Health & Safety

During semester one, we learnt about health & safety in the automotive industry and how important it is to know how to keep yourself self while working on cars. Below is an assignment writing piece I submitted as part of the course.


When working on vehicles, health and safety procedures should always be practiced to make sure that the mechanic is safe from any hazards. Personal protective equipment should also be worn at all times to protect the mechanic from any dangers such as falling objects, fire and hazardous chemicals.

Health and safety is a very important part of mechanical engineering as there can be a lot of hazards involved when working on vehicles. Small things such as keeping long hair tied back can save your life. If long hair gets caught in a moving engine, this can be life threatening. Another important thing to make sure you do when working underneath a vehicle is to use a jack with axle stands. Using a jack by itself can be dangerous as it is not sufficient enough to support the vehicle. A mechanic should never go underneath a car supported by a jack alone (http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-use-a-car-jack).

Another important aspect of working safely on vehicles is wearing the correct safety gear. Mechanics should always wear safety boots which have a steel cap so if something heavy falls onto your feet, the steel cap on the boot will protect the person's feet. Mechanic's should also make sure that they wear protective glasses when welding as fire sparks can get into the eyes and ear muffs to protect the ears when using loud equipment. The type of clothes you wear is also very important. Mechanic's need to make sure that their overalls is made from a good material that is very hard to catch on fire.

Fire is obviously very dangerous so mechanic's need to be aware of fire safety at all times. Mechanic's should know how to use a fire extinguisher in case something catches on fire. Also if your clothes catch on fire, you should stop, lie down and roll around on the floor to try and put the fire out.

Knowing how to handle hazardous chemicals is another very important safety point when working on vehicles. Labels should always be checked properly to make sure that you are using the correct chemicals and also every chemical container must have a warning label (http://blog.envirosafetyproducts.com/Portals/61146/images/simpons-toxic-labels1.gif
). Also if working on your vehicle at home, hazardous chemicals should be kept well away from children, in a high locked cupboard to reduce the chance of them drinking it accidentally.

The combination of knowing health and safety procedures, wearing the correct personal protective equipment, knowing about fire safety and knowing how to handle hazardous chemicals will save a person's life in an emergency. If these procedures are not followed, injury or even death can occur.

References

1. http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-use-a-car-jack
2. http://blog.envirosafetyproducts.com/Portals/61146/images/simpons-toxic-labels1.gif