Rank: New forum user 
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I have two questions to ask please. At work we have a number of small abrasive wheeels, the sort you can freely get from anywhere. These are used for sharpening tools or just removing burrs.
Firstly, I am concerned that they are not all fixed; the perspex guards have been removed, and rests are too far away from wheels.
I have also spotted these smaller wheels being changed by persons who 'have been changing these for years' but no formal qualifications. I have mentioned this but as I am not named as responsible for H&S do I have any authority? Secondly we do nevertheless have trained persons who are certified and competent to change wheels, however these certificates are about 5 years old, do they need to be re-qualified?
Also in previous employment we have displayed the names of authorised persons on a poster throughout, is this a requirement or just a good practice? Any help gratefully received Steve Fricker AIOSH
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Rank: New forum user
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The guards are missing and the rests are incorrectly set. I think it is clear that your employees changing the wheels or using the equipment are not competent for the task and require training/retraining/supervision.
PUWER (Reg 20) requires that work equipment is stabilised by clamping or otherwise to avoid injury.
Apart from not complying with PUWER, often the sort of abrasive equipment 'you can freely get from anywhere' is the equipment that will give the greatest issues with Hand Arm Vibration.
Issues we also found historically included poor storage of new wheels (leads to deteriation of abrasive wheels) and, incorrect or unidentified speed ratings. Based on experience we have set our training interval at 3 years to maintain competence.
Unfortunately I am personally aware of at least one fatality from using abrasive wheels incorrectly and would take this matter very seriously. The question I aways ask people is forgetting the legal issues, how would you feel if the worst happened and you said and did nothing? This should be raised with a resposible person.
regards
Mike
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