Manufacturing & Engineering UK-wide

Set up and run a safe furniture factory

Furniture-making is machinery- and dust-intensive: sawing, machining, sanding, assembly, upholstery and finishing, working with wood, foams, fabrics, adhesives and lacquers. Whatever you make, this is the universal spine. It takes you through your core workplace health and safety duties, control of wood dust and finishing chemicals, work equipment safety, manual handling, fire safety, employers' liability insurance, equality and data protection.

Guide summary

You must meet your general health and safety duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. This means risk-assessing woodworking machinery, sanding, finishing, noise, and material handling. You must also control wood dust and finishing chemicals under COSHH – provide local exhaust ventilation on saws and sanders, keep to workplace exposure limits, and arrange health surveillance where needed.

  • Risk-assess woodworking machinery, sanding, finishing, noise, and handling
  • Provide safe systems of work and train your employees
  • Control wood dust – hardwood dust is carcinogenic and causes asthma
  • Fit local exhaust ventilation on saws, sanders, and routers
  • Keep wood-dust levels below workplace exposure limits
  • Assess finishing chemicals (solvents, isocyanates, adhesives) under COSHH
  • Arrange health surveillance for hardwood dust and isocyanates
  • Follow the hierarchy of controls: eliminate, substitute, engineer, PPE
  • Review your COSHH risk assessments when things change
  • Register with HSE or HSENI as your regulator
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Related guides in Employment & HR

Making furniture — sawing and machining timber and boards, sanding, assembly, upholstery and finishing — is machinery- and dust-intensive. The duties in this guide apply to running the factory and employing people, whatever you make. Get this spine in place first, then layer the furniture fire-safety and product-safety rules on top.

Health and safety law here is largely devolved. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the regulator in Great Britain and the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) in Northern Ireland. The underlying duties are equivalent across the UK. Work through the sections below in order.

A. Meet your general health and safety duty

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is the foundation. You must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of your employees and of anyone else affected by your work. In a furniture factory that means risk-assessing woodworking machinery, sanding and finishing, noise, and material handling. It also means providing safe systems of work, and training and supervising your people.

B. Control wood dust and finishing chemicals (COSHH)

Wood dust is the defining health hazard in furniture-making — hardwood dust is carcinogenic, and both hardwood and softwood dust can cause asthma. The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) require you to assess, then prevent or adequately control, exposure. This means providing local exhaust ventilation on saws, sanders and routers, keeping to the wood-dust workplace exposure limits, and arranging health surveillance where the regulations require it. The same duties cover the finishing side — solvents and isocyanates in lacquers, paints, adhesives and foam. In Northern Ireland the equivalent COSHH (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2003 apply.

C. Keep your work equipment safe (PUWER)

Your machinery includes circular saws, planers and thicknessers, spindle moulders, sanders, routers and panel saws. It must be suitable, properly maintained, inspected and adequately safeguarded under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. Woodworking-machine guarding (the spindle moulder and circular saw in particular), braking, and safe isolation for setting and maintenance are recurring HSE enforcement themes.

D. Manage manual handling

Moving timber, boards, foam, finished furniture and mattresses is routine and often awkward, so the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 apply. Avoid hazardous manual handling so far as is reasonably practicable. Where you cannot, assess the risk and reduce it — through lifting equipment, better layout and safe systems of work.

E. Manage fire safety

Wood, dust, foams, fabrics, solvents and finishes give furniture-making a high fire load. The responsible person must carry out a fire risk assessment and maintain fire-safety arrangements, including dust extraction and control of ignition sources. The duty is devolved. In England and Wales it is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. In Scotland it is the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006. In Northern Ireland it is the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006.

F. Hold employers' liability insurance

As soon as you employ anyone, you must hold employers' liability compulsory insurance — normally at least £5 million of cover. You must also display or make available the certificate. This is a legal requirement across Great Britain, with an equivalent duty in Northern Ireland.

G. Meet your equality duties

As an employer you must not discriminate against, harass or victimise people because of a protected characteristic. In Great Britain this is governed by the Equality Act 2010. In Northern Ireland separate equality legislation applies, enforced by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.

H. Handle personal data lawfully

If you process personal data — about staff, customers or suppliers — you must comply with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. In most cases you must also pay the data protection fee to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). This applies UK-wide.

  1. 1

    1. Write your health and safety risk assessments

    Assess woodworking machinery, sanding and finishing, noise and handling, and put safe systems of work, training and supervision in place under HASAWA 1974.

  2. 2

    2. Put COSHH controls in for wood dust and finishes

    Assess hardwood and softwood dust and the solvents, isocyanates and adhesives in your finishing. Fit local exhaust ventilation on saws and sanders and arrange health surveillance where COSHH requires it.

  3. 3

    3. Bring work equipment into a PUWER regime

    Make sure saws, planers, spindle moulders and sanders are guarded and braked, maintained, inspected and safely isolated for setting and maintenance.

  4. 4

    4. Control manual handling and carry out your fire risk assessment

    Reduce hazardous handling of timber, boards and finished furniture. Assess fire risk from wood, dust, foams and solvents under the regime for your nation.

  5. 5

    5. Take out employers' liability insurance and register with the ICO

    Arrange at least £5 million of cover before anyone starts work, and pay the data protection fee unless you are exempt.

What to do next

This spine covers the duties of running the factory and employing people. On top of it sit the furniture product rules:

Official sources

Authoritative health and safety and data-protection guidance.