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#1 Posted : 27 September 2006 11:23:00(UTC)
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Posted By Louise Williams On a recent inspection it was noted that the bench saw that we have on site has no CE markings in place. It is an old (20years+) piece of equipment and the engineers prefer it to having a more modern piece of equipment in place. The equipment has been risk assessed etc previously. However i am unsure as whether to pass it as safe to use and in compliance with legislation such as PUWER and suitability as work equipment. I have concerns of its ergonomic design, the noise, poor location of controls and unguarded moving parts the latter of which would be difficult to design out. What would you do? Let them continue using it or recommend it was removed and replaced (not cheap)and not likely to make me popular with management. Thank you in advance
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#2 Posted : 27 September 2006 11:38:00(UTC)
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Posted By Jim Walker This response may or may not help! In a previous life I was responsible for ensuring equipment met the standards to enable CE marks to be attached before placing product in the market place. I recently purchased a bench saw from one of the DIY barns it was CE marked, however my knowledge tells me is does not meet relevant directives/standards. My point being, ever if equipment is CE marked don't trust the mark. get competent person to evaluate it.
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#3 Posted : 27 September 2006 11:40:00(UTC)
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Posted By Jim Walker Further thought - Look on HSE site -there are some good downloadable documents under woodwork I'm sure there is one about table saws
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#4 Posted : 27 September 2006 14:39:00(UTC)
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Posted By Catman Hi Louise Before replacement it may be worth getting the user and an engineer together in your presence to discuss any guarding options that may be available. The Wadkin make and other similar machines have been king of many workshops for a long time now and you may find that the local engineer has been asked the same thing before. Cheers TW
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#5 Posted : 28 September 2006 07:43:00(UTC)
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Posted By Jim Walker Catman is quite correct. I attend a local college evening course doing woodwork. They have a number of excellent 30 year old plus machines that have been satisfactorily converted. Assuming your equipment is otherwise OK then updates would be the best option - the trick is finding someone who has been there before.
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#6 Posted : 28 September 2006 16:33:00(UTC)
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Posted By TomP Perhaps I can help. The CE mark is not a guarantee of safety but more a 'passport' for sale in Europe. Equipment with a CE mark must be built in accordance with the Machinery Safety Directive or a Harmonised Directive. In many cases I have seen the CE mark applied to some poorly protected machines, due to the ability of companies to 'self certify' machinery in most cases. Once you take possession of a piece of equipment, even if CE marked, you need to risk assess it in accordance with PUWER. In some older equipment you may have to change switches to zero volt controllers (apologies for getting technical), update the guards etc. but no reason it can't be used once this has been done. Either follow PUWER or if you want to do a really puka job, follow the essential health and safety requirements (EHSR) outlined in section 1 of the machinery safety directive. Here is a link to it: http://ec.europa.eu/ente...nery/direct/dir98-37.htm Apologies if this is more than you wanted but I’m on a roll now……
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