Safety equipment

[cantfindausername]

Risk assessment, common sense, or even just looking around, If it avoids fires, its worth it. Definately agree that the term is something thought up by government types to tighten the clamps on businesses.

 

[Robotstar5]

ABC powder should work as well as C02 (can someone verify this?). I got two bottles for my landy for the competitions, only to find out later the MSA (uk motorsport) only allows C02 (which is silly because the FIA (international motorsport) allows, and recomends using powder). now they make great standby fire extinguisers for welding or heavy steel grinding where im producing a lot of sparks

Have the rules changed then?, I thought AFFF (foam) was preferred for motorsport. CO2 doesn't do much unless it's enclosed and dry powder has a habit of settling when carried in a vehicle so not much comes out when needed.

We've just done some fire warden training at work and rule of thumb is if fire can be contained in waste paper bin, tackle it if safe to do so, if any bigger, get out and call fire service.

 

[crayefish]

I had to do a test for H&S last week, various things covered....
If you have any common sense, it shouldnt be a problem- heres a few of the questions;

How many people should be on a ladder at the same time?
A-2
B-1
C- One on each sectio
D- 3 if its long enough

You must remove nails from scrap wood beceause?

A- Someone migh stand on one and injure thiere foot.
B- Scrap wood and metal should be seperated
C-The wood will take up moor room in the skip
D- The site will run out of nails


Before work can start in a confined space, how should the air be checked?

A-Someone should go in and sniff the air
B-The air should be tested with a meter
C-Someone should have a look to see if there is any toxic gas
D- The air should be tested with a match



Look for gas

you gota be kidding!!!!!!!!! thats more of a 'have you got one brain cell test' than a risk assessment. at least not the risk assessment i know. made me laugh. risk assessment like that should be common sense!!!


oh yeah i forgot that both the msa and fia allow AFFF (not your standard 'foam' mind. this is special aqeous film stuff). trouble is the stuff is so damn expensive that its only used by pros. not something u'd often find in an amateur racers car. good stuff mind

 

[Robotstar5]

oh yeah i forgot that both the msa and fia allow AFFF (not your standard 'foam' mind. this is special aqeous film stuff). trouble is the stuff is so damn expensive that its only used by pros. not something u'd often find in an amateur racers car. good stuff mind

Try your local fire extinguisher servicers (yellow pages) for AFFF as it is the most popular, I don't know if you can still get air foam (standard foam) any longer.
When I kitted up my SSU I bought 2nd hand extinguishers from used office furniture shops! and AFFF concentrate from service centre, just add to water

 

[Drains]

you gota be kidding!!!!!!!!! thats more of a 'have you got one brain cell test' than a risk assessment. at least not the risk assessment i know. made me laugh. risk assessment like that should be common sense!!!

Mate, that's the standard of test you can expect these days. I did a CSCS card test a couple of weeks ago, and the wrong answers were at least as obvious.

Malcolm knows what i'm talking about re risk assessments - I know it might seem like a pi55 take crayefish, but it is just common sense, and just cos someone mentions the term risk assessments in relation to common sense (eg, don't write it down, just use your eyes and brain), doesn't mean that you or that smartarse weldequip (Hi Steve ), should knock it!

If i'd said "assess the risks relating to fire in the workshop" would that have made it less painful?

 

[weldequip]

Friend of mine has to fill in a risk assessment form before one of his staff uses the photo-copier. Now, c'mon, what's the worst can happen with that...picture of his/her ****?!
weldequip

 

[crayefish]

If i'd said "assess the risks relating to fire in the workshop" would that have made it less painful?

hahahaha probably. prehaps loose the word 'assess'. its one of those words that reminds me of some kind of new government legislation

.... 'ensure that any chance of a fire risk is kept to a minimum' sounds more friendly

Friend of mine has to fill in a risk assessment form before one of his staff uses the photo-copier. Now, c'mon, what's the worst can happen with that...picture of his/her ****?!
weldequip

you have to remember that if they take a picture of thier ****, their bum could go through the glass screen!!!!!!! lol. think id rather get burnt!

 

[weldequip]

you have to remember that if they take a picture of thier ****, their bum could go through the glass screen

Ahh, didn't think of that. So, a sticker should be put on said photo-copier... "If taking picture of **** keep knickers on() ensuring any broken shards of glass are contained & minimize any injury".
weldequip

 

[crayefish]

they'd have to be some pretty big knickers! women in the office just dont dress like they do in the films...

 

[Lyhkaust]

I won't preach the 'don't weld in tee-shirts' bit because I've done it myself more than once.

At my job I always wear a sleeveless shirt. My supervisor once told me "I'm not saying you have to wear sleeves, I'm just saying it's not the best idea in an enviroment like this."

Then I showed him all my various safety gear for protection from UV rays. Sparks don't bother me unless it's from a grinder. It's the harmful UV rays in certain applications (ESP. Flux Cored) that I don't like.

I don't BS when it comes to Flux Core. It can be a 100 degrees in the Texas heat and I'll still wear long sleeved shirts. I found out the hard way back in March what happens when you're doing s--- like this without proper protection. And this was with HARDFACING MIG WIRE. Got severely burned and I literally got myself checked out for skin cancer. And it took TWO weeks for the final visible aftermath to go away.


Sparks and hot spatter don't scare me. UV light does.

 

[Hitch]

Mate, that's the standard of test you can expect these days. I did a CSCS card test a couple of weeks ago, and the wrong answers were at least as obvious.

Thats what i did the test for Si, signed in, practice test, real test, collect certificate and signed out well within 15 mins

 

[Drains]

Thats what i did the test for Si, signed in, practice test, real test, collect certificate and signed out well within 15 mins

Me too. Mind you there were people in the test room when I walked in the building, still in the room when I walked out. (most of 'em)

Not sure the bloke who walked in with me will have passed. He checked the board at the door but buzzed the wrong number, then pulled the door instead of pushed, the tried the other door which wouldn't move, then when i'd let him in, he couldn't work out how to use the lift.

What trade are you going on the card as Hitch? - there is no fab or weld.
I presume you're going for a gold card?

Mines for a CPCS plant operator card. I should get one as a joiner, which is what I did on site for years, but i'm not sure I can be bothered. It's always been a great fall-back for me when times are hard, and the money can be fantastic. I've minimal qualifications in it though so would have to go through the profiling and assessing malarkey for an experienced tradesmans card.

 

[Hitch]

Dunno what im going on as, works sorting them out

One of the other lads did his at a different place, there was 2 blokes from the waterboard that had failed it twice already!

 

[marknotgeorge]

"Risk Assessment"... now there's a modern term been drempt up by the legions of idle Quangos & legal eagles!
It equates to common sense, end of.
weldequip

Sadly, common sense aint that common.

Friend of mine has to fill in a risk assessment form before one of his staff uses the photo-copier. Now, c'mon, what's the worst can happen with that...picture of his/her ****?!
weldequip

D'you know how a photocopier works? Well, there's the bright light that scans the original, which transfers the image onto a statically charged (with high voltage) drum. The toner powder is then transferred to the drum and fused to the paper (which is transported through the machine with pulleys, belts, etc cetera) with heat. So there are hazards in a photocopier. Ok, normal use presents no hazard, but if the paper jams you have to open the thing up.

When I did H&S at McD's I had a form which gave activities a score based on the likely risk of something bad happening, and the severity of that risk. The score then determined what had to be done, from nothing at all, through doing something to reduce the risk and/or severity, to preventing the activity.

Chances are your friend with the photocopier will only have to spend five minutes risk assessing. Better that than half a day up casualty.

 

[crayefish]

D'you know how a photocopier works? Well, there's the bright light that scans the original, which transfers the image onto a statically charged (with high voltage) drum. The toner powder is then transferred to the drum and fused to the paper (which is transported through the machine with pulleys, belts, etc cetera) with heat. So there are hazards in a photocopier. Ok, normal use presents no hazard, but if the paper jams you have to open the thing up.

Chances are your friend with the photocopier will only have to spend five minutes risk assessing. Better that than half a day up casualty.

Thats where the Darwin Awards come in....

 

[Aneeta]

Co2 fire extinguishers

Co2 fire extinguishers are used for extinguishing flammable liquids (class B fires) and flammable gases. This type of extinguisher is highly pressurized with carbon dioxide, which is a non-flammable inert gas. But the use of co2 fire extinguishers is usually limited to indoor use as it is difficult to extinguish an outdoor fire using a co2 extinguisher.

 

[bric-a-brac]

co2 is not to be used in

.Any house it dilutes oxygen

 

[Robotstar5]

.Any house it dilutes oxygen

CO2 excludes oxygen to extinguish the fire, there is no problem using it indoors as a portable bottle will not contain enough to cause any problems.

A plumbed in system with a bank of bottles discharging through multiple horns is a different matter which is why they have a mechanical lockout you operate before entering.

 

[norlander]

I know this is an old thread but I'm new on here an just looked at the thread.
Just thought I'd add that my fire xtinguisher bloke flogged me a CO2 when he was servicing my powders-he caught me off guard with a deal on it.
Anyway, his sales pitch was that if I used the powder in my workshop, -which is also the garage for my bikes (motorcycles) at the far end- I would have a major problem with all tools and shiny things taking on a rusty appearance-he showed me his spanners he used to service powders to prove the point.
Still not sure if he caught me napping on that one, but if you have any shiny bits that you want to stay shiny it may be worth checking that story out.
http://www.fireservice.co.uk/safety/extinguishers seems to suggest clean up after powder is a pain.
Yes, of course prevention is best but being prepared for the worst is also a consideration. Insurance may of course cover some things.

 

[madwelder]

Dry powder will get everywhere and can mess up electrics, CO2 is best for electrical. If you have a lot of liquid fuel kicking around though you'll want DP.