PUWER Machinery Assessment

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Description of Equipment
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Provision and Use of Work Equipment

PUWER is the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations and requires users of work equipment to carry out regular risk assessments which are documented and kept on file. Most importantly, those risk assessments must address each of the Regulations under PUWER. The regulations require that all provided work equipment is suitable for its intended task and can be used without putting persons at risk.

Regulation 4 - Suitability of work equipment

Is the work equipment constructed and adapted for the purpose for which it is used?
Guidance: All work equipment is to be constructed or adapted so as to be suitable for the purpose for which it is being used or provided, and every employer should ensure that all work equipment is used only for operations for which, and under conditions for which, it is suitable. Consideration must be given to initial integrity, the pace where it will be used, and the purpose for which it will be used.
ACOP: When selecting work equipment, employers should take into account ergonomic risks so the operators do not have to exert undue force or stretch beyond normal strength or physical reach
Has the work equipment been selected taking into account the working conditions, including existing and any additional risks?
Is Work equipment only used for the operations and under the conditions for which it is suitable?
Guidance: Employer must ensure that equipment is suitable for the process and conditions of use
ACOP: Work equipment should be installed, located and used in such a way as to reduce risks to users of the work equipment and other workers. Consideration needs to be given to ensure that there is sufficient space between the moving parts of work equipment and fixed or moving parts in its environment, and that's all forms of energy and substances used or produced can be supplied and/or removed in a safe manner

Regulation 5 - Maintenance

Is work equipment maintained in an efficient state, efficient working order, and in good repair?
Guidance: All work equipment should be maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair. Maintenance may include routine maintenance based on recommendations of the equipment manufacturer and planned preventive maintenance (where inadequate maintenance could cause equipment, safeguard, or other protection failure in a dangerous way). Frequency of maintenance activities should take into account:

a) intensity of use - frequency and maximum working limits;
b) operating environment - eg outdoors
c) variety of operations - is the equipment performing the same task or does this change?
d) risks from malfunction or failure
If the machinery has a maintenance log, is it kept up to date?
Guidance: The maintenance of work equipment should be properly managed. i.e. planned preventative maintenance, condition based maintenance, or breakdown based maintenance.

Regulation 6 - Inspection

Where safety of equipment depends on installation conditions, has a competent person inspected it after installation, before putting it into service?
Where equipment could deteriorate, which could result in dangerous situations, has a schedule of inspections been planned?
Guidance:
Your risk assessment should identify any other work equipment where deterioration could cause a significant risk and which should therefore be inspected. Inspections should include visual checks, functional checks and testing, completed by competent person and recorded.

Regulation 7 - Specific Risks

Is the use of the work equipment likely to involve a specific risks to health and safety?
ACOP: Risks must be controlled by:

a) elimination of the risks or, if not possible,
b) taking hardware (physical) measures to control the risk such as the provision of guards:

But if the risk cannot be adequately controlled:

c) Taking appropriate measures to deal with residual risk such as following a safe system of work and the provision of information, instruction and training.
Is a designated and adequately trained person available to carry out repairs, modifications or other similar work on the equipment?
ACOP: Such a person should have received proper instruction, information and training for such work.

Regulation 8 - Information and Instruction

Do all equipment operators have available; adequate health and safety information and instructions for operational use of work equipment?
Guidance: Information can be in writing or verbal where this is considered to be sufficient. Written instructions refer primarily to the information provided by manufacturers or suppliers, such as instruction sheets or manuals, instruction placards, warning labels and training manuals.
Does information and instruction provided to the users include: ?
a) conditions under which, and methods by, equipment may be used
b) foreseeable abnormal conditions actions to be taken?
c) any conclusions drawn from experience in using the equipment?
ACOP: Any information and written instructions you provide should be readily comprehensible and cover:
a) all health and safety aspects arising from the use of work equipment
b) any limitations on these uses
c) any foreseeable difficulties that could arise
d) the methods to deal with them

Regulation 9 - Training

Have all persons who use, manage, or supervise the use of work equipment been adequately trained?
Guidance: All persons who use, manage, or supervise the use of work equipment should have received adequate training for purposes of health and safety, including training in the use of the work equipment, any risks involved and precautions to be taken. There is a clear overlap with regard to the training requirements of the management of health and safety at work regulations 1992.
ACOP: Specific training will be required for certain types of work equipment such as self-propelled work equipment, power presses, woodworking machines and chainsaws.

Regulation 10 - Community Requirements

Has the work equipment been designed and constructed in compliance with any essential health and safety requirements?
Guidance: You should check that any work equipment provided for use after 31 December 1992 bears a CE mark and has an EC declaration of conformity.

Refer to schedule 1 of the ACOP/guidance for a list of the relevant statutory instruments. The work equipment should be provided with suitable operating instructions, and information should be available about residual hazards such as noise and vibration. You must check the equipment for obvious hazards that have not been adequately or appropriately dealt with by the equipment manufacturer or supplier.
Comments

Regulation 11 - Dangerous Parts Of Machinery

Are effective measures in place to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery? (Or to any rotating stock bar)
Guidance: The regulations provide a hierarchy of guarding of dangerous part of machinery, i.e. any piece of work equipment which could cause injury. Measures should be taken to prevent access to any dangerous part of machinery, or to stop the movement of any dangerous part of machinery, before any part of the person enters the danger zone.
Do the measures required to be taken consist of the following?
(a) The provision of fixed guards closing every dangerous part?
(b) Where (a) is not practical, then the provision of other guards or protection devices?
(c) Where b) not practical, then the provision of jigs, holders, push sticks or other similar protection devices used in conjunction with the machinery?
(d) Where (c) is not practical, then the provision of information, instruction, training and supervision?
Guidance: Your risk assessment should identify the hazards presented by machinery and evaluate the risks. The objective is to prevent contact with any dangerous part of the machine using measures descended from the top of the scale from (a) to (d) above
Are guards/protection devices suitable for purpose, of sound construction, adequate strength, and maintained in working order, and in good repair?
Are they such that they did not give rise to any increased risk to health and safety and cannot be easily bypass or disabled?
Are they situated at sufficient distance from the danger zone and do not unduly restrict the view of the operating cycle where such a view is necessary?
Are the guards constructed or adapted so that they allow for maintenance without having to dismantle the guard or protection device?

Regulation 12 - Protection against specific hazards

Is work equipment protected against specific hazards e.g. falling articles, disintegration, ejection, overheating, explosion etc?
Guidance: Employers should prevent articles or substances falling or being injected from work equipment, rupture or disintegration of parts or work equipment, work equipment catching fire or overheating, the unintended or premature discharge of any article, gas, dust, liquid, vapour or other substance from work equipment, or the unintended or premature explosion of the work equipment.

Where this is not reasonably practicable then such matters should be adequately controlled. Your risk assessment should identify if any of these hazards are relevant and the actions that you need to take.
Are control measures by means other than provision of PPE, or information, instruction, training or supervision (so far as is reasonably practicable)?
Guidance: PPE may be appropriate where a risk remains that cannot be eliminated. Training etc will have an important role to play.

Regulation 13 - High or very low temperatures

Are work equipment surfaces, and any articles or substances produced, protected against high or very low temperatures?
Guidance: You should ensure that work equipment, parts of the equipment and articles or substances produced, used or stored in work equipment are protected so as to prevent injury to any person By burn, scald or sear. The risk from contact with hot or cold services should be reduced by engineering methods, i.e. reduction or increase in surface temperatures, insulation, shielding, barricading and guarding. While engineering measures should always be applied, Where appropriate, alternative or complimentary forms of protection might also be necessary e.g. PPE,, warning signs instructions, training, supervision etc

Regulation 14 - Controls for starting or changing operating conditions

Are adequate controls provided on the work equipment for:
(a) Starting the work equipment? (Including restarting after a stoppage for any reason), or:
(b) Controlling any change in speed, pressure or other operating conditions of work equipment?
Note where such conditions, after the change, result in a risks to health and safety which is greater than, or of a different nature from, the risks before the change?
Guidance: Where appropriate, work equipment should be provided with one or more controls for starting the work equipment and for controlling any change in speed, pressure or other operating conditions of work equipment, where such change may result in increased risk.

Controls should be designed and positioned so as to prevent inadvertent or accidental operation.

It should only be possible to stop equipment by using appropriate controls. You should not normally be able to restart any equipment simply by resetting a protection device e.g. interlock - operation of the start control should also be required. The control must not be capable of starting itself due to effects of gravity, failure of a spring mechanism etc

Regulation 15 - Stop Controls

Is work equipment provided with one or more readily accessible controls to stop work equipment?
Guidance: Where appropriate, work equipment should be provided with one or more readily accessible controls to stop the work equipment to a safe condition, in a safe manner. If required for safety the stop control does not have to be instantaneous.

Regulation 16 - Emergency stop controls

Where appropriate, is work equipment provided with one or more readily accessible emergency stop controls?
Guidance: An emergency stop control should be provided where the other safeguards are not adequate to prevent risk when some irregular event occurs. However, this is not a substitute for necessary safeguarding.

Where it is appropriate to have one, emergency stops should be provided at every control point and at other appropriate locations around equipment so that action can be taken. Your risk assessment should identify where emergency stops are required. Emergency stops should be easily reached and activated.

Regulation 17 - Controls

Are all controls for work equipment clearly visible and identifiable and appropriately marked where necessary?
Are all controls for work equipment in a safe position?
Are persons operating such controls able to ensure that there is no other person in place of danger?
Where this is not reasonably practical, are safe systems in place to ensure that persons are not in danger when the equipment is about to start?
If neither of these options are appropriate or reasonably practicable, is there an audible, visible or suitable warning given?
Guidance: Where controls have to be positioned where people are at some risk, e.g. robot teaching pendant, particular precautions should be used, e.g. hold to run controls, reduced or limited capability of equipment. You may need to employ additional measures if someone could remain inside safeguards at start-up. Any warnings must be ambiguous, easily perceived easily understood.

Regulation 18 - Control Systems

Are all control systems safe, free from faults or damage and do not impede access to stop controls?
Guidance: All control systems of work equipment must be safe and operation must not create an increased risk to health or safety. Faults in, or damage to, any part of the control system must not result in additional or increase risk and should lead to "failsafe" condition.

Regulation 19 - Isolation from sources of energy

Is work equipment provided with suitable, clearly identifiable and readily accessible means of isolating it from its source of energy?
Guidance: If work on isolated equipment is done by more than one person, locking devices with multiple locks and keys might be necessary. In some cases sources of energy may need to be maintained when equipment is stopped so measures will need to be taken to eliminate risks before attempts are made to isolate.

Regulation 20 - Stability

Is the work equipment stable?
Guidance: All work equipment and parts of work equipment should be stabilised by clamping, or otherwise secured for the purposes of health and safety. Most machines used in a fixed position should be bolted or otherwise fastened down so that they do not move or rock during use. Mobile work equipment must always be used within the limits of its stability.

Regulation 21 - Lighting

Is suitable and sufficient lighting provided to the work equipment and work area?
Guidance: Suitable and sufficient lighting, which takes account of the operations need to be carried out, should be provided at any place where a person uses work equipment. If ambient lighting provided in the workplace is suitable and sufficient for the tasks involved then special lighting need not be provided; but if the task involved the perception of detail then additional lighting would need to be provided to comply with the regulations.

Additional lighting should also be provided in areas not covered by general lighting when other work activities, such as maintenance or repairs, are carried out. Permanent lighting should always be considered where access is foreseeable on intermittent but regular basis.

Regulation 22 - Maintenance Operations

Can the work equipment always be shut down for maintenance?
Since you have answered no - can maintenance be carried out without there being any risks to health and safety?
Guidance: If there are no risks even when the equipment is not completely shut down, then you will obviously need to take no action. Remember to consider contact with live electrical parts in Control Panel.
Since you have answered no, can appropriate measures be taken to protect persons during maintenance?
Guidance: Live conductors within panels may need additional shrouding if they are not "finger proof". The risk will depend on the current and voltage, degree of exposed conductor, frequency of access, foreseeability of contact etc.
If the equipment has to be running or working during maintenance operation, and this present risks, then measures should be taken to enable the operation of the equipment to continue in a way that reduces risk, e.g. temporary guards, limited movement controls, crawl speed operated by hold to run controls etc.
Other measures that can be taken to protect against residual risk may include wearing PPE and provision of instruction and supervision.
Guidance: Where reasonably practicable, steps should be taken to ensure that work equipment is constructed or adapted so that it can be maintained whilst shut down. You need to review the measures provided by the manufacturer.
Also remember that if faultfinding may be required where the equipment has to be live your answer must be "NO"

Regulation 23 - Markings and warnings

Is work equipment clearly and visibly marked and labelled for the purposes of health and safety?
Guidance: All the equipment should be marked in a clearly visible manner with any marking appropriate for reasons of health and safety.

Examples might include clear marking of stop and start controls, including isolators, the maximum rotation speed abrasive wheels, maximum safe working loads of lifting equipment in accessories, marking of compressed gas cylinders, colour coding or marking of pipelines and vessels etc.

Work equipment should incorporate any appropriate warnings or warning devices. Such warnings should be unambiguous, easily perceived and easily understood (e.g. positive instructions, prohibitions, and restrictions).
Are permanent printed warnings on, or close to, work equipment?
Guidance: Warnings can be permanent printed warnings, which may be attached to, or incorporated into, equipment or positioned close to it. Additionally, there may be also need for portable warnings which are required to be posted during temporary operations.

Where words can be augmented by, or replaced by, appropriate graphical signs, they should be in accordance with the health and safety (safety signs and signals) regulations 1996.

Warning devices can be portable e.g. reversing alarm on vehicle, or visible. They may indicate imminent danger, development of a fault condition, or the continued presence of a potential hazard. Examples include "not to be operated by persons under 18 years of age", "hardhats must be worn", "do not heat above 60°C", "hot surface" etc

Environment and other considerations

Is the equipment free from leaks or discharges?
Does the equipment produce any dusts or fumes other emissions?
Does equipment require connection to electricity, air, gas, water or other supplies? if so, specify what they are (Including voltages, pressures and note any related hazards etc)