Steps Taken During a PUWER Inspection
To make sure your equipment is in good working order it is vital that a PUWER inspection is carried out regularly. PUWER stands for Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations. The regulation was established in 1998 to deal with the safe use of plant equipment. It establishes that companies or individuals who own or control such equipment are responsible for maintaining them. At ST&L we can help you by checking for proper handling of equipment as well as any faults or deterioration. So what steps do we take in carrying out a PUWER inspection, and what are the benefits? Below are the steps that we take during an inspection.
Steps We Take In A PUWER Inspection
To keep equipment safe and in good working order, they need to be checked regularly. These are the steps we take during an inspection:
- We perform a risk assessment that looks at any potential hazards. This includes how the equipment is used, the chance of harm occurring, if we can reduce or remove the risks, and what safeguards we can take.
- We remove the equipment from use and clean and dismantle it, if necessary, ready for inspection.
- Our team inspect the equipment taking care to check for any deterioration or hazards found in the risk assessment. We do a range of tests including Guard and Interlock Functional Testing, Lightguard Testing and more.
- Afterwards, we record details of the inspection including equipment details (type, model, etc), location, and date of inspection. We also record person(s) responsible, faults found, and actions taken and when.
Once we have done an inspection we will tell you if the equipment is safe for use. We will also tell you how soon we will need to do the next inspection. Low-risk equipment may go back into use while high-risk equipment may need further maintenance and more frequent inspections.
Benefits of PUWER Inspections
By having us carry out regular inspections in your workplace you and your staff will have the following benefits:
- Less risk of work place injuries, which causes loss of time, resources and costs, as well as potential litigation.
- Increase in productivity by reducing the amount of times equipment breaks down. By checking any risks or faults we can help you reduce or prevent costly equipment failure from occurring.
- We help lower repair costs by identifying risks quickly and long before they become an expensive problem. You will spend less time and money on repairs in the long term with regular maintenance.
- We help you fulfil the health and safety requirements of the PUWER regulations. That way you can continue to run your workplace smoothly without the risk of non-compliance, prosecutions or fines.
PUWER Inspections Done by ST&L
At ST&L we focus on making sure all your equipment works perfectly and safely. We aim to detect and repair any faults quickly. We train our engineers to check for a range of factors during testing processes to make sure all equipment runs normally. To find out more about our risk management services visit our online page. For more details on the range of services we offer contact our expert team online or via phone. For quality health and safety inspections in your workplace contact ST&L today.