Who we are
CHASAC is the Castings Health and Safety Advisory Committee. It is the new name for what used to be the Foundries Industry Advisory Committee – FIAC. This is a tripartite group made up of representatives from the UK castings industry, trade unions and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
What we do
The purpose of CHASAC is to provide the casting/foundry industry, via its members, with a forum to identify, review and promote occupational health as well as safety standards within the industry. CHASAC covers issues relevant to the casting industry in all foundry processes including moulding, making investment casting shells, core making, melting, casting, knockout, trimming and finishing and allied activities such as machining and assembly etc.
The committee meets four times each year. Their work can involve the provision of guidance, information and strategies to assist the industry in ensuring the health and safety of its employees, and those who may be affected by its activities.
CHASAC also supports and guides the SHIFT initiative. SHIFT stands for the Safety and Health in Foundries Targets initiative. This is an accident reduction initiative administered by the Cast Metals Federation on behalf of the committee with the objective of minimising health risks to workers and reducing the level of reportable accidents in phase 4 by 25% between 2023 and 2028. SHIFT also seeks to reduce overall accidents from within its membership by 50% within in this phase, as well as helping provide members with information to reduce cases of occupational ill-health as much as possible.
Current work
CHASAC is currently doing work in the following areas:
- Reviewing industry specific guidance
- Using the findings of the Foundries Long Latency Health Risks project to promote good occupational health practices in UK foundries
- Supporting the SHIFT initiative
- Behavioural change in the workplace to reduce accidents
- Mental health in the workplace
- European Social Dialogue on respirable crystalline silica (NePSi)
To see the latest terms of reference for CHASAC please click here
If you are a director of a UK foundry and would like to learn more about the activities of CHASAC and the HSE, along with how membership of the SHIFT safety initiative may help your business with regards to meeting your obligations for protecting the physical safety and occupational health of your employees, please contact the Cast Metals Federation, who are the current secretariat for CHASAC in rotation, by emailing [email protected]