PHW
Safety packs > Abrasive wheels

Abrasive wheels

Anyone who selects, mounts or uses an abrasive wheel: on angle grinders, cut off saws and bench grinders in workshops, on construction sites and in fabrication shops.

The hazard

A wheel mounted, guarded or run at the wrong speed can burst in use, and an incorrectly set work rest or tongue guard is a common cause of serious hand injury. The old Abrasive Wheels Regulations 1970 were revoked; the current duty is that anyone who selects, mounts or uses a wheel is competent, and that competence must be demonstrable.

The pack covers wheel types, marking and selection, checking the wheel's maximum operating speed against the machine's spindle speed, storage, handling and inspection, ring testing and its limitations, correct mounting with flanges and blotters, setting the work rest and tongue guard, safe body position and control of the machine, and dust, noise and vibration control.

The law that applies

What is in the pack

One hazard, done completely, for the whole firm.

Implementation guidethe legal position and the order to do it in
Risk assessmentevery hazard and control, ready to make site-specific
Safe system of workthe one to put up where the work happens
Inspection and maintenance recordpre-use checks and periodic review
Training delivery packthe session your own supervisor delivers
Theory test candidate paperblank, to be answered in ink
Practical assessment recordon your machine or task, on your site
Written authorisationnames the person and the equipment or task
Toolbox talkswith attendance sheets
Register and refresher trackerturns a one off into a system
One document held back

The pack also has a theory test answer key. It is supplied separately to the employer, not published in the pack itself, so the test stays a genuine assessment when your own supervisor marks it.

An optional verified certificate per person

Not required to be compliant, but available where a customer, principal contractor or insurer wants third-party evidence.

You assess your own people in-house using the pack, and send PHW the completed records. PHW checks the records and, where they hold up, issues a certificate carrying a QR code that resolves to a live verification page. The certificate states plainly that the assessment was carried out in-house and verified by PHW. It is not a record of PHW having carried out the assessment itself, and records that are too thin are rejected rather than certified.

Which sectors need this

Garages and workshops

View →

Construction

View →

Manufacturing

View →

Plant hire

View →