UNIT 23: WELDING
TECHNOLOGY
Assignment 1 - Safe working Practices When Welding
In this unit, I will work for a small engineering firm in Oxford that are following an accident
where a welder was badly burned & the firm has decided to assess their Health & Safety
practises to ensure all are being followed. I have the responsibility of researching &
producing a poster or report, detailing health & safety requirement & safe working practises
applicable to the welding industry & should include the different pieces of legislation &
standards that protect hot work workers & welders in the UK.
FAHIM MOHAMMED - YR 12
The Oxford Academy
, Unit 23 Safe Working Practises When Welding Assignment 1
To identify aspects of health & safety legislation, regulations & safe working practises
applicable to welding, I will begin by creating a report specifying health & safety requirement
& safe working practises appropriate to the welding industry.
The health & safety topics for welding will provide direction & information on the risks that
associated with welding & other procedures. Starting with health, there are a few topics that
will support the user in acknowledging the risks & reducing them; & they are as followed, but
I will sum it up as one:
Illness caused by welding fume & gases – There are often a
few people that don’t necessarily get sick, but there are a few
welders that will from inhaling welding fume; this inhalation
could lead to being sick for a short period of time, or in a
worse case, lead to a permanent illness, like asthma.
Likewise, if a worker was to inhale welding fume on a
regular basis, this could lead to a variety of health issues,
such as pneumonia, asthma, cancer, irritation of throat &
lungs & many more. To ensure that these health risks are
reduced the surroundings must have adequate ventilation in a
workplace, use local exhaust ventilation systems & wear
appropriate respiratory protective equipment, but not when
the mechanical ventilation is functioning.
Below are three tables indicating different types of welding fumes & the health affect it has.
A legislation that covers substances risky to health in welding is known as COSHH; fume &
gases from welding & cutting, dust from extracting & harsh blasting, work in confined spaces
& inactive gases. Fume from welding can cause lung diseases as stated above; but the amount
of fume depends on the welding process as some produce a large amount of fume. To control
these measures, dust & fume extraction is needed, as well as personal protective equipment.
The next legislation following the one above is ‘Personal
Protective Equipment at Work Regulations (PPE) 1992’. When
the employee begins welding, he/she produces a lot of sparks,
which will cause blindness if it hits the eyes; so wearing a face
P1 Fahim Mohammed