Woodworking machines

• Woodworking machines

Young people (under 18 years) should not be allowed to use high-risk woodworking machinery unless they have the necessary maturity and competence which includes having completed appropriate training. High-risk woodworking machinery includes any woodworking machine which is hand-fed, in particular:

• any sawing machine fitted with a circular blade or saw band;
• a planing machine when used for surfacing; and
• a vertical spindle moulding machine.

However, young people may operate high-risk woodworking machinery during training providing they sufficiently mature and are adequately supervised. They should also be properly supervised after training until they reach the appropriate level of competence and can work safely unsupervised. The Approved Code of Practice and Guidance Safe use of woodworking machinery: Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations as applied to woodworking contains further information.

A recent HSE study of woodworking accidents found that a quarter of those injured under the age of 25 had received no specific training or instruction for the machine they were working on and in small firms (< 25 employed), half of those injured had received ‘on the job’ training only.