OVERVIEW
This course raises awareness of the risks associated with abrasive wheels and the practical steps that can be taken to manage those risks. Abrasive wheels are used across construction, engineering, fabrication and maintenance, but they can cause serious — sometimes fatal — injuries if they are selected, mounted or used incorrectly. The course explains what abrasive wheels are, the legislation that governs their use, the mechanical and non- mechanical hazards they present, and the controls needed to select, handle, mount and use them safely. It is suitable for anyone who works with abrasive wheels and for the supervisors and managers responsible for them. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has long identified abrasive wheels as a significant source of workplace injury.
Although the dedicated Abrasive Wheels Regulations 1970 were revoked, the hazards have not changed: a wheel running at thousands of revolutions per minute stores a large amount of energy, and a sudden failure can release that energy in milliseconds. The controls described in this course are proportionate, practicable and based directly on HSE guidance HSG17 and the requirements of PUWER 1998. By the end of the course you will be able to recognise when a wheel, a machine or a working practice is unsafe, and you will understand the simple but disciplined routine — inspect, select, mount, guard, test and use — that keeps abrasive wheel work safe. The course concludes with a 15-question assessment requiring an 80% pass mark.
