Work equipment safety
Every year there are accidents and injuries in the UK from using work equipment, including machinery,
What you need to do
The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) sets out legal requirements for the use of work equipment. If you are responsible for work equipment you must ensure that it is safe by:
- giving consideration to potential health and safety risk prior to
purchasing work equipment - carrying out a risk assessment, to identify and address health and safety hazards arising from its installation, use and maintenance
- following manufacturer's recommendations for its use and maintenance
- arranging regular inspections or examination by a competent person, where necessary
- ensuring staff are trained and competent
- taking reasonable steps to ensure new work equipment complies with the relevant European requirements for safe design and construction
In addition, you must not use, or permit the use of, unsafe work equipment. You must also ensure that dangerous work equipment is not used by untrained people. The only exception is those undergoing training, who must be supervised by a trained, competent person.
Common hazards
The following examples of hazards associated with using and maintaining work equipment need to be considered as part of your risk assessment.
Task hazards
- Ergonomic (eg location of controls and access for maintenance).
- Lone working.
Manual handling / management of associated materials.- Supporting large items during cutting.
- Exceeding the safe working load of lifting equipment.
- Tampering with / misuse of safety measures.
- Use/storage of
flammable materials/substances (eg wood products, petrol). - Use/storage of
gas cylinders associated with the equipment.
Equipment hazards
Working environment hazards
Inspection and maintenance of work equipment
You need to inspect and maintain work equipment to ensure it is safe to use and any deterioration in its condition is detected and remedied before it becomes dangerous. You should regularly inspect equipment if there is any significant risk to users or others through its installation or use. The result of the inspection should be recorded and a record kept. People who carry out the inspection need to be competent and know what to check and know when the condition has deteriorated. HSAS can provide advice or you can follow our easy to use guides on common equipment found in the office.
- Stepladder inspection guidance (.doc)
- Kick stool checklist (.pdf)
- Stepladder register (.doc)
- Trolley register (.doc)
Further information
Safe use of lifting equipment
There are additional legal requirements for lifting equipment used for work. The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations cover any equipment used at work for lifting or lowering loads and the attachments used for anchoring, fixing or supporting it. Examples are passenger lifts, forklift trucks, hoists, mobile elevating work platforms, and vehicle inspection platform hoists. It also includes rope access and positioning systems, such as that used in arboriculture, window cleaning and entertainment. The definition also includes lifting accessories such as chains, slings, eyebolts etc.
The Regulations require that lifting equipment and accessories are:
- suitable and strong enough for its intended use
- positioned to prevent risk of injury from the equipment or the load
- visibly marked with relevant safety information, such as its safe working load and, where relevant, its suitability for lifting people
- maintained in a safe condition
- thoroughly examined by a competent person at suitable intervals (see statutory inspections below)
In addition, lifting operations must be planned, supervised and carried out in a safe manner by people who are competent.
Resources
- Using hand tools safely (.pdf)
Working at height Noise and vibration - HSE guidance for users of work equipment
- HSE guide to providing and using work equipment safely (.pdf)
- HSE guidance for work equipment and machinery
- HSE guidance on health and safely in the woodworking industry
- HSE catering and hospitality publications
- HSE guide to Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) workplace fume and dust extraction
The Construction Industry Plant Safety Group has published a range of guidance documents on topics such as:
- quick hitches on excavators
- MEWPs and crushing injuries
- dumpers and telehandlers
- medical fitness and competence
- ground conditions
