Fume Control: Clearing the Air
Implementing dust and fume control measures is key to providing a safe working environment, with current legislation and best practice extending the scope of control well beyond the factory. Where activity is undertaken that gives rise to ...
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