PUWER Audit

PUWER audit

Every manufacturer needs to ensure the safety of the work equipment he provides and maintain compliance with the PUWER Regulations (Provision & Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998). Although it is not essential to bring all older equipment into line with recent standards, machinery which is CE marked must be maintained in conformity (Health & Safety Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2002, which amend PUWER), and in any event you must ensure that safety measures provided originally are in place and operational – something that is not always the case in our experience! Also, when modifying equipment or carrying out major overhaul, it is often a good time to update the safety regime. Modifications which affect safety, including enhancements to productivity or capability of a machine, require the machine to comply with the Machinery Directive and be CE marked.

Value

Our clients often comment on the quality and value of our audit reports, and, because we have no products to sell, we give you common sense and cost effective recommendations. Uniquely, we can also show you how to use our audit system and documentation to keep up to date and monitor corrective action.


Checksheets

Headlands Consulting has developed a structured set of checksheets to streamline the audit and assessment process and quickly provide an analysis of your situation. These checksheets focus on the relevant clauses of PUWER applicable to particular machinery types and so can save time whilst ensuring thorough inspection. We provide a full report with an action spreadsheet and individual checksheets. These can be used to monitor correction and to support future periodic PUWER assessments by your staff. We can provide training to assist.

Experience

Our experience spans many industries, including food, construction products, printing, machining, aerospace, and automotive, and over 250 companies. Our intimate knowledge of the standards and legislation means you can be confident of thorough yet practical conformity.

We find that few safety managers have the required knowledge for machinery PUWER audits - they often find it cost effective to contract us to undertake this work and manage the programme. Our strength lies in effective risk assessment and prioritisation of corrective action.

PUWER related resources - see links.