Manufacturing & Engineering UK-wide

Set up and run a safe metal fabrication workshop

Metal fabrication is machinery- and exposure-intensive: cutting, welding, grinding, pressing and surface finishing. Whatever you make, this is the universal spine. It takes you through your core workplace health and safety duties — including the controls now required for welding fume — work equipment safety, manual handling, fire safety, employers' liability insurance, equality, data protection, and the environmental permit you need if you treat metal surfaces.

Guide summary

You must meet your general health and safety duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act. Control hazardous substances like welding fume (a carcinogen) using local exhaust ventilation and respiratory protective equipment. Also follow rules on work equipment, manual handling, fire safety, insurance, equality, data protection, and get an environmental permit if you treat metal surfaces.

  • Complete a risk assessment for all fabrication work
  • Provide safe plant, systems of work, training and supervision
  • Control welding fume as a carcinogen – use LEV and RPE for all welding
  • Carry out a COSHH assessment before starting work with hazardous substances
  • Use the hierarchy of controls: eliminate, substitute, engineer, administer, PPE
  • Set up health surveillance where COSHH requires it
  • Get employers' liability insurance – it is a legal requirement
  • Check if you need an environmental permit for treating metal surfaces
  • Penalties for health and safety breaches: unlimited fines and up to 2 years imprisonment
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Fabricating metal — cutting, welding, grinding, pressing, machining and surface finishing — is among the more hazardous things a manufacturing business does. The duties in this guide are not specific to one kind of product. They apply whether you make structural steel, tanks, hand tools, fasteners or architectural metalwork. Get this spine in place first, then layer the product-specific 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 fabrication shop that means risk-assessing the work, providing safe plant and systems of work, and training and supervising your people.

B. Control exposure to hazardous substances (including welding fume)

The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) require you to assess, then prevent or adequately control, exposure to hazardous substances. This bites hard in metal fabrication. Welding fume is now classified as a carcinogen, and HSE requires effective engineering controls — local exhaust ventilation — and suitable respiratory protective equipment for all welding, indoors or out. COSHH also covers metalworking-fluid mists, isocyanate paints, acid pickling and electroplating chemistries, with health surveillance where the regulations require it.

C. Keep your work equipment safe (PUWER)

Your machinery — power presses, guillotines, press brakes, lathes, grinders, welding sets and robots — must be suitable, properly maintained, inspected and adequately safeguarded under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. Power presses carry additional duties: thorough examination and the inspection of guards under PUWER regulations 32 to 35. Compressed-air and steam plant read across to the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000.

D. Manage manual handling

Heavy steel sections, plate, billets, coils and finished fabrications are routine, 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

Hot work, flammable degreasing solvents and combustible metal dusts (aluminium and magnesium in particular) make fire a serious risk. The responsible person must carry out a fire risk assessment and maintain fire-safety arrangements. The duty is devolved: the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in England and Wales, the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006 in Scotland, and the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 in Northern Ireland.

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 — and 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, and in most cases pay the data protection fee to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). This applies UK-wide.

I. Get an environmental permit if you treat metal surfaces

Surface treatment of metals using electrolytic or chemical processes above the Part A capacity thresholds, and surface treatment using organic solvents above the consumption threshold, are permitted installations. You need an environmental permit covering discharges to air, water and sewer. The regulator is the Environment Agency in England, Natural Resources Wales in Wales, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency in Scotland, and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency in Northern Ireland. Smaller jobbing platers may instead fall under a local-authority (Part B) air-emissions permit. Plating chemistries also engage COSHH and a trade-effluent consent from your sewerage undertaker.

  1. 1

    1. Write your health and safety risk assessments

    Assess cutting, welding, grinding, pressing and finishing. Put safe systems of work, training and supervision in place under HASAWA 1974.

  2. 2

    2. Put welding-fume and COSHH controls in

    Fit local exhaust ventilation and provide RPE for all welding, assess every hazardous substance, and arrange health surveillance where COSHH requires it.

  3. 3

    3. Bring work equipment into a PUWER regime

    Make sure machinery is guarded, maintained and inspected, with thorough examination of power presses and their guards.

  4. 4

    4. Control manual handling

    Eliminate or reduce hazardous lifting of plate, sections and fabrications, providing lifting aids where needed.

  5. 5

    5. Carry out your fire risk assessment

    Assess hot work, solvents and combustible metal dusts, and maintain fire precautions under the regime for your nation.

  6. 6

    6. Take out employers' liability insurance

    Arrange at least £5 million of cover before anyone starts work, and keep the certificate available.

  7. 7

    7. Register with the ICO and pay the data protection fee

    Unless you are exempt, pay the fee and put lawful-basis records in place for the personal data you hold.

  8. 8

    8. Check whether you need an environmental permit

    If you electroplate or surface-treat above the thresholds, apply for the permit from your environmental regulator and arrange a trade-effluent consent.

What to do next

This spine covers the duties every metal fabricator shares. On top of it, the rules depend on what you make:

Official sources

Authoritative health and safety, environmental and data-protection guidance.