Safety standards in the workshop: what are they?

One of the most challenging objectives for those who deal with safety in the workplace is to spread a real shared culture on the subject, which can involve employers, managers and employees across the board. Still too often, however, the discipline in this respect is seen as a superfluous fulfilment, and even safety regulations in mechanical workshops, which are extremely important for the health and safety of workers, risk being addressed as an optional cost of little value.

In fact, occupational injuries and diseases are always on the agenda, representing the real burden for companies and their employees, both in economic terms and in terms of productivity. In particular, dermatological pathologies are among the most widespread, especially for those professionals who use their hands as one of their main working tools, exposing them daily to chemical, mechanical, physical and biological risks.

What are the main safety regulations and what are the rules for those dealing with risk in a workshop?

 

The main safety regulations in a workshop

In order to standardise existing legislation on safety in the workplace and provide those responsible with comprehensive and easily enforceable legislation, Legislative Decree No. 81 of 9 April 2008, also known as the Consolidated Occupational Health and Safety Act, was formulated.

The document aims to outline the procedures, interventions and preventive measures that every employer is required to apply, in order to protect the health and safety of workers during the performance of their activities. The aim is to minimise risk in the workplace, avoiding accidents, injuries and occupational diseases of all kinds and entities.

In addition to meticulously listing the general protective measures, Legislative Decree 81/08 also indicates the more specific measures provided for specific sectors of activity. In particular, specific obligations are imposed on the owners of a mechanical workshop, which safeguard the safety and health of employees in a particularly sensitive sector of industry.

Among the obligations that these employers are called upon to fulfil are an accurate risk assessment for workers, as well as adequate training of workers in the use of the tools and machinery specific to their job. Sharing information with employees about the dangers they are exposed to is also essential, so as to generate full awareness and a choral commitment to minimising occupational risk.

Finally, the employer who is responsible for the safety regulations of the workshop must also produce documentation proving the effective securing of the workplace and demonstrate the implementation of the most suitable prevention and protection measures for his employees.

 

Workshop safety risk assessment

When analysing and elaborating risks for the health and safety of employees, the owner of a workshop can also enlist the help of qualified figures, such as the Head of the Prevention and Protection Service (RSPP), the Workers’ Safety Representative (RLS) or a competent doctor, also referred to as a Health Surveillance Officer.

A comprehensive assessment of occupational risks in mechanical workshops includes the assessment of the danger from handling loads, micro-climatic risks, fire risk due to the presence of flammable substances, noise risk and radioactive risk analysis, as well as the consideration of risks arising from the use of specific machinery, tools, equipment and occupational tools in the workplace.

Every detail identified during the assessment must be included in an essential document, the Risk Assessment Document (DVR), which must be kept and made available to the competent authorities when requested.

The education, information and training of employees remains an essential point, not only for legislation, but also for common sense. In fact, the active involvement of employees is not only an effective strategy to spontaneously reduce risk, but is part of the legal obligations of the owner of every workshop. One of the aspects on which training should insist is, among others, the correct use of the most appropriate Personal Protective Equipment.

 

What PPE is mandatory in workshops?

Safety procedures in workshops provide for the appropriate use of PPE that can contribute to the purpose of Legislative Decree 81/08, i.e. the protection of workers’ health and safety. These devices, listed in the DVR, may be recommended or compulsory, depending on the degree of risk of the specific task: in this case, they must be used in all cases where risk factors cannot be reduced or avoided by other prevention measures or collective protection tools offered to employees. In addition to being adequately certified, they must also be functional for the worker’s tasks, ergonomic and approved to ensure a level of protection that is always sufficient for the degree of danger.

What are the main PPE required by safety regulations in a workshop? Generally speaking, they include clothing, i.e. overalls (which tend to be fireproof, antistatic and cut-resistant), safety footwear with metal spikes and gloves, since the hands are the part most at risk for mechanics. Their skin is, in fact, exposed to the risk of contact with chemicals, crushing, cutting abrasions, punctures, friction and numerous other high-level risks.

PPE in workshops also includes ear muffs or ear plugs to shield against noise risk, goggles (or visors) to protect the eyes, hard hats if the head is exposed to the risk of falling objects, and suitable masks to protect the respiratory system from impurities, chemical agents, vapours or fumes.

 

The occupational disease of the mechanic

Workplace safety regulations seek to reduce the danger of occupational injuries and illnesses. But what is an occupational disease? Basically, a pathology that affects a person’s ability to work and that derives precisely from the performance of his or her work activities. There are specific tables of occupational diseases, approved by ministerial decrees, but case law protects a wider range of pathologies with a proven occupational origin.

Skin disorders represent a concrete and frequent case history and, in Europe alone, account for between 10% and 40% of recognised occupational diseases. Particularly prevalent in the mechanical and engineering sector, they frequently generate temporary or permanent disabilities and constitute a high cost for companies in the sector.

 

Occupational disease: contact dermatitis and other diseases

According to the INAIL surveillance system, about 80% of diagnosed skin diseases fall under the umbrella of contact dermatitis or are similar eczemas of another aetiology. A large proportion of these are irritative contact dermatitis (ICD), resulting from chemical, physical or biological factors that generate major irritative and inflammatory phenomena at the site of contact (contact photodermatitis is also possible).

Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD), the expression of immunoallergological mechanisms triggered by sensitisation to specific substances, is also frequent. Occupational diseases of mechanics also include contact urticaria and airborne dermatitis, i.e. reactions induced by irritants present in the workplace and transported by air. Nor is there any shortage of exposure to particular hazards in workshops (such as ultraviolet radiation) that weaken the skin’s defences to the point of encouraging the appearance of tumours and damage to cellular DNA.

 

Avoid hand risks with Nettuno protective cream for mechanics

Safety regulations in a workshop aim precisely at avoiding these problems, minimising risk and providing employees with the appropriate tools to protect themselves, but also a health culture that enables them to prevent the onset of occupational diseases and/or avoid their complications.

Leading skin protection companies such as Nettuno provide workshops with a valuable partner in the development of the most effective safety and worker protection strategies. In addition to the use of PPE in those contexts where it is mandatory, one of the first steps towards reducing the incidence of occupational skin diseases is undoubtedly the care of hands and their skin.

In fact, when the skin of the hands is intact and protected through appropriate practices and specific professional products, it is extremely more resistant to all kinds of skin diseases.

 

The benefits for employers and safety managers

At the disposal of employers and RSPPs today are the best performing Nettuno solutions for skin protection, cleansing and nourishment, and making them available to employees is an indispensable tactic for two reasons:

• enable the fulfilment of legal obligations regarding the safety of the workshop and the involvement of employees in risk minimisation;
• drastically reduce the incidence of occupational diseases and related costs, in terms of financial outlay and declines in team productivity.

 

The benefits for professionals

Workers who wish to play an active role in reducing risk and protecting their health will find a wide range of proposals in the Nettuno catalogue, such as

• hand creams for mechanics to be used before the work shift, such as Protexsol Professional, which is active against oily and greasy substances;
• professional hand cleaners, such as Rossa in Crema, Linea Blanca hand cleaning paste, Sammy 20/S liquid soap or Manipulite Cremagel;
• moisturising skin care lotions, such as Protexem Rinnova, to be applied at the end of the working day.

Nettuno experts can provide specialised advice to all employers, RSPPs, RSVs, professionals and company doctors who care about the well-being of employees and want to find the most effective risk prevention tactics for them.

 

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