King Machine Tool
Request a Visit

Tag: compliance

Coolant mist extraction: what the HSE audit will look for in 2026

Posted on by Codeller

The workplace exposure limit for MWF mist is still 1 mg/m³. That has not moved. What has moved is what an HSE inspector will now expect to see on the wall next to the machine.

What's different in 2026

  • LEV thorough examination reports every 14 months, not “annually”. Inspectors are pulling dates now and calculating gaps.
  • Face-fit test records for anyone still relying on RPE, refreshed every two years or after any facial change (weight, dental work, beard).
  • Written scheme of examination for the fluid itself, not just the extractor. That is new for a lot of shops.

Practical fixes

If you inherit a cell with no paperwork, the fastest way to a compliant position is:

  1. Book an LEV test through a P601-competent tester. Two-week lead time is typical.
  2. Move the LEV logbook out of the office drawer and onto the machine. Inspectors want it at the point of use.
  3. Sign off a fluid-management written scheme. A one-pager is fine as long as it names who is doing what, and how often.

The audits we have supported in the last twelve months have all gone well when the paperwork was on the wall, and badly when it was in a file the operator could not find. That is worth more than any spec sheet.

MOD job? What defence contracts expect from your service records

Posted on by Codeller

Defence work used to be about the finished part. Now it is also about the machine that cut it. If a prime cannot see a clean maintenance trail on the equipment, they will find another supplier who can show them one.

What they will ask to see

  • Servicing schedule per machine, with dates, engineer names, and the parts touched.
  • Calibration certificates that trace back to a UKAS-accredited standard, not “we did it in-house”.
  • A list of any interventions in the last twelve months that could have affected geometry, with the ballbar or laser report attached.
  • Fluid management records if the parts are corrosion-sensitive.

What good looks like

The customers who breeze through these audits share three habits:

  1. One logbook per machine, next to the machine, filled in on the day, not the week after.
  2. Service reports scanned to a shared drive within 48 hours of the engineer's visit.
  3. An annual review meeting where the maintenance history is read alongside the production log. If a scrap spike lines up with an unrecorded service call, you find it there, not in an audit.

None of this is expensive. It is just a decision to write things down at the time. On a defence contract, that decision is what keeps you on the list.