Manchester United | DSEAR Risk Assessment & Hazardous Area Classification

Like most organisations, Manchester United uses a range of flammable substances in its day-to-day operations. From paints and solvents to fuels used for maintenance equipment, these materials are essential to keeping its facilities running.

An existing DSEAR risk assessment had identified extensive hazardous areas within several workshops and maintenance areas, leading to recommendations for specialist explosion-protected electrical equipment.

Milaco Engineering was initially contacted by an electrical contractor to install and inspect hazardous area lighting.

However, before proceeding, we wanted to understand why these areas had been classified and whether the proposed installations were genuinely necessary.

With experience across power generation, chemical processing and other high-risk industrial environments, we recognised that the extent of some classifications warranted a closer look.

Manchester United subsequently commissioned us to undertake DSEAR risk assessments and review hazardous area classifications across Old Trafford, Carrington Training Ground and The Cliff.

Rather than simply accepting the existing classifications, we assessed how the substances were being used and stored, the quantities involved, the available ventilation and the likelihood of a flammable atmosphere developing.

One important consideration was the difference between commonly used fuels.

Petrol and diesel are often grouped together because they are both fuels, but their flammability characteristics are very different. Petrol readily produces flammable vapours at normal ambient temperatures, whereas diesel has a much higher flash point and generally presents a lower vapour ignition risk under comparable storage conditions.

Understanding these differences, alongside the quantities and storage conditions, is essential when determining whether hazardous area classification is required.

Our review identified areas where the existing hazardous zones were more extensive than the assessed risks justified.

In addition to refining the classifications, we worked with Manchester United to establish practical procedures covering:

• Storage quantities: Defining appropriate limits on the amounts of flammable substances held in different areas.
• Storage locations: Identifying where particular substances could be safely stored and where dedicated storage was required.
• Substance management: Distinguishing between materials with different flammability characteristics rather than treating every product in the same way.
• Operational controls: Introducing procedures to help staff manage flammable substances consistently during everyday activities.
• Specialist storage: Identifying suitable solutions for additional flammable storage requirements, including introducing a specialist storage unit supplier.

These measures allowed us to address the risks at source, rather than relying on extensive hazardous area electrical modifications.

The result was more than a revised DSEAR risk assessment.

By applying specialist knowledge and taking the time to understand how Manchester United operated, we helped avoid significant unnecessary expenditure on explosion-protected electrical installations that would not, in the circumstances assessed, have delivered a corresponding improvement in safety.

We also helped reduce the disruption and time that would have been associated with carrying out those installations.

More importantly, Manchester United was left with clearer hazardous area classifications and practical procedures for controlling how much flammable material could be stored, what could be stored together and where it could be kept.

These weren't simply recommendations for a report. They provided a framework that could be used in everyday operations and applied to future storage decisions.

The project delivered:

Avoided Unnecessary Costs
Reduced the need for specialist hazardous area electrical installations where the assessed conditions did not justify them.

More Accurate Hazardous Area Classifications
Refined existing classifications to reflect the actual substances, quantities, ventilation and potential sources of release.

Improved Flammable Storage Management
Established practical controls for storage quantities, locations and different types of flammable substances.

Reduced Operational Disruption
Avoided installation work and associated downtime that would have offered little additional safety benefit.

Long-Term Value
Provided procedures and guidance that Manchester United could continue using to manage flammable substances and support future decisions.

The Milaco Difference

This project is a good example of how we approach our work.

We were originally asked to install hazardous area lighting. We could have completed the installation, inspected the equipment and moved on.

Instead, we asked whether it was needed.

That question led to a wider assessment, a more appropriate solution and procedures that could continue providing value long after our involvement.

Our experience has taught us that good engineering isn't always about adding more equipment, creating more work or producing more complicated solutions.

Sometimes it's about understanding the problem well enough to avoid unnecessary work altogether.

For Manchester United, that meant avoiding unnecessary costs while improving how flammable substances were managed across its facilities.

That's the kind of value we aim to bring to every project.