Who Can Use Power Tools?
A reader recently asked, ‘who is allowed to operate lathes?’ This raised a wider question in my mind about what power tools and equipment workers should be allowed to use?
Many people don’t realise there are some subtle aspects regarding competency to operate plant and equipment. We explain in this article.
Plant Requiring a Licence
Workplace safety regulations in each state specify training and competency licences for what they call “high risk work”.
However, this is only specified for:
Scaffolding
Crane operators, riggers and dogmen
Boom elevating work platforms (cherry pickers)
Forklifts
Order picking forklift
Lifts & hoists
Concrete placing booms
Sample High Risk Work Licence
Boom-Type Elevating Work Platform (WP)
Illegal to Allow or Operate Without a Licence
It is a breach of the regulations for any manager or supervisor to allow or ask any person to operate designated high-risk plant without the relevant licence.
Equipment Not Covered by Licences
There are many items of equipment which pose a high-risk of serious injury or death, yet they are not covered by regulated licences.
Frontend LoaderBobcat Excavator
For example; portable power tools, lathes, grinders, shaping machines, welders, scissors lift, bobcats, excavators and many more potentially hazardous items of equipment have no licence requirements under the regulations.
Duty to Ensure All Operators are Competent
All employers have duty (eg OHS Act S.21) to ensure all operators of plant and equipment are trained and competent.
In circumstances not controlled by regulated licences, the employer is to train or confirm training and competency for each item of equipment used by their workers. This can be an external course, e.g. at a TAFE, or internal training.
Can Maintenance Team Use all Workshop Equipment?
Unless your maintenance team have been formally trained in correct and safe use of a particular item of equipment as part of their trade qualification, they should not be allowed to use it until trained and authorised to do so.
Even for workers who have a trade qualification (e.g. turner & fitter) which included training in correct operation of lathes, you need to ensure they are familiar with the specific model of lathe you have, per manufacturer’s manual.
If unsure if a person’s trade qualification included training on a particular item of equipment you can confirm by asking your local TAFE about trade training content
If you have trade qualified staff who are not formally trained to operate your equipment, but you would like to allow them to use it you can:
Send them to a short TAFE course; or
Train them internally using the manufacturer’s manual (by a competent person).
In both cases above you need to save records on file to prove they were trained and assessed competent by the trainer. Even better, a short theory and or practical test will prove beyond doubt they understood the training and were competent at the time.
Refresher Training
Best practice companies set a refresher period for plant operation training (e.g. 2 to 5 yearly refreshers), but there is no regulation requiring this unless staff operate licensed plant where licences must be renewed 5-yearly.
Principle – Trained and Authorised
In short, your company policy should be No person is to operate any item of plant or powered equipment unless trained and authorised to do so.
This prevents people with a licence (eg forklift licence) assuming they can use any forklift anywhere without permission.
Skills Matrix
One convenient way to show who is trained and authorised to operate various items of equipment is to have a Skills Matrix, per the sample below.
Sample Skills Matrix
