Health and Safety in the Manufacturing Sector

Businesses operating within the manufacturing sector will be all-too familiar with the dangers that are posed through even the most basic daily tasks.

A single minor mistake could lead to a serious injury - or even death - if a member of staff unknowingly uses an incorrectly labelled machine or is not informed about the ingredients of a particular product.

At Fine Cut, the safety and wellbeing of both employees and customers is a key priority - and our products and services reflect this. By requesting our services, companies can rest assured that products will be accurately labelled using materials of the highest quality, which means accidents are less likely to occur.

The manufacturing sector is one of our main areas of expertise, which means companies specialising in a particular service within this industry can take advantage of our extensive products.

Manufacturing Risks
The UK's manufacturing sector is made up of a range of diverse industries, featuring an estimated 2.8 million employees.

According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), an average of 31 workers have? died in a workplace incident in this sector over the last five years. On top of this, there were an average of more than 4,500 reports of major industries during this time, as well as 19,500 reports of inquiries that kept employees away from work for more than three days.

Exposure to harmful chemicals and substances is another risk that is posed to employees within the manufacturing sector. It is the responsibility of the company to provide clear signposts and labels, which inform members of staff of the associated risks.

Slips and Trips
Trips and falls are among the most common accidents that take place in workplaces in a range of industries, but are possibly one of the easiest to avoid with clear labelling.

Production areas, outdoor facilities, car parks and stairways are often the scene of such occurrences, with poor housekeeping, weather conditions and inadequate maintenance typically responsible for these conditions.

In order to reduce tripping hazards, companies should take the following steps:

Ensure walkways are well marked and kept clear at all times
Provide clearly labelled bins for the disposal of strapping and paper
Identify specific places for pallet unloading
Repair potholes
Avoid leaving cables trailing on the floor

Machinery safety
Unguarded machines and those that are not suitable for use are another factor that can result in workplace incidents. Businesses should ensure all equipment is well labelled and that problems can be easily identified.

Employees can get caught in machines with rotating parts, or become drawn into rollers if they are not given enough training on how to use such tools.

Companies should ensure they take the following steps to reduce the risks of this type of accident:

• Ensure machinery is adequately guarded


• Conduct a risk assessment to make sure the machine is safe to use


• Offer information, instruction and adequate training to supervisors and operators


• Regularly check and test machine safeguards