Circular Saws & Panel Saws
Guard, riving-knife and braking checks on fixed and mobile circular saws.
Joinery & Timber Trade Compliance
Woodworking Machinery Inspections in London
Independent PUWER 1998 inspection of woodworking machinery in joinery workshops, timber yards and shopfitting sites — guarding, braking performance and safe-use compliance for saws, planers and routing equipment. The written report, with photographs, comes the same day, and we remind you when the next inspection is due.
26+ Years Hands-On Engineering Experience
Independent of Maintenance Contracts
7 Days a Week, 6am to 6pm
Same-Day Reports, With Photos
Inspection overdue or equipment out of compliance? You're exposed to enforcement action, and your insurance may not respond, until it's resolved.
Written and reviewed by Mark Crowley, Director, Integrity Lift Compliance Ltd — 26+ years of hands-on lifting equipment engineering. NHS estates, commercial property and industrial lifting compliance.
Engineering Approach
What our woodworking machinery inspection programme delivers
Independent, defensible inspection by an engineer with deep hands-on plant experience.
- Guard and riving-knife inspection on circular saws, bandsaws and panel saws
- Braking-performance checks against the relevant stopping-time requirement
- Planer and thicknesser bridge-guard and cutter-block inspection
- Dust-extraction interlock verification alongside the mechanical inspection
- Independent written report for your PUWER compliance file
- Practical guidance aligned with HSE Woodworking Information Sheet good practice
What a woodworking machinery inspection covers
Woodworking machines cause some of the worst hand injuries in industry, so the inspection concentrates on guarding and how quickly the tool stops:
- Circular and panel saws: riving knife, crown guard, push sticks and blade condition
- Bandsaws: blade guard, wheel guards and blade tension
- Planers and thicknessers: bridge guard, feed rollers and anti-kickback devices
- Spindle moulders and routers: guarding, tooling and work-holding
- Braking: run-down time after switching off
- Emergency stops and isolation: stop controls and the means of isolating each machine
- Extraction interlocks: that machines cannot run without extraction where interlocked
- Tooling: condition and suitability of blades and cutters
Badly set riving knives and missing bridge guards are the most common findings.
How often to inspect
PUWER 1998 sets no single interval for woodworking machinery. Inspection should be at intervals set by risk assessment, taking account of how much each machine is used, and guards and braking should be checked whenever a machine is set up. HSE guidance expects machines with a long run-down to be braked so they stop within ten seconds.
What is PUWER?What you get after the inspection
A written inspection report identifying the machine, what was checked, any defect with how serious it is and what must be done and by when, and when the next inspection should be. On top of that:
- Same-day report: issued digitally on the day of the inspection, not weeks later
- Photographs: of what was inspected and of any defect, in every report as standard
- Records and reminders: we keep the record on file and remind you before the next one falls due
If anything is not safe to use, you are told in writing before we leave. Because we sell no repairs, a defect on the report is never a quotation in disguise.
Assets We Examine
Asset classes covered under our woodworking machinery inspection programme.
Bandsaws
Blade-guard and wheel-enclosure inspection on vertical and horizontal bandsaws.
Planers & Thicknessers
Bridge-guard and cutter-block inspection on surface and thickness planers.
Spindle Moulders & Routers
Guarding and jig-fence checks on spindle moulders and routing equipment.
Trusted by Critical Estates
Independent. Defensible. Genuinely Endorsed.
SAFed-aligned defect classification, and the endorsement below is a genuine NHS Trust quote — not stock marketing copy.
NHS
NHS
Critical estate passenger lift compliance experience
SK
Skanska
Construction & engineering compliance support
A·B·C
SAFed-Aligned Defect Grading
Defects graded A, B or C to the published SAFed severity scale — a grading standard we follow, not a membership we hold
DBS
Enhanced DBS
Director Mark Crowley holds an enhanced DBS check
NHS Trust Endorsement
“Exceptional response times and thorough documentation. Managing compliance across multiple critical medical estates is complex, but their team makes statutory lift auditing seamless.”
Phillip Nai
Critical Healthcare Estates Manager
Barts Health NHS Trust
Areas We Cover
Independent woodworking machinery inspections across London.
Common Questions
Woodworking Machinery Inspection FAQs
How often should woodworking machinery be inspected?
PUWER sets no single interval. Inspection frequency should be set by risk assessment, taking account of how much each machine is used and the conditions it works in. Guards and braking should be checked whenever a machine is set up.
How quickly must a woodworking machine stop?
HSE guidance expects woodworking machines with a significant run-down time to be fitted with a brake, so the blade or cutter stops within ten seconds of switching off.
What does a woodworking machine inspection check?
Guards and their adjustment, riving knives, braking and run-down time, emergency stops, cutter blocks and tooling, and dust-extraction interlocks.
Can you inspect a whole workshop in one visit?
Yes. We work machine by machine, issue the report the same day, and keep the record for your next round.
Do you check dust extraction?
We check that interlocks between machines and extraction work. The extraction system itself (LEV) needs its own thorough examination and test, which is a separate specialist job.
What happens if a machine fails?
If it is unsafe to use, you are told in writing before we leave. Other defects go on the report with what needs doing.
How soon do I get the report?
The same day, with photographs.
Request a Survey
Tell us what needs inspecting and where. We'll reply within one business hour.
Already have an asset list or examination schedule? Email it to info@integrityliftcompliance.co.uk and we'll come back with a survey plan rather than ask you to retype it.
Survey Request Form
Further reading on woodworking machinery inspections
PUWER Risk Assessment & Maintenance Duties
PUWER 1998 requires work equipment to be suitable for the risks it presents, kept properly maintained and used only by trained operators, and the Management Regulations require those risks to be assessed — obligations that continue even where LOLER's periodic examination has just been completed.
How Often Are PUWER Inspections Required?
PUWER does not set a fixed interval like LOLER's six or twelve months. It requires an inspection where equipment's safety depends on how it is installed, and at suitable intervals where it is exposed to conditions that could cause dangerous deterioration. The interval is set by risk assessment, the result must be recorded, and power presses are the one exception with fixed statutory intervals.
PUWER 1998 Regulation by Regulation
PUWER is broader than LOLER and much less discussed, because almost nobody sells a PUWER inspection the way they sell a thorough examination. It applies to every piece of work equipment you have, it sets no fixed interval for most of it, and it is where guarding, training and isolation duties actually live.
Prefer to talk to an engineer?
07496 873972