Door Industry Journal - Summer 2020

Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk Industry News 24 THE door industry journal summer 2020 Have you liked our facebook page yet? We post news everyday! www.facebook.com/DoorIndustryJournal An Important Message from HSE dhf was recently contacted by HSE, asking them to help distribute a warning about the need for accurate operation and maintenance instructions on site. HSE’s request came as a direct result of an inquest into the death of someone working on a rolling shutter in Woking. The coroner requested that HSE reminds industry about the legal need for operation and maintenance instructions. There were no operation and maintenance instructions available on the site in question. Back in 2019, dhf issued members with safety warning notice 7 about the need for accurate technical files and risk assessment documentation following two high-profile prosecutions. The prosecutions happened after a sliding gate had come out of its runners whilst it was being moved manually, killing the owner; the required travel stop was not in place. It is relatively well known that the installer concerned received a custodial sentence but, perhaps less well known, that the gate company, his employer, was separately prosecuted for a breach of section 7 of the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations, which implement the Machinery Directive in the UK. Section 7 sets out the requirements for the compliance assessment and the documentation necessary. These two fatality incidents illustrate perfectly not only the need for safety but, also, the need for accurate documentation. The Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations identify the “responsible person”, the company responsible for compliance, as the company that has created the machine. This is the company that brings the drive and the gate together for the first time, either in their factory or workshop (when placed on the market), or on site (when put into service for the first time). Compliance with the Regulations means complying with their essential health and safety requirements (in annex 1), assembling and retaining a technical file, issuing a declaration of conformity, issuing operation and maintenance instructions and CE marking the system. The HSE letter reminds responsible companies to make sure that their instructions are clear and concise and that they also stress the importance of these documents to their client. HSE stress that detailed O&M instructions must be issued by the responsible company. The owner/manager must then use the O&M manual to inform and train users and make them available to everyone who works on the system throughout its service life. They go on to explain that no maintenance should be undertaken until the contents of the O&M are made available. The operation and maintenance instructions are critical documents. They must be detailed and clearly explain what steps are needed to keep the system operating safely. The maintenance section must explain in detail how to maintain the system and what skills, qualifications and experience are necessary to do the work. The HSE letter can be downloaded from here: https://www.dhfonline.org.uk/news/a-letter-from-hse-and-dhf/385.htm dhf members can download SWN 7 from here (login required): https://www.dhfonline.org.uk/publications/safety —security/6.htm Nick Perkins dhf Senior Training & Compliance Officer