Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations
Under these regulations, employers are required to:
- Ensure work equipment is constructed or adapted so as
to be suitable for the purpose for which it is used or provided. - In selecting work equipment, consider the working conditions and risks to health and safety in the premises or undertaking as well as any additional risk in using the equipment.
- Ensure the work equipment is used only for those operations and under conditions for which it is suitable.
- Ensure the work equipment is maintained in an efficient state
- Ensure that the use of certain equipment which poses a specific risk is restricted to those given the task of using it and that repairs, modifications, maintenance or servicing is restricted to designated persons trained for this purpose.
- Ensure that all those who use work equipment have adequate information, instruction and training plus written instructions on correct use, foreseeable abnormal situations and the action to be taken.
- Information and instructions to be readily comprehensible.
- Ensure supervisors and managers have received similar adequate training.
- Ensure the measures listed are taken to prevent access to any dangerous part of the machinery or to stop the movement of it before any part of a person enters a danger zone.
- Ensure that risks associated with overturning are minimised by design or fitting of roll-over protection, where reasonably practicable to do so.
- Ensure that lift trucks are subjected to both an initial and routine inspections and records are kept of these inspections.
Measures to be taken in order of priority are:
- Provision of fixed guards
- Other guards or protection devices
- Jigs, holders, push sticks or similar protection appliances
- Provision of information, instruction, training and supervision, so far as is practicable.
Specified hazards are:
- Falls or ejections of articles or substances from work equipment
- Rupture or disintegration of parts of work equipment
- Work equipment catching fire or overheating
- Unintended or premature discharges from work equipment
- Unintended or premature explosion of the equipment or article or substance produced, used or stored in it
- Specific precautions against hazards from equipment associated with high or very low temperature.
- All control systems, so far as is reasonably practicable must be safe.
- Work equipment must be provided with suitable means of isolation from sources of energy.
- Reconnection to energy sources must not expose any person to risk.
- Work equipment must be stabilised by clamping or otherwise, where necessary.
- Suitable and sufficient lighting must be provided in the work area.
- Maintenance operations should be, so far as is reasonably practicable, be undertaken when work equipment is shut down, or without risk to operators and with appropriate precautions being taken.
- Work equipment must be marked in a clearly visible way and incorporates unambiguous warnings.
PUWER 1998 revokes the Woodworking Machinery Regulations and supersedes the Power Press Regulations 1965 and 1972 and the Abrasive Wheel Reulations 1971