Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER)

What it covers

PUWER covers almost any equipment used at work — machinery, hand and power tools, pumps, compressors, vehicles and plant. It sets out how equipment must be selected, maintained, inspected and used.

Who it applies to

Employers, the self-employed and people who have control of work equipment, such as plant hire companies and site operators.

Key duties

• Work equipment must be suitable for its intended use and for the conditions in which it is used.
• Equipment must be maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair; where a machine has a maintenance log, it must be kept up to date.
• Where safety depends on installation conditions, or equipment is exposed to conditions that cause deterioration, it must be inspected by a competent person at suitable intervals, and the results recorded.
• Dangerous parts of machinery must be guarded, with suitable controls, emergency stops and means of isolation.
• People who use, supervise or manage the use of work equipment must have adequate information, instruction and training.
• Additional requirements apply to mobile work equipment and to power presses.

How Censiary helps

• Capture-first plant registers: tag the asset, then inspect it with a tap.
• Inspection intervals and results recorded against each item, with photos.
• Maintenance and service history kept with the asset, not in a separate file.
• Competence records linked to who may inspect what (Training Register, available to demonstrate and configure for your site).