Poor Training Causes Accidents

A recent HSE study of woodworking accidents found that:

• a quarter of those injured under the age of 25 had received no specific training or instruction for the machine they were working on.
• In small firms (< 25 employed), half of those injured had received ‘on the job’ training only.

Employers have a legal duty to ensure that those who use wood equipment have received adequate training for health and safety, including training in methods of work, the risks created and the precautions to be taken.

Supervisors and managers of people using wood equipment also have to be adequately trained for health and safety purposes.

Training costs money, but untrained wood machinists are more likely to have an accident and the consequences will cost you more!

Who by Law needs training?

Anyone who uses woodworking machinery – including machine operators and assistants (those helping to feed or take off), and those supervising or managing them - are required by law to be adequately trained for the purposes of health and safety.

Why do managers/supervisors need to be trained?

Although they may not need the same level of technical expertise as a fully trained skilled machinist, they:

• must be able to recognise unsafe practices and be familiar with modern standards.
• need to understand how to organise the flow of work so that it minimises handling and high-risk tasks, eg planing short lengths of timber.
• may, without up-to-date training, pass on bad habits and short cuts which increase the risk of accidents.

Do I need to provide refresher training?

Yes.  Skills can decline over time, particularly if not used regularly.  And standards change from time to time.  Regular uses of machinery should receive refresher training at least every five years, irregular users at least every 3 years.