PPE & Safety Symbols
Employers have duties concerning the provision and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) under Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended).
Throughout the product catalogue pages, you’ll find safety symbols designed to act as a guide to the safe operation of our hire equipment and the recommended PPE that should be provided. For an explanation of those safety symbols please see the table below.
These suggestions are considered to be the minimum precautions and it is of course the user's responsibility to carry out the relevant risk assessment and ensure that all appropriate safety equipment is provided in each case.
Eye Protection | This symbol signifies that this equipment generates flying debris that could cause injury to the eyes. | |
Breathing Masks | This symbol signifies that this type of equipment generates dust, waterbased sprays, welding fumes, ozone and nuisance level odours. | |
Ear Defenders | This symbol suggests the wearing of suitable ear protection and in particular durable ear defenders to guard against more oppressive noise levels. | |
Safety Footwear | As a general rule safety footwear should always be worn on site. This symbol suggests that this equipment presents a greater than average risk of injury to feet. | |
Protective Gloves | As a general rule safety protective gloves should always be worn on site. This symbol suggests that this equipment presents a greater than average risk of hand injuries. | |
Safety Helmets | As a general rule safety helmets should always be worn on site. This symbol suggests that this equipment presents a greater than average risk of head injuries. | |
Heavy Objects | This symbol indicates that this equipment weighs over 25kg. | |
Hand Arm Vibration (Low Risk) | This signifies that the equipment has a HAV rating of 5 m/s2 or less. Where additional HAV symbols are shown this signifies that the equipment has alternative settings and this symbol represents the value at the lowest setting. As a broad guide, at this level, equipment with this or a similar rating can be used for an 8 hour day without exceeding the statutory limits. Any usage of equipment with a medium or high rating would however reduce this limit. | |
Hand Arm Vibration (Med Risk) | This signifies that the equipment has a HAV rating of between 5 m/s2 and 10m/s2. Where additional HAV symbols are shown this signifies that the equipment has alternative settings and this symbol represents the value of either the alternative or the lowest setting. As a broad guide, at this level, equipment with this or a similar rating should not be used for more than 2 hours per working day, and less where equipment within the other risk bands have also been used. | |
Hand Arm Vibration (High Risk) | This signifies that the equipment has a HAV rating of over 10m/s2. Where additional HAV symbols are shown this signifies that the equipment has alternative settings and this symbol represents the value of the alternative or highest setting. As a broad guide, when using this type of equipment the operator is extremely likely to reach or exceed the statutory limits. |
Want to know more?
Call us today on 020 8533 5222
At TOGA Hire Centres, we take Health and Safety matters very seriously and hope that these fact sheets are of help. However, we must stress that these guidelines are not intended to be fully comprehensive instructions and the customer should, of course, be aware that it is their responsibility to ensure the health and safety of their staff at all times.
More TOGA Hire Health & Safety
Equipment Testing
If your business or organisation provides or uses work equipment then you are under an obligation to ensure that any such equipment is safe to use and that any risks from that equipment to employees or other third parties are properly managed. More Details
Working at Height
According to RIDDOR falls from height accounted for nearly a quarter of all fatal injuries to workers in 2011/12. Of the all the industry classifications, construction reported the most injuries (fatal and non fatal) resulting from falls. More Details
Dust Control
Recent HSE research has estimated that silica may be responsible for the deaths of over 500 people each year who have worked in construction. HSE also estimates that around 4,000 people die every year from Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). More Details
Hand Arm Vibration
Hand-arm vibration is vibration transmitted from work processes into workers' hands and arms. This can be any form of vibration, from that generated through hand-held power tools, to that generated from holding materials being processed by machines. More Details
Noise
Regular, frequent exposure to high noise levels causes deafness or tinnitus (permanent ringing in the ears). Hearing loss can be either temporary or permanent, but what is known is that the longer the exposure and the higher the noise level, the greater More Details
Lifting
Any business or organisation that undertakes lifting operations or is involved in providing lifting equipment for others to use, must manage and control the risks to avoid any injury or damage. More Details
OUR ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITMENT
TOGA Plant Hire is committed to keeping up with current legislative requirements and best practice. More Details
Insurance Cover
Rest assured that when dealing with TOGA, you are dealing with a company that has full and proper insurance in place. More Details