Comply with work equipment safety regulations (PUWER)

What PUWER requires and who it applies to

The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) is one of the most widely applicable sets of health and safety regulations in Great Britain. It applies to every employer in every sector that uses any form of work equipment, from a simple hand drill to a CNC machine, from a commercial kitchen mixer to a hydraulic press.

If your employees use equipment to do their work, PUWER applies to you. There is no exemption based on business size or sector.

PUWER requires you to ensure that all work equipment is:

• Suitable for its intended use
• Safe for use, properly maintained and inspected
• Used only by people who have received adequate training and information
• Fitted with appropriate safety measures including guards, controls and warnings

What counts as work equipment

PUWER defines work equipment very broadly. It includes any machinery, appliance, apparatus, tool or installation used at work. This covers:

• hand tools such as hammers, screwdrivers, knives and chisels
• power tools such as drills, grinders, saws and routers
• fixed machinery such as lathes, milling machines, presses and conveyors
• vehicles used as work equipment, such as forklift trucks and dumpers, but not vehicles used only on public roads
• lifting equipment such as cranes and hoists, which LOLER 1998 also covers
• process plant such as chemical reactors, ovens and furnaces
• office equipment such as paper shredders and guillotines
• catering equipment such as mixers, slicers, ovens and deep fat fryers
• agricultural machinery such as tractors, combine harvesters and ATVs
• scaffolding and ladders provided for use at work

The key test is whether the equipment is provided for use or used at work. Equipment brought in by employees (such as their own hand tools) is also covered if you allow its use.

Suitability (Regulation 4)

Work equipment must be suitable for the purpose for which it is used or provided. Suitability means:

• The equipment is suitable by design, construction or adaptation for the actual work being done
• You have considered the working conditions and risks in the place where it will be used
• The equipment is used only for operations and under conditions for which it is suitable

Before purchasing or deploying equipment, consider whether it is appropriate for the task, the environment (wet, dusty, confined), and the workers who will use it. Using equipment for tasks it was not designed for breaches this duty.

Maintenance (Regulation 5)

All work equipment must be maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair. This means:

• Establishing a planned preventive maintenance schedule based on manufacturer recommendations and operating conditions
• Keeping a maintenance log for each piece of equipment
• Ensuring maintenance is carried out by competent persons
• Taking equipment out of use if it develops faults until it is repaired
• Maintaining safety-critical parts (guards, interlocks, brakes, emergency stops) to the same standard as operating parts

A maintenance regime must be appropriate to the level of risk. High-risk equipment requires more frequent and thorough maintenance than low-risk items.

Inspection (Regulation 6)

Where the safety of work equipment depends on the installation conditions or where it is liable to deterioration, you must arrange inspections:

When to inspect

You must determine suitable inspection intervals based on the type of equipment, the conditions in which it is used, and how heavily it is used. Consider:

• the manufacturer's recommended inspection intervals
• how intensively it is used: equipment used continuously needs more frequent inspection than equipment used occasionally
• the working environment: wet, dusty or corrosive conditions speed up deterioration
• its age and condition
• its history of faults

In addition to formal inspections, encourage operators to carry out daily or pre-use visual checks before operating equipment. These informal checks catch many problems early.

Guarding dangerous parts (Regulations 11-12)

This is one of the most important PUWER requirements. Employers must take effective measures to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery and to protect against other specified hazards.

What makes guarding effective

Guards and protection devices must meet these requirements:

• They must be strong enough to withstand foreseeable impacts and stresses.
• Workers must not be able to reach around, over, under or through them, or easily bypass them.
• They must not introduce new trapping points or sharp edges.
• Where a guard must be removed for maintenance, an interlock should stop the machine running.
• They must be inspected regularly and repaired or replaced when damaged.

Removing or disabling machine guards is one of the leading causes of workplace amputations and fatalities. HSE treats guard removal as a very serious matter. If you discover workers have removed or bypassed guards, you must act immediately to stop work, reinstall the guards, investigate why they were removed, and address the root cause.

Controls and emergency stops (Regulations 14-18)

PUWER sets detailed requirements for equipment controls:

• Equipment must not start, or make a significant change in operating conditions, unless the operator deliberately operates a control. After a stoppage, it must not restart automatically unless this is safe by design (regulation 14).
• Every piece of equipment must have a readily accessible stop control that brings it safely to a complete stop (regulation 15).
• Where there is a risk of danger from equipment, you must provide a readily accessible emergency stop that brings it to rest as quickly as possible. These are typically red mushroom-head push buttons on a yellow background (regulation 16).
• Controls must be clearly visible, identifiable and positioned to avoid accidental operation (regulation 17).
• Control systems must be safe, operate as intended, and be designed so that a failure does not create danger (regulation 18).

Stability, lighting and other requirements (Regulations 19-24)

PUWER also requires that:

• equipment is stabilised by clamping or otherwise so it cannot move in a way that could cause injury (regulation 20)
• there is adequate lighting where equipment is used, maintained or inspected (regulation 21)
• equipment can be maintained safely while shut down, or that other measures protect maintenance workers (regulation 22)
• equipment is clearly marked with warnings and information relevant to safe use, including any conditions of use (regulation 23)
• equipment has visual or audible warnings or warning devices where risks cannot be adequately controlled by other means (regulation 24)

Information, instructions and training (Regulations 8 and 9)

Everyone who uses, supervises or manages the use of work equipment must receive adequate information and instructions (regulation 8) and adequate training (regulation 9):

What training must cover

Training must be tailored to the specific equipment and must include:

• how to start, operate and stop the equipment safely
• what can go wrong and the consequences
• how guards, interlocks, emergency stops and controls work
• emergency procedures and how to report faults
• who is authorised to use the equipment and under what conditions
• pre-use checks and reporting defects

Keep records of who has been trained, when, on what equipment, and by whom. This is essential evidence of compliance.

How to achieve PUWER compliance

PUWER and other regulations

PUWER works alongside other equipment-specific regulations. You may need to comply with additional requirements depending on the type of equipment:

• lifting equipment needs thorough examination at statutory intervals (6 or 12 months) under the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER)
• pressure systems need a written scheme of examination under the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000
• electrical equipment must meet the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989
• new machinery must meet essential health and safety requirements and carry CE or UKCA marking under the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008

PUWER provides the baseline requirements that apply to all work equipment. Equipment-specific regulations add requirements on top of PUWER, not instead of it.

Common PUWER compliance failures

HSE inspectors commonly find these issues:

• guards removed or defeated to speed up production or access
• no maintenance regime for safety-critical equipment
• emergency stops that do not work or are not tested regularly
• inadequate training, particularly for new starters and temporary workers
• equipment used outside its design specification
• no pre-use checks
• no inspection records for equipment that needs Regulation 6 inspections
• modifications made without assessing their effect on safety