Health and safety are crucial to our operations and serve as a cornerstone of our engineering practices. At Abdie Solutions, based in Perth, we focus on delivering comprehensive engineering solutions that incorporate stringent health and safety measures.
At the design stage of all our projects, including bulk handling systems, we proactively focus on health and safety management by using Prevention through Design (PtD). This approach emphasizes designing products, processes, and systems in a way that reduces or eliminates hazards from the outset. By addressing hazards during the design phase, PtD acts as the initial barrier against potential risks, allowing us to prevent hazards rather than simply manage them later. When hazards cannot be eliminated, PtD helps reduce their severity or likelihood, ensuring safer project outcomes.
A simple example of this in the bulk handling sector is ensuring all maintenance points, such as bearings, are accessible from gantries and platforms instead of relying on ladders, scaffolding, or Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs) for future maintenance.
Elimination
Eliminating hazards is a proactive approach to risk management. By conducting thorough risk assessments, we identify potential risks before they lead to incidents. For example, instead of fitting a level control sensor to a silo roof after construction, we always strive to install it at ground level, eliminating the need for working at height.
Substitution
Substitution involves replacing hazardous materials or processes with less hazardous alternatives. For instance, we often opt for chain hoists or material lifters to replace the ‘manual handling’ hazard with ‘lifting operations,’ a common approach in bulk handling.This method typically results in a lower risk rating compared to manual handling.
Engineering Controls
Engineering controls focus on modifying the physical environment to minimize exposure to hazards. A frequent engineering control in bulk handling projects is using matting on open-mesh floor grating to prevent tools from falling through, or employing tool tethers to secure power tools when working from elevated positions.
Administrative Controls
Clear guidelines and procedures are critical to safe operations. We provide ongoing safety training to keep our engineering team up-to-date with the latest industry standards, ensuring best practices are consistently applied.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
While PPE is an essential safety measure, it is seen as supplementary rather than primary protection. We ensure our team is equipped with task-specific PPE that fits correctly and is regularly inspected.
Ongoing Commitment to Safety Compliance
At Abdie Solutions, we stay up-to-date with health and safety regulations, continuously improving our practices to meet and exceed industry standards. Our commitment ensures a safe and productive environment across all our engineering projects, whether in bulk handling or other sectors.
Partnering with Abdie Solutions
At Abdie Solutions, health and safety is woven into every aspect of our engineering and project management processes. By choosing to work with us, you’re partnering with a team that prioritizes safety at every stage, from design to execution. We believe that a safe work environment is the foundation of successful project outcomes, driving not only compliance but also efficiency and innovation. Our commitment to health and safety ensures that both our team and yours can operate in a risk-mitigated, secure environment – allowing us to deliver the highest standards of engineering solutions without compromise.