Health and safety online course

Abrasive wheels: grinders, discs and Stihl saws

Abrasive wheels training for everyone who uses a grinder or Stihl saw, and for the people who fit their wheels

£22.50 a place, the whole price

This is PHW training with a certificate of completion. It is not an accredited qualification, so it is for you to decide whether it is enough for your business.

Each person does the course on their own phone, takes a test marked automatically, and gets a certificate with a QR code. You pay £22.50 a place. You see who has passed, and you get a sign-off sheet for the practical on your own machines.

About 30 minutes on a phone, tablet or computer. Test marked by the system.

What gets asked for. PUWER says you must make sure everyone who uses a grinder or saw has been trained. HSE's guide HSG17, which its inspectors may refer to, recommends a record of training in mounting wheels, with the person's name and the date.

Who it is for

  • Groundworkers and paving crews who use a Stihl saw on kerbs, slabs and block paving
  • Fabricators, fitters and steel erectors who change and use discs on angle grinders
  • Workshop and maintenance staff on bench and pedestal grinders
  • Bosses who want a record on file for each person who uses or changes a wheel
What it covers
  • What PUWER 1998 asks, and how HSE's guide HSG17 applies it
  • Wheel types, markings, use-by dates and choosing the right wheel
  • The speed check before fitting a wheel
  • Storage, handling and the ring test
  • Fitting a wheel, tightening, and the first run
  • Guards and bench grinder work rests
  • Silica dust, vibration and noise
  • Eye protection, clothing, and when to stop work

How it works

  1. Buy places. Pay by card. Your order page is ready as soon as the payment goes through.
  2. Send the join link to your staff. One link covers everyone. Each person types their name and starts.
  3. They do the lessons on their own phone. It takes about 30 minutes in all, and they can stop and carry on later.
  4. They sit the test. It is marked by the system. Anyone who misses is told which lessons to read again. After a miss there is a wait before the next try, and after six tries in a row the lessons are read again.
  5. A pass gives a certificate. It has a QR code anyone can scan to check it, and your order page links to every one.
  6. You sign off the practical. Each certificate comes with a sign-off sheet. You watch the person do the job on your own equipment, tick each check and sign. The online course teaches the knowledge. You decide who is authorised to do the work.
The law behind it
  • Employers must ensure everyone who uses work equipment has received adequate training, including the methods, the risks and the precautions to be taken. PUWER 1998, regulation 9. Source: legislation.gov.uk
  • Where use of equipment is likely to involve a specific risk, use is restricted to people given the task of using it. PUWER 1998, regulation 7. Source: legislation.gov.uk
  • Employers must ensure work equipment is kept in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair. PUWER 1998, regulation 5. Source: legislation.gov.uk
  • Employers must take measures to stop access to dangerous parts of machinery, using guards that are not easily bypassed or disabled. PUWER 1998, regulation 11. Source: legislation.gov.uk
  • PUWER 1998 revoked the remaining provisions of the Abrasive Wheels Regulations 1970. HSE's guide HSG17 explains how PUWER applies to abrasive wheels. Source: hse.gov.uk
  • COSHH covers activities which may expose workers to construction dust, which includes silica dust from working on concrete and mortar. Source: hse.gov.uk

What you get

  • Places on the course at £22.50 a place, the whole price
  • A certificate for each person who passes, with a QR code anyone can scan to check it
  • A page showing who has passed
  • A practical sign-off sheet for each person, pre-filled with their details, for you to complete on your own machines
  • A written authorisation section on the sheet that names the machines each person may use

£22.50 a place is the whole price. It costs the same for one place or fifty.

The lessons

  1. Why a wheel is dangerous, and what the law asks3 min
  2. Wheels and discs: which is which3 min
  3. The speed check before you fit a wheel3 min
  4. Storing, handling and checking a wheel3 min
  5. Fitting a wheel4 min
  6. Guards, work rests and bench grinders3 min
  7. Using a Stihl saw or angle grinder3 min
  8. Dust: cutting concrete, brick and stone3 min
  9. Hands and ears: vibration and noise2 min
  10. Eyes, clothing, stopping work and your sign-off3 min

Read the first lesson free

Free preview

Why a wheel is dangerous, and what the law asks

An abrasive wheel is a disc of grit held together with glass or resin, spinning very fast. It wears away as you work. HSE says the risk of breakage is in every wheel.

When one bursts, the pieces leave at speed. HSE's guide says a piece from a wheel running at 35 metres a second moves at 80 mph. From a wheel running at 125 metres a second, it moves at 280 mph.

HSE also says nearly half of all accidents with abrasive wheels come from an unsafe way of working or someone getting it wrong. That is what this course is about: how you set up and use the wheel.

What the law says

The main rules are PUWER 1998, the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations. HSE's guide HSG17 explains how they apply to abrasive wheels.

  • Your employer must make sure everyone who uses work equipment has had adequate training.
  • Where a machine carries a specific risk, only people given the task may use it.
  • The equipment has to suit the job and be kept in good repair.
  • Dangerous parts have to be guarded, and the guard must not be easy to bypass.

How this course works

You do the lessons on your phone, in bits of a few minutes. Then you take a test. The test is marked automatically. It has 15 questions and you need 12 right. If you miss, it tells you which lessons to read again, and you can sit it again as often as you like.

Pass it and you get a certificate with a QR code. The certificate shows you did the course and passed the test. Anyone can scan the code to check it is real.

Your boss then watches you work on the firm's own grinder or saw and decides, in writing, which machines you are authorised to use and whether you may fit wheels. That part cannot be done online. If you run the firm yourself, that job is yours. Work through the sheet on your own machines and write down what you are authorised to use.

Practice question

You have passed the online test. Who decides which machines you may use?

Questions

How long does it take?

About 30 minutes in all, including the test. It is in ten short lessons of a few minutes each, so people can do a bit at a time. The test has 15 questions.

What is the certificate?

It shows the person completed the online course and passed the test. It carries a QR code. It is evidence you can keep on file alongside your practical sign-off.

How does the practical part work?

The online course cannot watch anyone use a machine. You watch each person on your own grinders and saws, tick the checks on the sheet, and authorise them in writing for the machines they may use and whether they may fit wheels.

Can staff do it on a phone?

Yes. It is written for a phone screen, and each person uses their own phone. The lessons are short, so they fit into a break.

How can anyone check a certificate?

Scan the QR code on it. It opens a page that confirms the certificate is genuine.

What if someone fails the test?

They are told which lessons to re-read, and they can sit the test again. Each attempt draws its questions again from a larger bank. There is no limit on retakes.

What if someone loses their link?

They can ask for it again by email on the "Lost my link" page, as long as they gave an email address when they started.

Ready?

£22.50 a place, the whole price

This is PHW training with a certificate of completion. It is not an accredited qualification, so it is for you to decide whether it is enough for your business.