We provide expert consultancy advice and test data for organisations wishing to maintain and improve their process safety compliance. Our global reach, unrivalled expertise and multi-sector knowledge, make us the number one safety partner for your safety needs. https://sigma-hse.com/

1. +44 (0)1962 840570 www.sigma-hse.com
Registered Address: Sigma-HSE (UK) Ltd, Unit 2, Moorside Point, Moorside Road, Winchester, Hampshire, SO23 7RX, UK
Registered in England No. 6837763
Services
Dust, Gas and Vapour - Fire & Explosion Testing
Electrostatic Problems & Safety
Process Safety Consultancy
Occupational Safety
Training
Health & Safety
Division
CONSULTANCY
TRAINING
TESTING
Supported Industries
Pharmaceutical
Chemical—Fine—Agro
Energy / Utilities
Oil & Gas
Food Processing
Alcohol and Beverages

2. Process Safety
Sigma-HSE have engineers and technical staff with many years of experience in the field of process safety, providing
consultancy and laboratory data that enable manufacturing plants to operate safely and meet regulatory compliance.
Explosive Atmospheres
Sigma-HSE can provide assistance and support for manufacturing industries that need to be compliant with either:
 ATEX 137 & 95 (Explosive Atmospheres)
 The Chemical Agents Directive (CAD)
 The Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (DSEAR 2002), UK only
All of these directives require manufacturing plants to identify if they are working with hazardous substances that may have a
potentially explosible nature. These could be food products, pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, bulk chemicals, agrochemicals,
personal healthcare products, animal feeds or waste etc..
Sigma HSE can provide test data that can determine whether a material is flammable and if so what test data is required to
ensure a risk assessment can be performed. Typical test data for powders/dusts are:
 Determination as to flammable or not.
 Minimum Ignition Energy (MIE)
 Minimum Ignition Temperature (MIT)
 Layer Ignition Temperature (LIT)
 Explosion Severity, Pmax, Kst and St Class
 Minimum Explosive Concentration (MEC)
 Limiting Oxygen Concentration (LOC)
 Thermal decomposition for the safe drying of powder
 Burning Behaviour, Fire Risk
For gases and vapours;
 Flash Point
 Auto-Ignition Temperature (AIT)
 Flammable Limits (LEL & UEL)
 Heat of Combustion
When flammable materials have been identified on site then our engineer can perform a Hazardous Area Classification (HAC)
exercise and a detailed risk assessment of all operations where known, flammable materials are stored, transferred or used.
Electrostatic Problems and Safety
Electrostatic charge build up, accumulation and discharge can result in a variety of concerns from personnel having shocks to
spark discharges that can ignite a dust cloud or vapour cloud resulting in loss of
equipment, manufacturing down time, injury or even fatality. Sigma-HSE can carry
out an electrostatic assessment and provide test data such as:
 Powder Volume Resistivity
 Charge Relaxation Time for powders, bags, liners etc.
 Volume and Surface Resistivity for bags, liners, gloves etc.
 Liquid Conductivity
Email your enquiry to info@sigma-hse.com
MIT Testing Apparatus
ImagecopyrightANKO

3. Control of Major Hazards (COMAH)
For manufacturing operations that may have either large inventories of hazardous materials or store and use materials on site
which have a specifically high level of risk, then the site may be liable to compliance as a Lower Tier or Upper Tier COMAH site.
COMAH is the UK implementation of the Seveso II directive, soon to be replaced by COMAH 2015 (Seveso III) and would
involve a company following the subsequent guidelines;
For Lower Tier Sites the most important document is the Major Accident Prevention Policy (MAPP) which needs to be available
for the Competent Authority (CA) to review. The MAPP documentation should contain;
 Roles and responsibilities of personnel at all levels involved in the management of the major hazards
 Training of all personnel to ensure awareness of major hazards
 Describe the aims and approach to hazard identification and risk assessment
 Document procedures and instructions for safe operation
 Describe design, implementation and modification of procedures and plant
 Identify Emergency situations including the preparation, test and review of
emergency procedures and how the local public and relevant authorities
would be notified.
 How is compliance measured
 Review and audit
For Upper Tier Sites all of the above must also be implemented but there must also
be;
 A detailed safety report which will include the hazards to the environment
 An on-site emergency plan
 An off-site-emergency plan
 Provision of information to the public, competent authority and other providers
Sigma-HSE engineers can visit the COMAH site and assist the company to ensure compliance by review of all documentation in
place or to assist a company in compiling the necessary documentation. Our Environmental Laboratory can also assist the
company with compliance to the regulatory requirements including analysis of soil or water samples. Please see Environmental
services.
Health & Safety Division
Telephone +44 (0)1962 840570 to discuss your requirements

4. Health & Safety Consultancy
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)
Under COSHH regulations it is necessary to assess all chemicals that are used on the site, no matter what the quantity and to
determine as to whether they are hazardous to the health of people working with them. It is normal to produce data of
substances used on site, to identify any substance that may be hazardous to health and to then place them into hazardous
groups. Our highly skilled engineers can visit the site to discuss what is required and how you proceed through the regulations
to ensure compliance. Once a substance is identified as hazardous to health then the following steps may need to be taken;
 Identify the substance and assess the risks
 Define exposure limits
 Collate Safety Data Sheets (SDS)
 Determine what control measures are in place and if none then provide these measures
 Confirm what Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) is required
 Suggest ways of monitoring the situation and provide health surveillance
 Provide training for staff that handle or work with hazardous substances
 Determine actions to be taken in an emergency
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER)
PUWER requires that for equipment provided for use at work should be:
 Suitable and safe to use with maintenance schedules in place
 Ensure that people using, or involved with the use of the equipment receive adequate training
 Ensure that correct safety measures have been incorporated in the machinery
 Follows guidelines and instructions for use especially with mobile equipment
Our engineers can visit the site, assist you in identifying any equipment that needs to be covered by PUWER, ensure proper
measures are in place for the safe use and maintenance of the equipment and provide training for personnel working with or
involved with the use of the equipment.
Training
Sigma HSE can provide bespoke training packages in all the above areas of concern along with other safety subjects such as
REACH / CLP, SIL, etc. and can focus the training on specific levels of management from operator level through to
management / engineers level.
Environmental
In todays ever changing work place it is becoming more important to consider the environmental
impact of our actions and for some businesses, meeting Environmental Agency (EA) compliance can
require regular testing by a qualified laboratory.
The Environmental Laboratory Ltd (ELAB) can provide UKAS and MCERTS accredited data from your
water, gas and soil samples and stack emissions. For a full list of environmental testing services please
see our service brochure and our current accreditation schedule available from www.elab-uk.co.uk.
For further information on any area of Health or Safety, including process safety then please contact
Sigma-HSE on info@sigma-hse.com or visit our website on www.sigma-hse.com
©2014 Sigma-HSE Ltd
www.sigma-hse.com
Telephone +44 (0)1962 840570