Manufacturing & Engineering UK-wide

Which machinery and equipment manufacturing regulations apply to your business

Manufacturing machinery and equipment — engines, pumps, machine tools, lifting and handling equipment, agricultural machinery and industrial plant — shares a workplace-safety foundation, then carries a heavy set of product-conformity duties before anything reaches the market.

Guide summary

You must run a safe factory under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Then, before you sell any machinery or equipment, you must meet product conformity rules – for example, machinery safety, electromagnetic compatibility, pressure equipment, lifts, and agricultural vehicles. Use the official checklist to make sure you have covered everything.

  • Follow the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 duties for your factory
  • Check each product against its conformity or type-approval rules before selling
  • Apply rules for machinery safety, EMC, pressure equipment, lifts
  • Also check rules for agricultural vehicles, engines, food-contact materials
  • Use the HSE or HSENI regulator in Great Britain or Northern Ireland
  • Penalties for health and safety failures: unlimited fines and up to 2 years in prison
  • Finish with the manufacturer compliance checklist before you sell
  • Keep records of your risk assessments and conformity checks
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Machinery and equipment manufacturing — engines, turbines, pumps, compressors, bearings, lifting gear, agricultural machinery, machine tools and industrial plant — is process-intensive and heavily regulated. The workplace health and safety duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 apply to you. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulates in Great Britain and HSENI in Northern Ireland. What sets this sector apart is the weight of product-conformity law: almost everything you make must meet a conformity or type-approval regime before you can place it on the market.

What you need to do

  1. 1

    Run a safe factory and employ people

    Whatever you make, start with the universal spine. Follow "Set up and run a safe machinery factory" for your health and safety, COSHH controls, work equipment, manual handling, fire safety, insurance, equality and data protection duties.

  2. 2

    Place your machinery and equipment on the market

    Conformity and type approval for what you make — machinery safety, electromagnetic compatibility, pressure equipment and simple pressure vessels, lifts, agricultural and forestry vehicles, non-road mobile machinery engines, general product safety, and food-contact materials for food-processing machinery. Follow "Place machinery and equipment on the market".

  3. 3

    Confirm you have covered everything

    Finish with the machinery and equipment manufacturer compliance checklist to confirm your obligations are met before you sell.

Official sources

Authoritative starting points for machinery and equipment manufacturing.