Safety, environment and housekeeping
Safety, environment and housekeeping tests whether a tool-room candidate can work without creating risk to people, machines or the workshop. Expect questions on PPE, guarding, isolation, fire response, waste segregation and everyday order.
Core rules
- Wear eye protection, safety shoes and suitable clothing; tie back long hair and remove rings near rotating work.
- Use machine guards and interlocks; never bypass an interlock or remove a guard to save time.
- Isolate power and lock off before changing a chuck, cutter, wheel or doing maintenance.
- Keep walkways and bench tops clear. Store files, cutters and gauges so edges and measuring faces are protected.
- Segregate metal swarf, oily rags, used coolant and general waste. Do not pour coolant or oil into drains.
- For a fire, raise the alarm, switch off power if safe, and use the class of extinguisher suited to the fuel.
Worked example
A coolant container leaks about 5 L beside a milling machine. The correct response is to stop the machine, isolate it, remove ignition sources, contain the spill with absorbent, place used absorbent in the oily-waste container, clean and dry the floor, then report the incident. Washing it into a drain spreads pollution and creates a slip hazard.
Traps
Using compressed air to clean clothing can force swarf into skin; water on an electrical or oil fire is dangerous; leaving a chuck key in a lathe chuck is a fatal trap; and a clean-looking bench may still hide sharp swarf under rags.