QENM3-003

Working Efficiently and Effectively in

Engineering
By Jordan Leah

1. Before I commence the preparation and tidying of my work area

I must firstly perform some inspections of the area to ensure that
it is safe to approach and begin working in the area. First I will
visually inspect the area to ensure no dangerous objects are in the
area. These could include sharp objects, moving objects and
unstable objects. Then I will visually inspect the condition of the
floor to ensure no slip or trip hazards are in the work area.

2. Equipment that is used to protect yourself is known as personal

protective equipment or PPE for short. This equipment is the last
line of defence against a hazard. Correct use of such equipment is:
ensure the piece of PPE is in good working condition and not
damaged, ensure the piece of PPE is working according to
regulations given, ensure the piece of PPE is worn correctly and at
all times. PPE can include overalls which are tough and help
prevent the person from natural hazards. Goggles can prevent any
damage to the eyes that is caused by flying particles.

3. To ensure all documentation is current prior to the work being

carried out I must inspect the work being completed against the
documentation already present for the specific piece of work, I
must ensure all the health and safety aspects are completed to
ensure I can complete the job safely. Documentation should
include permits to work, health and safety inspections including
risk assessments and warning signs in the area. The permits to
work will include hot working permits where sparks will be caused
as an event of the work. Risk assessments will be made prior to
the work being carries out and should contain a risk score to
determine if all possible actions of prevention have been carried
out.
QENM3-003

4. If documentation is incomplete or incorrect then I must ensure

that it is correct and complete before work is carried out, this is to
ensure that proper safe practices are maintained during the job
that is being undertaken. The documentation should be given
back to the relevant person involved who created the
documentation and they should amend it to correct any mistakes
made on it. It should then be signed by the relevant people to
display that it is correct and up to date in order to carry out the
work.

5. To ensure all tools are available prior to undertaking the activity

firstly the work required must be surveyed to identify what tools
are required for the job, next the tools must be located and
moved to the work area, if any tools are missing or not owned
then they must be purchased and made available before
commencing the job. Tools that are needed should be marked and
checked under a stock taking procedure every 6 months to ensure
these tools haven’t been stolen or lost during the time.

6. Before commencing the activity all the tools must be checked to

ensure they are in working order to carry out the job correctly to
the highest standard. To check these tools a visual inspection
must firstly be carried out, this is to look for any broken parts to
the tool, any sharp edges that could cause hazard to the person
using the tool, any loose handles or missing protection must be
replaced also. With electrical tools and digital tools a calibration of
the tool must be checked also, this can be done by simply using a
standardised source of power and testing the meter reads the
correct value, when checking calibration of a tool an up to date
calibration certificate must be present too, and if this certificate is
out of date the instrument should be sent off for recalibration to a
certified body.
QENM3-003

7. If a tool is not in correct working order then it must be fixed

before commencing a job, if the tool can be fixed then that action
can be taken, but the most sensible and safe option is to order a
new tool to replace it, that way you can be sure the tool won’t
break during the job and no harm will come to the person using
the tool. In the case of testers such as multimeters then they
should be sent off for recalibration.

8. Before commencing the job, the materials required to

commence the job must be sourced and must fit the regulations
of the job that is being carried out, to ensure that the material for
the job is correct it is best practice when replacing a part to a
machine that the materials are the same as the ones that have
been taken off, this is so the machine can run correctly as it did
before.

9. If the materials do not meet the requirements of the activity you

must not modify them, instead you must buy the correct materials
that will meet the requirements of the job and will ensure the
highest standard of work is achieved and maintain safety of the
machine the work is carried out on. This is most commonly seen in
places of metal retrofitting where an aluminium part is used to
replace a steel part, this can cause side effects as aluminium is not
as strong as steel.

10. When a job or activity is completed a number of people must be

informed so the area that the work was carried out in can return
to production, these people are; Maintenance manager, who will
then confirm the work was carried out to high standards and the
Production manager, who can then organise the production that
will be carried out on the newly maintained machine.
QENM3-003

11. When a job has been completed a job sheet must be filled out,
this will give details of the time the machine became un-
operational, details of the fault on the machine, time the
maintenance was started, repair details, time taken for the repair
and total downtime, along with any parts used and any extra
information that may be needed to take action and prevent the
breakdown happening again. This document will be signed by the
person who carried out the maintenance work to ensure they
have given it their approval of quality, this can also help if the
machine faults again who to go to in order to repair it again. A
managers signature should be present to ensure they are also
happy that the machine is fully operational and is hazard free.

12. Materials that can be reused include; metal parts that haven’t
been worn down or damaged, these are most commonly steel
parts as steel is a very hard metal that is tough to break. Also any
plastic parts that haven’t become damaged can be re-used or
recycled and made into other parts for use in other areas.
Equipment that can be reused include cables that are not
damaged or broken including extension leads, these cables should
be checked thoroughly for breakages and any damaged areas of
insulation.

13. In the case of materials such as tin cans, plastics, cardboard and
paper these materials can all be put in a recycling bin and sent off
to be recycled. Any other solid materials have to be put in general
waste and disposed of in a landfill site. In the example of
hazardous substances which are mainly liquids these must be
disposed of in another way in which isn’t harmful to the
environment.
QENM3-003

14. Engineering tools and equipment should all be stored in the

same place so they are easily accessible to the engineer who
needs to use them on a job. These are often in a workshop if there
is one on site. If not tools should often be kept in a tool bag which
the engineer can carry with them to each job. Materials such as
cables are often kept on wheels or drums to make them easy to
transport and easy to use.

15. It is important to make recommendations and come up with

new ideas to improve working practices, this is because it will
ensure the practices undertaken become continuously safer and
more efficient with new ideas, this means each working practiced
and standard operation will be more up to date and safe to
prevent accident or damage during the procedure.

16. When suggesting improvements the best way is to write down

the procedures you did when carrying out the job in a list form
with images to support the suggestion. This will make it easier to
explain the new improvement and it will also help others follow
the improvement when trying to replicate it again.

17. If improvements are identified then companies can continue to

advance in innovations in their technologies. When an
improvement is identified it will help the company undertake their
operations more efficiently and ensure that they are ahead in
innovations in their specific sector. Improvements can be made in
all areas of work, most improvements can be made in
housekeeping and cleanliness, this is known in industry as a 5S
approach, which sees people undertake general tidying jobs to
ensure the place of work is clean and tidy and all things are in the
correct place.
QENM3-003

18. When in the workplace it is vital to maintain healthy working

relationships with everyone, this is because you will be seeing
them for 8 hours a day and sometimes more, you need to be able
to rely on them to do a good job to allow you to do yours well
also. If your working relationships aren’t healthy then it will
become hard to work with colleagues on a day to day basis.

19. When someone is negatively affecting working relationships,

they may be discriminating against you or bullying you, they must
be reported to a manager or someone more senior than you and
they must be disciplined to ensure that the behaviour won’t
happen again.

20. There are many difficulties that can occur in working

relationships,Difficulties can involve a difference of opinion on a
job which can then lead to arguments and clashes this can be
work related where colleagues think of different ways to solve a
problem, or this can happen outside work where they fight and
argue about personal things. Difficulties can occur when someone
is hostile with a colleague because they don’t like them this can
happen if a person is offended by their colleague and doesn’t
forgive them, and the easiest way to solve this is to apologise.

21.The Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination in employment on

the grounds of any of the following protected characteristics: age,
disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership,
pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual
orientation. Staff are protected in all aspects of the employment
relationship, which includes: recruitment and selection,
employment terms and conditions, promotion, transfers, access to
benefits, appraisal/annual review, assessment of performance,
dismissal and post-termination.
QENM3-003

22. For employees, continuous professional development (CPD)

helps them keep their knowledge and skills up-to-date. It also
ensures that the professional standard of their qualifications and
registrations is maintained. Furthermore, it contributes to their
professional sense of direction, keeping their interest in their
subject of work fresh and current, also helping to maintain the
same drive and determination to be the best they can be.

23. In the workplace there are many different ways to gain training.
For example, External qualifications which include long term
courses that further education whilst still at work, these include a
HNC or degree to further education. External courses can be full
time training courses that can last for a few days, these are usually
basic courses such as first aid or basic knowledge courses.

24. It is important to constantly review training and development to

ensure that targets are met and constant development is achieved
to ensure that the trainee or apprentice is constantly improving to
be the best they can be at their job. A review should be done
every 3 months quarterly in a year, and in a review the activities
undertaken in the last few months will be discussed, this will
ensure the employee is developing well and in the speed desired
by the employers.

25. Development and training issues should be reported to the

employer or boss of the trainee, telling them about issues will
help them resolve these issues in the best possible way, this can
include putting a training course on to enhance knowledge, or
simply helping with the task to ensure they can do the job better
the next time around.
QENM3-003

26. If there are problems in the work area that cannot be resolved
they must report it to their employer, this will allow the employer
who has more experience in the field to resolve the issue
professionally and correctly. The employee must watch whilst the
issue is resolved and make notes or learn how to deal with the
situation if it occurs in the future.