Safe use of electric drills

Portable electric drills are useful tools and, with care, they can be among the safest. But electric drills can be dangerous if not handled carefully.

Managing the risks

To help you identify the hazards associated with the use of electric drills and the appropriate ways of controlling them, use our example Risk Assessment - Safe use of Electric Drills. It covers the generic hazards associated with this type of activity and suggests control measures to reduce risks to an acceptable level.

Note. If you intend on using an electric drill whilst working above ground level then also refer to our Risk Assessment - Working at Height.

You should ensure your document only addresses “significant” hazards, i.e. any that could, and more importantly are likely to, cause an accident or injury.

Make your instructions clear

Don’t include activities in your document that simply don’t need to be there. Work to the principle that if there is any chance of your staff being unaware of the safe way of doing something, then you will need to make it clear in your document. Finally, always ensure any control measures you identify and follow only go so far “as is reasonably practicable”.

Note. The list of potential hazards is not exhaustive. However, for your risk assessment to be considered suitable and sufficient in the eyes of the law it must accurately reflect the “significant” hazards found in your workplace.