Workplace Safety, Health and Hygiene
This domain tests machine guarding, electrical safety, needle control, ergonomics, housekeeping and personal hygiene on the sewing floor. Questions are usually framed as "what should the operator do first?"
Machine guarding and energy isolation
- Never remove, tape over or modify guards on the handwheel, belt or needle bar.
- Before cleaning, oiling, changing the needle or clearing a jam, switch off and unplug. The foot pedal is not an isolation device.
- Use a brush or tweezers, never fingers or compressed air, near the needle.
Needle and sharp-tool control
- Account for every piece of a broken needle. If a fragment is missing, quarantine the garment and search the machine area, because metal fragments will fail final metal detection.
- Put used needles in a closed red sharps container, never in the general waste bin.
- Carry scissors closed and point-down; hand them over handle-first.
Electrical, fire and housekeeping
- Report frayed cords, missing earthing, sparking plug tops and oil spills immediately.
- Keep gangways, exits and extinguisher points clear and unobstructed.
Health, hygiene and ergonomics
- Sit back in the chair with feet flat; set chair height so the needle plate sits near elbow level.
- Take the scheduled micro-breaks and report eye strain, back pain or needle pricks to the supervisor.
- Wash hands before eating, eat only in the canteen, and keep food and drink away from the machine.
Worked example
Lint is packed under the needle plate. The operator should stop, switch off, unplug, brush the lint out, refit the plate and then restart. Reasoning: the servo motor can start on accidental pedal contact and the handwheel can move the needle bar, so only unplugging gives true isolation.
Traps
- Removing the needle guard because "it slows me down" - this is a safety violation, not a productivity choice.
- Blowing lint with compressed air; it drives lint into eyes and into the oil wick.
- Hiding a needle break so a fragment reaches the finished garment.