ENGLISH FOR

ENGINEERING STUDENTS

IV. PROCEDURE AND PRECAUTIONS

 COMMUNICATION
COMPETENCE

• Describing health and safety precautions;

• Emphasizing the importance of
precautions;
• Discussing regulations and standards;
• Working with written instructions and
notices
H E A LT H A N D S A F E T Y P R E C AU T I O N S
The key concerns for health and safety are to assess the risks
and hazards by identifying and quantifying the effects so
that appropriate protective measures can be taken.
 Safety Notices :

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

The person in charge of health and safety is trying to explain the rules
and regulations to the new employed workers. Complete what he says by
filling the blanks with the missing expressions.
Choose from: noise, protective, drowsiness, dust, accidents,
smoke, poisonous, fumes, risks, burns, goggles, safety, masks,
plugs

New government regulations mean that we are all required to be more

aware of risks in the workplace. As your supervisors we will provide you
with the necessary ______________ equipment. You have to wear
______________ to protect your eyes when working on the welding
machines. You should also wear ear ______________ because the
______________ from the machines is so high that it could damage your
hearing. There is also a lot of ______________ in the air, so don’t forget to
wear ______________ to stop you breathing it in. You are also personally
responsible for your safety and for preventing ______________ to happen.
We also have a possibility of fire here. Remember that it is extremely
dangerous to ______________ near the chemical storage. That is why, we
have a no-smoking policy not just inside the company but also in its
proximity. I’m sure you are aware that chemicals are very ______________
so they must never enter your mouth. They could cause ______________ if
you get them on your skin. If you forget to put the lid on, ______________
TASK 1. Work with the partner
Match the words (l -8) to the definitions (a-h).

TASK 2. Choose the correct word in each sentence.

 E M P H A S I S I N G T H E I M P O RTA N C E O F P R E C AU T I O N S

Complete the following extracts by underlining the phrases that give the
strongest emphasis

1. Restricted areas are places where a serious danger is present. So it's

essential that these should be kept locked at all times / all the time.
2. Under no circumstances should anyone / Nobody should under any
circumstances be able to access them ...
3. ... it's important that permits are issued each time / every single time
someone enters ...
4. And it's crucial that there's just one / just a single key to each restricted area.
5. Then, while they're working, it's vital / it’s advisable that they keep the key on
them ...
Which of the following phrases give more emphasis than the important,
and which give less?

TASK 4. Work with the partner

Rewrite the following precautions using the phrases in the box to add emphasis
 D I S C U SS I N G R E G U L AT I O N A S A N D S TA N D A R D S

TASK 5.
Complete the following paragraph by underlining the correct words.
TASK 6 :
Complete the following groups of synonyms using the words in bold in TASK 5

legislation obligations compulsory prohibited requirement

permitted stipulated contravene comply with
 INSTRUCTION AND SAFETY NOTICES

The following warning notices are from a guillotine for sheet metal and a
precision weighing device in a manufacturing plant.

TASK 7 :
ln pairs, discuss whether each notice warns of a problem that could injure workers,
damage the machine. or both.
TASK 8. The following extracts are from the instruction manuals of
three of the machines in TASK 7. In pairs, answer the questions (l -4).
4. The machine could be damaged by
the lifting force, and if lifted from
anchor points that are not secure,
could obviously be dropped from a
height as a result.
TASK 9 .
Read the following spoken explanations of the operating precautions for an
industrial blower. Rephrase them as written instructions, making changes
based on the differences between spoken and written language style.
Ideas to change the oral instruction into written instruction :
1. Grammatical differences
2. Use of contractions
3. Difference in words used
.... Serious harm may be caused by foreign
bodies entering the duct, as the unit
contains precision engineered parts
revolving at speed, and is therefore highly
susceptible to damage.
 END ...
SEE YOU NEXT WEEK