Safety Check Engineering

 Statutory Plant & Machinery Thorough Examinations & Inspections

 Potted History

The development of plant and machinery occurred as a part of what is referred to as the industrial revolution. It is generally accepted that the process is still continuing today but the involvement of independent inspecting authorities arose in the early days as a result of the development of the ‘new technology’ of the day, an essential part of the new industrial processes. The introduction of steam power into factories caused concern due to the ever increasing number of explosions. There were no laws in place to protect the employers, employees and the public from injury or death nor was there adequate compensation for damage to properties. A group of industrialists got together and hoped to pool their knowledge and experience to reduce the risks by providing an inspection service. Several years later the first insurance company was established, the link therefore between plant and machinery inspections and insurance was established. This was essentially to control the risks rather than to meet any statutory requirements.

 In 1882 the first statutory requirements appeared as the Boiler Explosions Act. Later it was recognised that there were also a large number of accidents on cranes and other defined types of lifting machines and so a similar statutory requirement was introduced and again the number of accidents were dramatically reduced. The first Factories Act imposed a statutory requirement for regular inspections and the role of the ‘Competent Person’ was introduced.

 Competent Person

Who is the competent person?  A competent person is someone who has “such appropriate practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of the equipment to be thoroughly examined as will enable them to detect defects or weaknesses and to assess their importance in relation to the safety and continued use of the equipment”. It is essential that the competent person is sufficiently independent and impartial to allow objective decisions to be made without fear or favour.

 Health & Safety

In 1974 the Health & Safety at Work Act was introduced with the concept of broad responsibility for the Health, Safety & Welfare of all employees and the provision of safe plant and machinery. In the 1980’s/1990’s new regulations were introduced and with them came the concept of risk assessment and goal setting.

 Summary

Engineering inspection business started with the introduction of technology. This new technology may have been on a lower level compared with the development of today’s sophisticated machinery but this has not reduced the need for safety monitoring. Indeed inspection in all its forms has hugely improved the risk but we must continue to monitor and carryout these Safety Checks on a regular basis.