PUWER 1998: Work Equipment Safety for Tradespeople

Quick Answer: PUWER — the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/2306) — requires that all work equipment, from a cordless drill to a bench saw or a ladder, is suitable for the task, kept in good repair, inspected where needed, and used only by people who have been properly trained. Dangerous moving parts must be guarded (Regulation 11), and the rules apply to the self-employed using their own kit just as much as to employers. HSE's Approved Code of Practice L22 sets out how to comply.

Summary

PUWER sits alongside the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 as one of the core "six-pack" regulations introduced to bring UK law in line with European directives. It governs almost every piece of equipment a tradesperson touches on site: hand tools, power tools, ladders, access equipment, vehicles used at work, machinery, and fixed plant. If you provide it, control its use, or use it yourself at work, PUWER applies.

The duty holders are employers, the self-employed, and anyone who has control of work equipment. That last point catches a lot of sole traders and subcontractors out — there is no exemption for being a one-person band. If you turn up to a job with your own SDS drill, your own 110V transformer and your own step ladder, PUWER places duties on you to keep that equipment safe and to use it competently.

The regulations are risk-based rather than prescriptive. They do not list every tool and tell you exactly what to do; instead they set out general requirements — suitability, maintenance, inspection, guarding, controls, stability, lighting, and clear markings and warnings — and expect you to apply them sensibly to the equipment and the work. HSE's Approved Code of Practice and guidance, L22 ("Safe use of work equipment"), explains how to meet each duty and is the document to reach for when you are unsure.

Key Facts

Quick Reference Table

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PUWER duty Regulation What it means on site
Suitability Reg 4 Right tool for the job and the conditions
Maintenance Reg 5 Kept in good repair; log kept where one exists
Inspection Reg 6 Competent-person inspection + record where safety depends on condition
Specific risks Reg 7 Use restricted to nominated, trained people for high-risk kit
Information & instructions Reg 8 Written instructions available to users
Training Reg 9 Adequate training for each piece of equipment
Dangerous parts Reg 11 Guard moving parts — fixed guards first in the hierarchy
High/low temperature Reg 13 Protection from hot/cold parts and materials
Controls Regs 14–18 Clear start/stop, safe placement, safe control systems
Emergency stop Reg 17 Where appropriate, readily accessible
Isolation from energy Reg 19 Lock off all energy sources before maintenance
Stability Reg 20 Clamp or fix equipment where needed
Lighting Reg 21 Suitable and sufficient light to work safely
Markings Reg 23 Max speed, SWL and other safety markings visible
Warnings Reg 24 Warning signs and devices fitted as needed

Detailed Guidance

What counts as "work equipment" — and who has the duty

Work equipment is defined very broadly: any machinery, appliance, apparatus, tool or installation used at work. For a tradesperson that means hand tools, 110V and battery power tools, abrasive wheel grinders, bench and circular saws, nail guns, mixers, compressors, generators, ladders and step ladders, podium steps, scaffold-mounted hoists, telehandlers, dumpers and your work van. If it is used in connection with the work, treat it as work equipment.

The duty falls on whoever provides or controls the equipment. An employer owes the duty to employees; a principal contractor may owe it where they control shared site plant; and a self-employed tradesperson owes the duty in respect of their own tools and their own use of them. There is no "small business" or "sole trader" exemption — the misconception that PUWER only applies to factories with big machines is one of the most common and the most costly.

Suitability, maintenance and inspection

Three duties form the backbone of day-to-day compliance. Suitability (Reg 4) means choosing equipment that can do the job safely in the actual conditions — a 230V tool is not suitable in a wet trench, a chop saw rated for timber is not suitable for cutting metal stud, and a ladder is rarely suitable as a working platform for anything beyond short-duration, light work (see working at height regulations).

Maintenance (Reg 5) requires equipment to be kept in efficient working order and good repair. For most trade kit this is straightforward: replace worn brushes, frayed leads, cracked casings and blunt or damaged blades; keep guards working; and act on faults rather than working around them. Where a manufacturer specifies a maintenance schedule or a log exists, keep it up to date.

Inspection (Reg 6) is a separate, more formal step that applies where safety depends on the installation conditions or where equipment deteriorates and could cause danger. The inspection must be done by a competent person and a record kept. A classic example is a scaffold or an access tower that is inspected before first use and at intervals — though note that lifting equipment has its own dedicated thorough-examination regime under loler lifting operations regulations, which runs in parallel with PUWER.

Guarding dangerous parts — Regulation 11

Regulation 11 is the one that bites hardest on saws, grinders, drills, planers and any rotating or reciprocating machinery. The law sets a strict hierarchy of measures, and you must work down it in order, only moving to the next step when the previous one is not reasonably practicable:

  1. Fixed enclosing guards — the first and best choice.
  2. Other guards or protection devices — interlocked guards, two-hand controls, trip devices.
  3. Jigs, holders, push sticks and similar — to keep hands away from the danger zone.
  4. Information, instruction, training and supervision — the last resort, never a substitute for physical guarding where guarding is practicable.

Removing or defeating a guard to "work faster" is both unlawful and one of the most common causes of amputations and serious lacerations reported under riddor reporting. Guards must be properly maintained and kept in place.

Controls, isolation, stability and markings

Equipment must have clearly identifiable controls for starting, stopping and changing operating conditions (Regs 14–16). A stop control must bring the equipment to a safe state, and where appropriate a separate, readily accessible emergency stop (Reg 17) is required — emergency stops are for emergencies, not routine stopping. Isolation from energy sources (Reg 19) means you can positively cut off electrical, pneumatic or hydraulic power and lock it off before clearing a jam or doing maintenance — a lock-off/tag-out discipline that prevents inadvertent start-up.

Stability (Reg 20) requires equipment to be clamped or otherwise fixed where stability is needed for safety — for example bolting down a pillar drill or chop saw. Lighting (Reg 21) must be suitable and sufficient at the point of use. Finally, markings (Reg 23) such as the maximum rotational speed of an abrasive wheel or the safe working load of an appliance must be present and legible, and warnings (Reg 24) provided where needed. Abrasive wheels are a worked example of nearly all of these duties at once — see abrasive wheels safety.

Training and the role of PPE

Regulation 9 requires that everyone who uses work equipment, and those who supervise or manage its use, have adequate health and safety training covering the methods of use, the risks and the precautions. Training should be specific to the equipment, not generic. Where residual risk remains after guarding and safe systems of work, personal protective equipment is provided as a backstop under separate PPE law — see ppe guide — but PPE is the bottom of the control hierarchy, never the first line of defence. Manual handling of heavy equipment is covered separately under manual handling regulations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does PUWER apply to me as a self-employed tradesperson?

Yes. PUWER places duties on the self-employed in respect of work equipment they provide and use. If you own and use your own tools at work, you are a duty holder. The idea that PUWER is only for factories or only for employers is wrong and is a frequent cause of enforcement action against sole traders.

Do I need to keep written inspection records for my power tools?

For most hand-held power tools, formal Regulation 6 inspection records are not required — sensible pre-use checks and good maintenance under Reg 5 are enough. Formal recorded inspection applies where safety depends on installation or where deterioration could cause danger (for example access towers). Note that electrical equipment also has separate considerations, and lifting equipment is examined under LOLER, not PUWER's inspection clause.

Can I remove a guard if it gets in the way?

No. Defeating or removing a guard breaches Regulation 11 and is a leading cause of serious machinery injuries. If a guard genuinely prevents the work, the equipment or method is wrong for the task — find equipment that can be guarded, or a different method. Guards must be maintained and kept in position.

Is a ladder covered by PUWER?

Yes. A ladder used at work is work equipment and must be suitable, maintained and inspected, and used by trained people. Ladder use also engages the Work at Height Regulations 2005 — the two sets of rules apply together. See working at height regulations.

What is the difference between PUWER and LOLER?

PUWER covers all work equipment generally. LOLER adds specific extra duties for lifting equipment — planning of lifting operations, marking of safe working loads, and thorough examination at set intervals. Lifting equipment must satisfy both: PUWER for general safety and LOLER for the lifting-specific requirements. See loler lifting operations regulations.

Regulations & Standards