Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1999 (PUWER) Northern Ireland

What Is PUWER?

These Regulations often abbreviated to (PUWER) place duties on persons and companies who own, operate or have control over work equipment. This includes all businesses and organisation's whose employees use work equipment, whether owned by them or not. 

Regulation 6 states: 

• Every employer shall ensure that, where the safety of work equipment depends on the installation conditions, it is inspected  

• After installation and before being put into service for the first time; or 

• After assembly at a new site or in a new location, to ensure that it has been installed correctly and is safe to operate. 

(2) Every employer shall ensure that work equipment exposed to conditions causing deterioration which is liable to result in dangerous situations is inspected 

• At suitable intervals

• Each time that exceptional circumstances which are liable to jeopardise the safety of work equipment have occurred, to ensure that health and safety conditions are maintained and that any deterioration can be detected and remedied in good time. 

Every employer shall ensure that the result of an inspection made under this regulation is recorded and kept until the next inspection under this regulation is recorded. 

Every employer shall ensure that no work equipment 

• leaves his undertaking; or 

• If obtained from the undertaking of another person, is used in his undertaking unless it is accompanied by physical evidence that the last inspection required to be carried out under this regulation has been carried out. 

Under this regulation, when work equipment is first installed, and when moved or relocated, it must be inspected to ensure that it has been correctly installed and operates safely. Also, where it is possible that conditions could cause deterioration, the work equipment must be regularly inspected to ensure that safety is maintained. 

• Any damage must be identified and rectified. 

• If safety is evidently at risk at any time, another inspection must take place. 

Records of inspections must be documented and kept for a set period. When work equipment is used outside its owner’s undertaking, then proof of inspection must accompany the equipment. Certain types of work equipment are not covered by regulation 6 (see page 28). An inspection is required by a competent person:  

• When work equipment is first installed and if it is relocated  

• When work equipment is installed for the first time to ensure that it has been installed correctly, the links or connections with other equipment, systems and services are securely in place and that it is safe to operate  

• If work equipment is moved or relocated. Once it is in its new situation, it must be inspected to ensure safe installation and operation; it must be treated as though it were being installed for the first time.