ABSTRACT
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 welders have a responsibility to take reasonable care for their safety and that of others by cooperating with safety requirements. Personal protection for welder is most important, apart from most obvious dangers of burns, stray sparks and falling objects, the arc gives off ultraviolet and infrared rays. Many types of eye protection are available in the form of spectacles, goggles, face visors, clear glasses for use with welding helmets/shields, etc. As a welder working from such platforms, extra care must be taken to avoid even the slightest risk of electric shock. BS499 is a comprehensive document which lists all the weld symbols and their graphical shape, the symbols being common to all welding processes. Magnetic particle examination uses a magnet to magnetise the area to be examined, e.g. the weld area. Impact tests involve the fracture of a previously notched test piece. Welders may experience many qualification tests during their career.
