Health & Safety – Assessing Risks
The physical work involved in the carrying and laying of artificial grass should not be underestimated. At five metres in width and 40mm deep pile, at 2990 gr/m2, a roll of ten metres x five metres will weigh in at 149,500 grams or 149.5 kilos.
Whilst rolls such as these are transported by means of fork lifts, trailers or wheeled devices, final positioning and manoeuvring the material requires skill and strength.
All staff working with heavy products must have been inducted into the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 and received adequate training before working on site.
Operations involved in laying of AG include the use of sharp blades, and all staff on site must have been inducted into the COSHH Working Safely with Sharp Blades or Edges Regulations.
These, and any other COSHH specific or general Health & Safety Regulations must be recorded and acceptance of suitable adequate training signed as being undertaken and understood by the operative on site. (This record may be kept at the Employer’s office)
All such AG installations are subject to The Construction (Design Management) Regulations 2015, and a CDM Plan produced by the Principal Contractor clearly setting out the operations to be followed, including the names of all key personnel involved in the project, their respective skills and company position e.g. Site Foreperson.
Working Safely with Sharp Blades or Edges (Assessing Risks)
- The most common concern when using sharp blades or edges is an injury, such as a cut (laceration or puncture) or an amputation.
- Tools or equipment with sharp blades to include knives or scissors.
- Use the right tool for the job.
- Only use the tool for the purpose for which it was designed.
- All staff should be educated in the use of any tool they are expected to use.
- Inspect the tool before use.
- Make sure the blade is sharp. Dull blades require more force, increasing the chance of injury.
- Carry only one tool at a time, with the tip or blade pointed down at your side, or fully retracted.
- Work in well-lit conditions so you can see what you are doing.
- Cut on a stable surface, ensuring proper positioning of the body to prevent cramping.
- Use protective clothing such as cut resistant gloves, especially for the holding hand.
- Wear safety glasses to prevent injury in case a blade snaps under pressure.
- Cut away from the body, ensuring that no part of the body is in the cutting path. • If the tool has a retractable blade, fully retract it immediately after use. Close scissors or snips after use.
- Throw out broken, dull or rusty blades by placing them in a puncture proof container.
- Do not use excessive force when cutting.
- Do not try to catch a falling tool – let it fall then pick it up carefully.
- Do not engage in conversation with your co-workers whilst using a sharp tool unless essential to the operation.
- Do not carry sharp tools whilst carrying other objects.
- Do not drop or place a tool in a place it cannot be clearly seen; for example, by placing other items on top of the tool.
- Do not throw sharp tools to someone else. Place the tool on the ground and let the other person pick it up.
Manual Handling (Assessing Risks)
- Identify and evaluate the weight and dimensions of the roll intended to be laid. Allow for the actual weight and size of the roll, not the proposed dimensions of the finished lawn.
- Produce a written method statement, clearly showing the intended path of the roll from the off-loading point to site of installation.
- Ensure that the delivery vehicle can park as close as possible to the site, reversing in if the site permits to maintain a smooth delivery path.
- Ensure that the site is clear of debris and obstacles including trip hazards and pitfalls.
- If carrying up or down steps, ensure all staff involved in moving the roll have a clear understanding of the proposed route. The team should practice the route, assessing and agreeing the likely handicaps along the way.
- Ensure all staff have suitable, non-slip soles to their work shoes to prevent slipping.
- Deliver the roll by means of wheeled trolleys if possible.
- Where delivery by wheeled means is not possible, devise other methods of shifting the load to avoid physical lifting if possible.
- Ensure the site is fully prepared and ready to receive the roll without further site movement of materials.
- Use lifting straps to carry the roll to ensure that operatives backs can remain straight without undue bending.
- Wear stout non-slip gloves when handling the rolls to prevent cuts and abrasions from the underside of the material.
- Ensure that the customer is fully aware of your proposed working plans, and maintains a safe distance, keeping pets and children out of harms way.
Further Information
It is essential that all of the factors involved in delivering and laying the material are evaluated, assessed and recorded in the CDM Plan in case of a claim for personal injury arises where due care and attention has not been fully complied with.
There will be other risks to be evaluated and highlighted in the following pages. As many of these are site specific, it is essential that every project is treated as bespoke, requiring a new set of risk assessments for each, to be recorded and filed in the CDM Plan for the contract.
These documents are also known as RAMS (Risk Assessment Method Statements), which are important Health & Safety forms to be completed to identify the steps to be undertaken to carry out a specific activity or task in a safe manner. There is no legal requirement to do them according to the H & S Executive website (October 2017) although failure to undertake such assessments could render a company liable for a claim in the event of an accident.
Due to the obvious dangers involving back, hand and leg injury whilst carrying and manipulating heavy objects and working with sharp blades, companies have a Duty of Care to their employees and all others who may be on site or affected in any way.
How Not to Join Artificial Grass Matting
This installation was made at a public school, as a children’s play area designed for ball games. Not only was the grass laid in four sections (unnecessarily in this case) with very poor jointing, the grass was not laid with the pile facing/unrolled in one direction, with the effect of appearing as two separate ‘types’ of matting.
How Not to Incorporate an Inspection Cover into an Installation
This installation was made at a public school, as a children’s play area designed for ball games. The laying base and sub-base have subsided after only a couple of weeks – and before the lawn was used – leaving the cover above the main lawn level, creating not only a trip hazard, but also a danger to anyone falling onto the hard edges and corners of the (recessed) cover.
Demonstrating the Requirement for Adequate Adhesive When Joining Matting
This lawn was laid to 40mm pile matting, with only a thin drizzle of adhesive used to secure the edges. There were various joins in the lawn, several of which had either lifted or become loose causing trip hazards after only a few weeks of laying.
How Not To Secure a Grass Mat
Using a woven geotextile matting – which is not recommended as it does not allow rainwater to pass through thereby creating problems with algae and mould – this matting was ‘secured’ with 100mm nails @ one metre centres pushed into the soft ground. The base was only 25mm of sharp sand laid over soil.
