Welding and Workshop Safety Course

Lesson 1 • Regulatory Safety Frameworks

Covers the structure of occupational safety regulations applicable to welding operations. Students connect regulatory requirements to practical shop-floor obligations.

Lesson 2 • Safety Culture in Welding Shops

Examines how organisational culture shapes safety outcomes in welding environments. Students evaluate behaviours that reinforce or undermine a safe workplace.

Lesson 3 • Welding Hazard Categories Overview

Introduces the four primary hazard types in welding: thermal, chemical, electrical, and physical. Provides the classification framework used throughout the course.

Lesson 1 • Hearing Protection in Welding

Examines noise sources in welding shops and the noise reduction ratings needed for adequate protection. Students calculate exposure duration limits with and without protection.

Lesson 2 • Body and Skin Protection

Addresses flame-resistant clothing, leather gloves, and footwear requirements for welding operations. Students evaluate garment ratings against spark and spatter exposure.

Lesson 3 • Respiratory Protection Fundamentals

Introduces respirator types, filter classifications, and fit-test requirements for welding fume control. Students select appropriate respirators based on contaminant type.

Lesson 4 • PPE Inspection and Maintenance

Establishes inspection routines and replacement criteria for all welding PPE categories. Students identify defects that render equipment unsafe for use.

Lesson 1 • Confined Space Ventilation Challenges

Examines the elevated fume and oxygen-displacement risks when welding in confined spaces. Students apply specialised ventilation and monitoring protocols for enclosed environments.

Lesson 2 • Exposure Limits and Monitoring

Covers permissible and recommended exposure limits and the air-sampling methods used to verify compliance. Students interpret monitoring data to determine control adequacy.

Lesson 3 • Welding Fume Composition and Risk

Identifies toxic components in welding fumes by base metal and consumable type. Students link specific fume constituents to their health effects.

Lesson 4 • Local Exhaust Ventilation Systems

Explains the design and placement of local exhaust ventilation (LEV) for welding stations. Students evaluate capture velocity and hood positioning for effective fume removal.

Lesson 1 • Fire Suppression Equipment

Covers fire extinguisher classes, placement requirements, and inspection intervals for welding areas. Students select the correct extinguisher type for welding-related fire scenarios.

Lesson 2 • Ignition Sources in Welding

Catalogues the ignition sources produced by welding processes, including sparks, spatter, and radiant heat. Students map ignition risk zones around a welding station.

Lesson 3 • Explosive Atmosphere Management

Addresses gas accumulation, explosive concentration ranges, and detection methods for welding environments. Students apply pre-work atmospheric testing before igniting any arc or flame.

Lesson 4 • Hot Work Permit Systems

Explains the purpose, components, and authorisation process of a hot work permit. Students complete a permit form and identify conditions that require permit denial.

Lesson 1 • Welding Machine Grounding

Covers proper work-lead connection, equipment grounding, and ground fault protection for welding machines. Students identify grounding errors that create shock exposure.

Lesson 2 • Electrical Shock Physiology and Risk

Explains how electric current affects the human body and the voltage and current thresholds that cause injury or death. Students assess risk factors that increase shock severity.

Lesson 3 • Safe Work Practices for Arc Welding

Establishes behavioural controls that reduce electrical exposure during arc welding operations. Students apply lockout procedures and dry-body practices in simulated scenarios.

Lesson 1 • Cylinder Identification and Labelling

Covers colour coding, valve markings, and label requirements for welding gas cylinders. Students distinguish fuel gases from oxidisers and inert shielding gases by identification features.

Lesson 2 • Cylinder Storage Requirements

Establishes separation distances, securing methods, and environmental conditions for cylinder storage areas. Students design a compliant storage layout for a mixed-gas welding shop.

Lesson 3 • Safe Cylinder Transport and Handling

Covers manual handling techniques, cart use, and prohibited practices when moving cylinders. Students demonstrate safe transport procedures that prevent valve damage and tipping.

Lesson 4 • Regulator and Hose Inspection

Addresses regulator attachment, pressure gauge reading, and hose integrity checks before welding operations. Students identify regulator and hose defects that require equipment removal.

Lesson 1 • Ergonomic and Postural Hazards

Examines musculoskeletal risks from welding postures, repetitive motions, and awkward positions. Students apply ergonomic controls to reduce injury risk at welding stations.

Lesson 2 • Risk Assessment and Scoring

Covers likelihood-consequence matrices and risk scoring methods used to prioritise welding hazards. Students score identified hazards and rank them for control action.

Lesson 3 • Housekeeping and Slip-Trip-Fall Prevention

Addresses floor hazards, cable management, and material storage practices that prevent falls in welding areas. Students audit a workshop layout for slip, trip, and fall risks.

Lesson 4 • Documenting and Communicating Risk

Establishes formats for risk registers, safety data sheets, and hazard communication signage in welding shops. Students create a complete risk register entry for a multi-hazard scenario.

Lesson 1 • Incident Investigation Techniques

Introduces root cause analysis methods applied to welding incidents and near-misses. Students trace causal chains from immediate causes to underlying system failures.

Lesson 2 • Emergency Action Plan Development

Covers the required elements of an emergency action plan for welding facilities, including evacuation routes and assembly points. Students draft a plan for a given shop layout.

Lesson 3 • Fire Response Procedures

Establishes decision criteria for fighting versus evacuating from welding-related fires. Students practice extinguisher use and evacuation triggers in timed simulations.

Lesson 4 • Regulatory Reporting Obligations

Covers the types of incidents that trigger mandatory reporting to safety authorities and the timelines involved. Students identify reportable events from a set of welding incident scenarios.