Unsafe Welding Conditions Without a Supervisor
You are a 17-year-old apprentice in a small welding and fabrication workshop. Your supervisor leaves to deliver a gate and tells you to finish welding a window frame before he returns. The workshop has one exhaust fan, which has not worked for two weeks. Your welding helmet has a cracked filter plate, and your gloves have a hole at the thumb. The angle grinder's cable has exposed wires covered with insulating tape. A gas cylinder is chained upright but stands about 2 metres from the welding table. A tin of thinner is open on the bench. After 20 minutes of welding, you feel dizzy and have a headache. There is no other worker present. Your mobile phone is in your bag, and the workshop's first-aid box is on a shelf but has not been checked for a year.
1. What should you do in the next five minutes? Put your actions in order and explain why you would not simply 'finish the frame' as instructed.
Read the worked answer
Stop welding and move away from the fume area. Open the workshop door and windows to get fresh air, and sit down because dizziness can lead to a fall. Do not use the angle grinder with the taped cable or the helmet with the cracked filter. Unplug the grinder if it is safe to do so, and close the thinner tin and move it away from the welding area. Then call or message the supervisor: state that you feel dizzy, the exhaust fan is not working, and you have stopped work. Ask him to return or send another worker. The instruction to 'finish the frame' does not override the risk of fume exposure, eye damage, or electric shock. If symptoms worsen, seek first aid and medical help; do not drive yourself.
2. Using the hierarchy of controls, classify the hazards in the workshop and propose one control for each of the three most serious hazards. Explain why PPE alone is not enough.
Read the worked answer
Most serious hazards: (1) welding fume with a broken exhaust fan - engineering control: repair or replace the fan and weld only with local exhaust ventilation; opening doors is temporary. (2) Cracked helmet filter and damaged gloves - PPE control: replace them before any welding; PPE is the last line because it fails suddenly and does not remove the hazard. (3) Exposed grinder cable - engineering or electrical control: remove the grinder from service, replace the cable, and use an RCD or earth-leakage protection. The open thinner is a fire hazard: move it to a closed metal cabinet. The gas cylinder should be secured away from the direct welding zone. PPE alone is not enough because a cracked filter or a taped cable can fail without warning, and the fume remains in the room.
3. Write a short message to the supervisor reporting the situation. It must be clear, factual, and request a specific decision, without sounding like a refusal to work.
Read the worked answer
Message: 'Sir, I have stopped welding because I felt dizzy after 20 minutes. The exhaust fan is not working, my helmet filter is cracked, my glove has a hole, and the grinder cable is taped. I have opened the door and closed the thinner tin. Please tell me whether to wait for you or go to the health centre. I will not restart welding until the fan and helmet are fixed.' This is factual, gives specific hazards, states what has already been done, and asks for a decision. It does not say 'I refuse to work' or blame anyone. It also creates a written record, which protects the apprentice if the supervisor later claims the work was refused without reason.