Manufacturing & Engineering UK-wide

Which wood products manufacturing regulations apply to your business

Sawmilling and making wood products — sawn timber and veneers, plywood and panels, joinery and packaging, cork and other wood goods — shares a workplace-safety foundation built around wood dust, then carries its own market rules: legal timber sourcing, construction-products marking, formaldehyde limits, general product safety and wood-packaging treatment.

Guide summary

Set up a safe wood products factory by following health and safety rules and controlling wood dust. Then meet market rules: check your timber is legal, mark construction products if you make them, limit formaldehyde, treat wood packaging for export, and follow product safety laws. Use the compliance checklist to confirm you have done everything before you sell.

  • Control wood dust with COSHH and follow HASAWA safety duties
  • Set up a safe factory using the 'run a safe wood-products factory' guide
  • Do timber due diligence to prove your wood is legally sourced
  • Mark construction products if you make them for buildings
  • Limit formaldehyde in your wood products to legal levels
  • Treat solid wood packaging with heat and mark it for export (ISPM 15)
  • Use the compliance checklist before you sell your products
  • Face unlimited fines and up to 2 years in prison for safety breaches
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Wood-products manufacturing is machinery- and dust-intensive, with wood dust a particular concern. The workplace health and safety duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 apply to you. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulates in Great Britain and HSENI in Northern Ireland.

Wood products also carry their own market rules — legal timber sourcing, construction-products marking, formaldehyde limits, general product safety, and treatment and marking for wood packaging that travels abroad.

What you need to do

  1. 1

    Run a safe plant and employ people

    Whatever you make, start with the universal spine. Follow "Set up and run a safe wood-products factory" for your health and safety, wood-dust COSHH controls, work equipment, manual handling, fire safety, insurance, equality, data protection and environmental-permit duties.

  2. 2

    Place wood and wood products on the market

    Meet timber due diligence, construction-products marking, formaldehyde limits, general product safety, and — if you make solid-wood packaging for export — ISPM 15 heat treatment and marking. Follow "Place wood and wood products on the market".

  3. 3

    Confirm you have covered everything

    Finish with the wood-products manufacturer compliance checklist to confirm your obligations are met before you sell.

Official sources

Authoritative starting points for wood-products manufacturing.