Whoever fits the disc (the abrasive wheel) on your Stihl saw or angle grinder needs adequate training, and making sure they have it is the employer's duty. PHW trains and assesses your operators on your own saws and grinders, on your own site.
Stihl saws on kerbs, block paving and slabs. Angle grinders on steelwork, box profile cladding and guttering. Bench grinders in garages, fabrication shops and stone workshops.
Every employer has to make sure that anyone who uses work equipment has received adequate training. For abrasive wheels, HSE guidance says wheel mounting should be carried out only by an appropriately trained person. On a civils crew, that means whoever changes the disc on the Stihl saw or the angle grinder.
The Abrasive Wheels Regulations 1970 were revoked by the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER). The duty now sits in regulation 9 of PUWER. HSE's guidance on abrasive wheels, HSG17 (Safety in the use of abrasive wheels), also recommends keeping a record of the mounting training, with the trainee's name and the date.
Cutting and grinding also bring in the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) for respirable crystalline silica, the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, and the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 for hand-arm vibration from the tool.
Two checks from HSG17 apply straight away to a petrol Stihl saw:
The duty to ensure adequate training under PUWER 1998 regulation 9 stays with the employer, and in practice the employer authorises each operator in writing. The certificate, unit credit, records and site evidence statement are the evidence the employer relies on for that decision.
Abrasive wheels document pack: written authorisation, risk assessment and safe system of work →
Theory and practical assessment, carried out on your own saws and grinders, on your own site. Cutting concrete, block or masonry puts respirable crystalline silica in the air, so wheel selection and dust control on the cut are covered alongside mounting, guarding and speed checks.
In plain terms: a certificate and a QR code for each operator, the test and practical records, and a statement for you to keep with your written authorisation.
Construction and civils: the film, the cases and a one-minute check are one tap away.
Grinders also turn up in garages and workshops, manufacturing and engineering, stone and worktops and goods in and goods out.
Up to four of your people assessed for competence in one day, on your own site and machines, with minimum downtime. Plus a written safe-system pack for each topic.
Tell us which saws and grinders you run, how many people use them and the site postcode, and we will come back with a quote and dates.
PHW has certificated thousands of candidates nationwide, for multinationals and small firms alike.