Welding - How to comply with WORKSAFE as a PCBU
Worried about what WorkSafe might say about your welding workshop? Worry no more! We've created this blog to make it easy to know what you need to do to comply with WorkSafe regulations...
Your Responsibilities
Let's start by making it clear what your responsibilities are as a PCBU (person conducting a business or undertaking):
- To make sure, as much as possible, workers and those around them are kept healthy and safe while at work.
- To eliminate or minimise health and safety risks where possible.
- To regularly monitor workplace conditions and health of workers to ensure a healthy work environment that is not causing preventable illness or injury.
In other words, it's your duty to provide a healthy work environment that includes safety equipment, rules, regulations and training. It is the employee's responsibility to follow the rules. However it is also your job to monitor them and make sure they are following the rules, and take appropriate measures if they are not.
The danger of welding fumes
Keeping it simple, there are 4 things you need to do to be compliant and ensure the health and safety of your workers:
1. Provide adequate/appropriate ventilation throughout the workshop to remove hazardous fumes.
2. Provide adequate/appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) for workers - we've written a few blogs on this:
- Choosing the right respiratory gear - a quick guide
- Are safety glasses enough to protect you from welder's flash?
- Get the big tick from WorkSafe if you wear this
- PPE - what if my workers won't wear it?