Manufacturing & Engineering UK-wide

Set up and run a safe repair and installation business

Repairing, maintaining and installing machinery and equipment — in your own workshop and on customers' sites — carries machinery, electrical, lifting, working-at-height and hazardous-substance risks. Whatever you work on, this is the universal spine. It takes you through your core workplace health and safety duties, control of hazardous substances, work equipment safety, manual handling, fire safety, employers' liability insurance, equality and data protection.

Guide summary

You must meet your general health and safety duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act and control hazardous substances under COSHH. Carry out risk assessments, provide safe systems of work, and train your staff. For hazardous substances, follow the control hierarchy: eliminate, substitute, engineer, administer, or use personal protective equipment. You could face unlimited fines or up to 2 years in prison for breaking the law.

  • Meet your duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
  • Carry out risk assessments for all work activities
  • Provide safe systems of work and supervise your employees
  • Control hazardous substances using the COSHH hierarchy
  • Use ventilation and health surveillance where needed
  • Review COSHH assessments when things change
  • Coordinate with clients and other contractors on site
  • Make sure equipment you repair is safe before returning it
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Related guides in Employment & HR

Repairing, maintaining and installing machinery and equipment is a service business: as well as your own workshop, much of the work happens on the customer's premises, often alongside other trades. That brings machinery, electrical, lifting, working-at-height, confined-space and hazardous-substance risks, and it makes coordination with the site you are working on part of the job. The duties in this guide apply to running the business and employing people, whatever systems you work on. Get this spine in place first, then add the specialist approvals for the kinds of equipment you handle.

Health and safety law here is largely devolved. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the regulator in Great Britain and the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) in Northern Ireland. The underlying duties are equivalent across the UK. Work through the sections below in order.

A. Meet your general health and safety duty

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is the foundation. You must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of your employees and of anyone else affected by your work. For on-site work, that means coordinating with the client and other contractors and making sure equipment you repair or install is safe before it goes back into service. Risk-assess the work, provide safe systems of work, and train and supervise your people.

B. Control hazardous substances (COSHH)

Repair and installation work uses hazardous substances division-wide — solvents and degreasers, cutting fluids, welding fume, paints, lubricants and dust. The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) require you to assess, then prevent or adequately control, exposure. This includes ventilation and health surveillance where the regulations require it. In Northern Ireland the equivalent COSHH (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2003 apply.

C. Keep your work equipment safe (PUWER), and hand equipment back safe

Your own tools, test rigs and workshop machinery must be suitable, properly maintained and adequately guarded under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, with operators trained. Read PUWER with the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) where you use lifting plant. Separately, when you install or repair an article that your customer will use at work, section 6 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires you to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that it is safe and without risks to health when installed. So check and evidence that it is safe before you put it back into service.

D. Manage manual handling

Moving heavy components, machinery, parts and tools during repair and installation is routine and often awkward, so the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 apply. Avoid hazardous manual handling so far as is reasonably practicable. Where you cannot, assess the risk and reduce it through lifting and handling equipment and safe systems of work.

E. Manage fire safety

Hot work, fuels and flammable solvents used in repair raise the fire load in your workshop and on site. The responsible person must carry out a fire risk assessment and maintain fire precautions for the premises you control. They must also follow a hot-work permit system when working on a client's site. The duty is devolved. In England and Wales it is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. In Scotland it is the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006. In Northern Ireland it is the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006.

F. Hold employers' liability insurance

As soon as you employ anyone, you must hold employers' liability compulsory insurance — normally at least £5 million of cover. You must also display or make available the certificate. This is a legal requirement across Great Britain, with an equivalent duty in Northern Ireland.

G. Meet your equality duties

As an employer you must not discriminate against, harass or victimise people because of a protected characteristic. In Great Britain this is governed by the Equality Act 2010. In Northern Ireland separate equality legislation applies, enforced by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.

H. Handle personal data lawfully

If you process personal data — about staff, customers or suppliers, including service records — you must comply with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. In most cases you must also pay the data protection fee to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). This applies UK-wide.

  1. 1

    1. Write your health and safety risk assessments

    Assess workshop and on-site work — machinery, electrical, lifting, working at height and confined spaces. Coordinate with the sites you work on, and put safe systems of work, training and supervision in place under HASAWA 1974.

  2. 2

    2. Put COSHH controls in for your substances

    Assess solvents, degreasers, cutting fluids, welding fume, paints and lubricants. Control exposure with ventilation and health surveillance where COSHH requires it.

  3. 3

    3. Bring your work equipment into a PUWER regime and hand equipment back safe

    Keep your own tools, rigs and workshop machinery maintained, guarded and used by trained operators, with LOLER for lifting plant. Under section 6 of HASAWA 1974, make sure anything you install or repair for use at work is safe before it goes back into service.

  4. 4

    4. Control manual handling and manage fire and hot work

    Reduce hazardous handling of components and machinery. Assess fire risk and operate a hot-work permit system for cutting and welding, under the regime for your nation.

  5. 5

    5. Take out employers' liability insurance and register with the ICO

    Arrange at least £5 million of cover before anyone starts work, and pay the data protection fee unless you are exempt.

What to do next

This spine covers running the business and employing people. On top of it sit the approvals for the specific systems you work on:

Official sources

Authoritative health and safety guidance.