Automotive Workshop Safety
What the exam tests
Automotive workshop safety checks whether you can recognise hazards and act safely in a live bay. Expect questions on personal protective equipment (PPE), fire classes, lifting, housekeeping, fume control and emergency response.
Core rules
- Wear eye protection, safety shoes, gloves and hearing protection for the task; remove rings, watches and loose clothing near rotating equipment.
- Keep gangways clear, clean spills at once and store flammable liquids in closed metal cabinets away from ignition sources.
- Support a lifted vehicle on jack stands and chock the wheels; never work under a vehicle held only by a jack.
- Use fume extraction and never run an engine in a closed bay; carbon monoxide is odourless and can kill.
- Match the extinguisher to the fire: water for ordinary solids, foam or dry powder for flammable liquids, CO2 or dry powder for live electrical equipment. Never use water on petrol or electrical fires.
- Report near misses, know first-aid arrangements and keep emergency exits unobstructed.
Worked example
A technician smells petrol and sees a wet patch under a car. Reasoning: stop the engine, ban smoking, ventilate the bay, wear gloves and eye protection, place a drip tray, disconnect the battery, absorb the spill with inert absorbent and seal it in a labelled hazardous-waste container. Do not hose it into a drain. Petrol vapour is heavier than air and ignites easily; water spreads the fuel rather than removing the hazard.
Traps that cost marks
Using compressed air to clean skin or clothing, working under a jack without stands, leaving chuck keys in drills, blocking extinguishers, and treating all fires as water-safe.