We’re pleased to introduce our fully online course: DSEAR Dust Explosion Risk Assessment Training for Duty Holders.
Combustible dust can ignite with little warning. Routine processes such as conveying, milling, sanding and bagging generate explosive atmospheres from materials as common as wood, flour, sugar and metal. Where those risks go uncontrolled, the consequences can be severe. In practice, many organisations handling combustible dust have assessments that fail to show how critical decisions were reached. Dust accumulations in less visible areas are not recognised as explosion hazards. Ignition sources are not fully considered. Hazardous area classification is oversimplified or poorly documented. The result is an assessment that would not withstand scrutiny at inspection or following an incident.
This IIRSM-approved course gives duty holders a practical, structured framework for assessing combustible dust risk under the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (DSEAR). Across four modules, learners cover what a defensible assessment must include, where decisions are most often missed, and how to document controls clearly. A practical case study follows the full risk assessment process from hazard identification to recording findings.
DSEAR places specific duties on employers and responsible persons. Dangerous substances must be identified, the risk of fire and explosion assessed, hazardous zones classified where required, and suitable controls put in place. Where significant findings exist, they must be recorded and the reasoning behind key decisions must be capable of clear justification.
Those duties extend beyond having an assessment on file. Duty holders must be able to demonstrate that every stage of the process was carried out with sufficient rigour — that hazardous area classification was not simplified to the point of being indefensible, that the full range of ignition sources was considered, and that control measures were selected on a clear and documented basis. When inspectors or investigators ask how a decision was reached, the assessment must provide the answer.
This course builds that capability across teams. It gives duty holders a shared, structured approach to combustible dust risk assessment that is consistent, documented and grounded in the requirements of Regulation 5.
Organisations that complete this training are better placed to:
- Create a consistent approach to identifying, assessing and documenting combustible dust risks across teams
- Justify hazardous area classification and control decisions with greater clarity
- Support compliance with DSEAR, the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
- Reduce the risk of inconsistent decisions in zoning, control measures and equipment selection
- Produce training records that support audits, inspections and principal contractor requirements
This training is ideal for:
- Site managers and operations managers
- Health and safety managers and advisers
- Compliance officers and environmental managers
- Facilities engineers and maintenance managers
- Production managers in dust-generating industries
- Anyone acting as a DSEAR duty holder or responsible person
By the end of this course, trainees will understand:
- What DSEAR requires in workplaces where combustible dust creates a fire or explosion risk
- Which routine processes, materials and workplace conditions are most likely to generate explosive dust atmospheres
- The dangerous substances, release points and ignition sources that must be considered in a thorough dust risk assessment
- How to use dust explosion data to judge hazard severity and support proportionate control decisions
- The DSEAR hierarchy of control as it applies to combustible dust risk and which measures matter most in practice
- How to carry out hazardous area classification, define dust zones correctly and match equipment selection to zone requirements
- How to structure, evaluate and document a DSEAR risk assessment under Regulation 5 so that key decisions are clear and justifiable
- The full dust explosion risk assessment process, applied through a practical workplace case study
For more details about this course, please contact us.
