The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) put an absolute duty on every employer to ensure work equipment is maintained in an efficient state, efficient working order and in good repair. The guidance states
“Equipment must be maintained so that its performance does not deteriorate to the extent that people are put at risk”.
All departmental work equipment will be maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order, in good repair as required by The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER). Specifically, hazardous (high risk) departmental work equipment must be maintained so that its performance does not deteriorate to the extent that people are put at unacceptable risk resulting in major injury. Maintenance arrangements should be documented in the safe operating procedure.
The frequency and nature of maintenance or inspection activities is determined through risk assessment, with consideration of:
Safety-critical parts of work equipment may need a higher and more frequent level of attention than other aspects, which can be reflected within any maintenance or inspection regime. Breakdown maintenance, undertaken only after faults or failures have occurred, are not suitable where significant risk will arise from the continued use of the work equipment.
Inspection / User checklists:
The use of inspection / user checklists can be useful where considered necessary, and any records made, should be tailored to the particular type of work equipment to minimise the burden to what is strictly necessary for safety and avoiding significant risk to workers. Requiring too much detail too often can lead to the inspection / user activity becoming burdensome with the risk of a superficial 'tick box' approach or even, in the case of inspections, the inspection activity ceasing altogether. You only need to inspect what is necessary for safety.
Where the maintenance work might involve a risk, provision should be made to minimise risk(s) during maintenance. Consideration must be given to the safe management of all residual maintenance risks e.g.: