| Regulation | Duty |
|---|---|
| Regulation 4 | Equipment suitable for its purpose and the conditions it is used in |
| Regulation 5 | Maintained in efficient working order; maintenance log kept up to date |
| Regulation 6 | Inspected where safety depends on installation or deterioration; results recorded |
| Regulation 7 | Use restricted to designated people where there are specific risks |
| Regulations 8 and 9 | Information, instruction and training for users and supervisors |
| Regulations 11 to 19 | Guarding, protection against hazards, controls, emergency stops and isolation |
| Regulation 22 | Maintenance carried out safely, with the equipment shut down where practicable |
Is a PUWER risk assessment a legal requirement?
Yes, though the duty to assess comes from the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, which require every employer to assess the risks of their work. PUWER sets what that assessment has to lead to for work equipment: equipment suitable for its use, inspection intervals where it can deteriorate, restrictions on who uses it where the risks call for it, and the right guarding and controls. In practice, a PUWER risk assessment is the written record of that thinking for each item or type of equipment.
What does a PUWER risk assessment cover?
A general workplace risk assessment isn't enough on its own. Meeting PUWER means the specific risks presented by each piece of equipment — guarding, controls, stability, ergonomics — are assessed and addressed before it's put into use.
What maintenance does PUWER require?
Regulation 5 requires work equipment to be maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair. That means planned maintenance to the manufacturer's instructions, not just repairs when something breaks. Regulation 22 adds that maintenance should be done with the equipment shut down where reasonably practicable, and otherwise with measures to protect the person doing it.
What maintenance records are needed?
Regulation 5 also requires any maintenance log to be kept up to date, and in practice you need to be able to demonstrate the maintenance as well as do it. A maintenance log showing service dates, work carried out and outstanding actions is the practical evidence an HSE or local authority inspector, or an insurer, will ask to see.
What training does PUWER require?
Regulation 8 requires the people who use work equipment to have adequate health and safety information and, where appropriate, written instructions, and Regulation 9 requires them to have adequate training, including on the specific risks of the equipment and the precautions to take.
When should the assessment be reviewed?
When the equipment is modified, moved, used for a different job or by different people, after an accident or near miss involving it, and when an inspection finds something the assessment did not foresee. A regular review, often yearly, catches the changes nobody thought to report.
How does this fit with LOLER?
A clean LOLER Thorough Examination report is not the same as PUWER compliance. Duty-holders should treat the two as a matched pair — LOLER's periodic statutory examination, and PUWER's ongoing maintenance, training and risk-assessment discipline in between.
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.