What is PUWER?

PUWER stands for the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (1999 in Northern Ireland). The regulations deal with the work equipment and machinery used every day in workplaces and aims to keep people safe wherever equipment and machinery is used at work. PUWER replaces the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1992, carrying forward the existing requirements with a number of changes and additions.

You have a legal obligation to protect yourself and your workers when using machinery or equipment, which should be done by carrying out a risk assessment involving:

• identifying hazards and making a note of  anything that can cause harm
• assessing risks by considering the chance of harm actually being done (this helps you to work out what action to take to eliminate and reduce those risks)
• eliminating and reducing the risks by asking yourself whether it’s possible to eliminate any of the risks, perhaps by working out different ways of doing things
• if it’s not possible to eliminate all the risks, listing ways to reduce them and identifying the precautions to take.