Manufacturing wood products covers a range of businesses — sawmills, makers of veneers, plywood and wood-based panels, builders' joinery and carpentry, wooden containers and packaging, and other wood and cork goods. They share a starting point: the work is machinery- and dust-intensive, so the workplace health and safety duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 apply to all of you — with wood dust a particular concern. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulates in Great Britain and HSENI in Northern Ireland.
On top of that, wood products 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. Use the routes below to find the guides written for your kind of business.
Find your route
Every wood-products manufacturer needs both routes below — the plant foundation and the product-market rules. Work through them, then confirm everything with the checklist.
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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.
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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".
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3
Confirm you have covered everything
Finish with the wood-products manufacturer compliance checklist to confirm your obligations are met before you sell.
Open the guide you need
- Set up and run a safe wood-products factory — the universal spine for every manufacturer.
- Place wood and wood products on the market — timber legality, construction-products marking, formaldehyde, general product safety, and wood packaging.
- Wood-products manufacturer compliance checklist — confirm you have covered everything.
If you make pallets, crates or other solid-wood packaging for international transport, the ISPM 15 heat-treatment and marking rules apply to you — see section E of Place wood and wood products on the market.
Official sources
Authoritative starting points for wood-products manufacturing.