Maintenance / inspection of work equipment

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.

Frequency and nature of maintenance / inspection

The frequency and nature of maintenance or inspection activities is determined through risk assessment, with consideration of:

manufacturers recommendations (the supplier or manufacturer may recommend a schedule of preventative maintenance checks and minor maintenance including daily, weekly, monthly and annual checks on lubricants, pressure, brake functions, etc.)
legislative requirements (e.g. local exhaust ventilation testing and examination requirements)
intensity of use: frequency and maximum working limits
operating environment (e.g. the effect of temperature, corrosion, weathering)
variety of operations- is the equipment used for the same task or different tasks?
the risk to health and safety from any foreseeable failure or malfunction
Integrity of parts (e.g. wear and tear, cracks or rust on centrifuge rotors)

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.

Maintenance

Maintenance logs / records can provide useful information for the future planning of maintenance, as well as informing maintenance personnel of previous action taken.
A record of maintenance must also be kept for all high risk equipment (and recommended for all other equipment)
Where a maintenance log is required / provided, for example, under other specific legislation, such logs must be kept up to date and available for inspection.
Examination schemes, examination reports and test certificates (as applicable) must be maintained for a period of 2 years, or longer where necessary.

Managing maintenance risk

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.:

providing temporary guards
limited movement controls crawl speed operated by hold-to-run controls
using a second low-powered visible laser beam to align a powerful invisible one