| Regulation | What it requires | Where it goes wrong |
|---|---|---|
| 4 — Suitability | Equipment suitable for the work, the place and the conditions it is actually used in | Equipment bought for one job quietly redeployed to another |
| 5 — Maintenance | Equipment maintained in efficient working order and good repair; maintenance log kept up to date where one exists | A log that stops the month the contract changed |
| 6 — Inspection | Inspection after installation where safety depends on it, and at suitable intervals where equipment can deteriorate dangerously, by a competent person | Assuming LOLER's six or twelve months covers everything — PUWER sets no default |
| 7 — Specific risks | Use and maintenance restricted to designated, trained people where risks are significant | Anyone on shift being allowed to clear a jam |
| 8 and 9 — Information, instruction and training | Adequate health and safety information and, where appropriate, written instructions, and adequate training in use, risks and precautions | Induction signed years ago and never revisited |
| 11 — Dangerous parts of machinery | Guards, protection devices, jigs or other measures to prevent contact with dangerous parts | Guards removed for a rush job and never put back |
| 12 — Specified hazards | Protection against ejected articles, ruptures, overheating, fire and explosion | Chip and swarf ejection treated as untidiness rather than a hazard |
| 14 to 18 — Controls | Start, stop and emergency stop controls, and control systems that fail safely | Emergency stops that are tested at commissioning and never again |
| 19 — Isolation from sources of energy | Means to isolate equipment from every energy source, clearly identifiable | Stored energy — hydraulic, pneumatic, gravity — left out of the isolation procedure |
| 20 to 24 — Stability, lighting, maintenance operations, markings and warnings | Stabilised equipment, suitable lighting, safe maintenance access, and markings and warnings that are visible and understood | Markings painted over, warnings in a language the operator does not read |
| 25 to 30 — Mobile work equipment | Carrying employees safely, roll-over and overturn protection, self-propelled and remote-controlled equipment, drive shafts | Forklift seat restraints treated as optional by custom |
| 31 to 35 — Power presses | Thorough examination of presses, guards and protection devices, inspection of guards, reports and record keeping | Treating a power press like ordinary machinery with no statutory examination |
How often does PUWER require an inspection?
It does not say. Regulation 6 requires inspection after installation where safety depends on how equipment is installed, and at suitable intervals where it is exposed to conditions that could make it dangerous — and leaves the interval to you, informed by risk, manufacturer guidance and how hard the equipment works. That is the single biggest difference from LOLER, and the reason PUWER duties drift: there is no date to miss, so nothing announces that you have missed it.
Is a PUWER inspection the same as a LOLER thorough examination?
No. A thorough examination is a specified statutory examination by a competent person at intervals LOLER sets. A PUWER inspection is a check appropriate to the risk, at intervals you determine. The words get used interchangeably by people selling both, and buying one when you needed the other is a common and expensive mistake.
Which regulation covers guarding?
Regulation 11 — dangerous parts of machinery. It sets a hierarchy: fixed enclosing guards where practicable, then other guards or protection devices, then jigs, holders and push-sticks, and only then information, instruction, training and supervision. Working down that hierarchy because a fixed guard is inconvenient, rather than because it is impracticable, is the usual failure.
What does Regulation 19 actually require?
A means of isolating equipment from every source of energy, clearly identifiable and readily accessible, with reconnection presenting no risk. Electrical isolation is the part everyone does. Stored energy is the part that injures people — hydraulic accumulators, pneumatic lines, raised platforms held up by nothing but a cylinder. A safe isolation procedure accounts for all of it.
Do power presses have their own rules?
Yes. Part IV sets specific duties for power presses and their guards and protection devices — thorough examination, inspection of the guards, reports and record keeping — with the frequency depending on the guarding arrangement. It is the one place PUWER prescribes examination in a way closer to LOLER than to its usual risk-based approach, and it catches people who assume PUWER never sets intervals.
Does PUWER apply to lifting equipment as well as LOLER?
Yes, and this surprises people. All lifting equipment is work equipment, so PUWER's duties on suitability, maintenance, training and controls apply to your lifts and forklifts alongside LOLER's examination duties. LOLER adds requirements for lifting; it does not displace PUWER. A clean thorough examination report does not demonstrate that your PUWER maintenance and training obligations have been met.
Where do duty-holders most often fall short?
Maintenance records and training records, in our experience, far more than guarding. Guarding failures are visible and get fixed. A maintenance log that quietly stopped two contractors ago, or a training file that cannot show who was trained on which machine and when, is invisible until somebody asks — and the person asking is usually an inspector or an insurer.
Sources & Further Reading
Independent inspection, same-day report with photos
We reply within one business hour, and the inspection is carried out by an engineer with hands-on experience of that kind of plant.