The Safety and Health Foundry Targets Initiative (SHIFT) Was Originally Set up by the Cast

The Safety and Health Foundry Targets Initiative (SHIFT) was originally set up by the Cast Metals Federation (CMF)to achieve health and safety improvements across the industry over a five year period (2003-2008) in response to the government’s Revitalising Health and Safety initiative.

Phase 2 of the initiative was launched in March 2012 with participating companies asked to sign up to an accident rate reduction target of 25%. Currently the initiative has over 100 foundries signed up to improving health and safety in the industry.

The initiative is designed, implemented and run by the foundry industry itself through the CMF and the Castings Health and Safety Advisory Committee – CHASAC.It takes existing knowledge on health and safety in the foundries industry along with direct input from HSE and presents it in a user-friendly formthat can be used by industry, focusing on the major causes of accidents and ill health within the industry. SHIFT forum meetings are held 3 times a year and presentations are delivered by industry experts and Specialists from HSE.At the beginning of the initiative SHIFT focused on those areas that statistically caused the most accidents amongst members, and those highlighted by the Revitalising Health & Safety agenda – workplace transport, manual handling, slips and trips.

Over the last few years the initiative has focused more on occupational health issuesincluding Respirable Crystalline Silica and HAVs, providing members with information concerning what the key health issues areand exposure control strategies.

Several member companies volunteered and have taken part in the HSE Long Latency Health risks project and the HSL Strategic Research Project health surveillance study. The long latency project aims to establish what improvements can be practicably made within a foundry and the industry as whole to reduce the cases of work related ill-health.

The CMF and SHIFT members have also taken an active role during the RPE projectproviding feedback to HSE about their interaction with RPE suppliers.

Over the last few years HSE and SHIFT have held 4 Safety and Health Awareness Day events which have covered exposure control strategiessuch as the correct use of local exhaust ventilation and respiratory protective equipment.