Policies for Manufacturing and Engineering Companies

This page is for manufacturers, engineering firms, fabrication workshops and machine shops that need their compliance documentation in order. Policy Pros writes bespoke policies and procedures for UK manufacturing and engineering businesses, from a single COSHH policy to the full document set an HSE inspector or customer auditor expects to see.

Bespoke, audit-ready policies from £65 + VAT per document. Get a quote or call 020 3951 2875 for a free scoping conversation.

Policies Manufacturing and Engineering Companies Need

Legally Required

• Health and Safety Policy - a written policy is required by section 2(3) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 once you have 5 or more employees
• Work Equipment and Machinery Policy - PUWER 1998 requires equipment to be suitable, maintained in efficient working order and used only by trained staff, with any maintenance log kept up to date
• COSHH Policy and Assessments - the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 require exposure to coolants, solvents, dusts and fumes to be assessed and controlled
• Lifting Operations Procedures - LOLER 1998 requires lifting operations to be planned by a competent person, with thorough examination records kept for cranes, hoists and lifting accessories
• Noise at Work Policy - the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 require a noise risk assessment, with action values at 80 and 85 dB(A)
• Hand-Arm Vibration Policy - the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 set an exposure action value of 2.5 m/s² A(8) and a limit value of 5 m/s² A(8) for vibrating tools
• PPE Policy - the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended in 2022) require suitable PPE to be provided free of charge where risks remain after other controls
• Accident Reporting Procedure - RIDDOR 2013 requires specified injuries, occupational diseases and dangerous occurrences to be reported to the HSE

Expected by Regulators and Clients

• Permit-to-Work Procedures - expected by HSE inspectors for hot work, confined space entry and machinery isolation during maintenance (HSE guidance HSG250)
• Quality Policy and QMS Documentation - required for ISO 9001 certification and routinely demanded by supply chain customers and tender assessors
• Environmental Policy - required for ISO 14001 certification and increasingly requested in customer sustainability questionnaires
• Welding and Hot Work Policy - expected by insurers and principal contractors wherever fabrication involves hot work
• Supply Chain Policies - expected by larger customers auditing supplier controls, ethics and continuity of supply

What HSE Inspectors Look For

Manufacturing sites are inspected against machinery guarding, maintenance and hazardous substance controls, and inspectors ask for the paperwork behind each one. That means a current health and safety policy, recorded risk assessments, equipment maintenance records and COSHH assessments that match the substances actually on site.

Under PUWER, work equipment must be kept in an efficient state and in good repair, and maintenance work itself must be carried out safely. If your documents describe a workshop you do not run, an inspection will find the gap quickly, and HSE's Fee for Intervention scheme charges the cost of that inspection back to you.

Noise, Vibration and Health Surveillance

Grinders, presses, saws and impact tools put most workshops past the 80 dB(A) lower action value, which triggers assessment, information and training duties under the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005. At 85 dB(A) you must enforce hearing protection and provide health surveillance where there is a risk to hearing.

Hand-arm vibration follows the same pattern of action and limit values, and our guide to vibration policies covers what the documentation should contain. Where dust or fume is present, a respiratory protective equipment policy usually sits alongside the COSHH controls.

Permits to Work for High-Risk Maintenance

No regulation names a permit-to-work form, but employers must ensure high-risk maintenance is carried out safely, and a permit system is the recognised control for hot work, confined space entry and work on isolated plant. HSE guidance HSG250 sets out what a credible permit system covers, from isolation and gas testing to handback.

Insurers and principal contractors also ask to see permit procedures before fabrication or installation work starts, particularly where welding is involved. A one-page permit form without a written procedure behind it rarely survives that scrutiny.

ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 in the Supply Chain

Larger customers, OEMs and public sector buyers increasingly make ISO 9001 a condition of supplier approval, and tenders score quality documentation directly. Our ISO 9001 documented information guide sets out which documents the standard actually requires, and our quality policy for tenders guide explains what buyers score.

ISO 14001 follows the same commercial logic for environmental management. See our ISO 14001 documents guide for the required set, or our ISO policy writing service if you want the documentation produced for you.

What Policy Pros Delivers

• Bespoke documents written around your actual processes, machinery and substances, not a generic template
• A fixed-price quote before any work starts
• Review rounds included, so the final documents say what you need them to say
• Documents supplied on professionally branded templates, ready to issue

Extremely professional and thorough. The policies were tailored perfectly to our sector and delivered ahead of schedule.

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How to Get Started

Tell us what you make, the size of your team and any customer or accreditation requirements you are working towards. We will scope the documents you actually need and send a fixed-price quote, with no obligation.

Get a quote or call 020 3951 2875 for a free scoping conversation.