Work equipment and machinery: Legislation

This page gives information on the legislation concerned with work equipment and machinery.

• The Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 SMS08
• Section 6 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 HSWA S6
• Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 PUWER
• Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment regulations 1998 LOLER

The Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 (previously the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 1992 as amended by the Supply of Machinery (Safety) (Amendment) Regulations 1994 and the Supply of Machinery (Safety) (Amendment) Regulations 2005)

These regulations place duties upon those who place  machinery and safety components onto the market, or put it into service. They set out the essential requirements which must be met before machinery or safety components may be placed on the market or put into service in the UK.  They implement the latest version of the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC and came into force on 29 December 2009 replacing the previous Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 1992, as amended in 1994 and 2005.

There are basically three steps to dealing with the requirements:

• The responsible person should ensure that machinery and safety components satisfy the relevant essential health and safety requirements of the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations and that, where appropriate, relevant conformity assessment procedures have been carried out;
• The responsible person must issue a declaration of conformity (or a declaration of incorporation) which is issued with the finished product so that it is available to the user. This will contain various details such as the manufacturer's address, the machinery type and serial number, and the harmonised European, or other standards, used in design; and
• When the first two steps have been satisfactorily completed, the responsible person or person supplying or assembling the final product should affix the CE marking if they are satisfied it is safe.

The European Commission has published the first of a series of guides to the Machinery Directive.  It explains the scope and clarifies the application of the Directive to machinery and other equipment included within the definition of "machinery", particularly the interface with other product safety Directives.

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Section 6 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974

This section of the Act places duties on "any person who designs, manufactures, imports or supplies any article for use at work or any article of fairground equipmentto ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the article is so designed and constructed that it will be safe and without risks to health at all times when it is being set, used, cleaned or maintained by a person at work;" etc. 

Intermediary suppliers of machinery, i.e. those who are not the Responsible Person (manufacturer or authorised representative under the Machinery Directive), will be covered by Section 6.  Products not covered by the Machinery (or other UK legislation implementing European Directives) will also be covered by Section 6.

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Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 PUWER

In general terms, PUWER requires that equipment provided for use at work is:

• suitable for the intended use;
• safe for use, maintained in a safe condition and, in certain circumstances, inspected to ensure this remains the case;
• used only by people who have received adequate information, instruction and training; and
• accompanied by suitable safety measures, e.g. protective devices, markings, warnings.

Full details of the requirements of PUWER are contained in the supporting Approved Code of Practice Safe use of work equipment. Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 L22 HSE Books 2008 ISBN 9780717662951 which has been updated to reflect the latest legislation.
Requirements for power presses and woodworking machinery are dealt with in two separate Approved Codes of Practice.

• Safe use of power presses. Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 as applied to power presses. Approved Code of Practice and Guidance
  L112 HSE Books 1998 ISBN 978 0 7176 1627 5
• Safe use of woodworking machinery. Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 as applied to woodworking. Approved Code of Practice and Guidance
  L114 HSE Books 1998 ISBN 0 7176 1630 4

The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 have been amended by the following legislation:

1. regulation 4(4) has been amended by the Police (Health and Safety) Regulations 1999 (SI 1999/860);
2. regulation 6(5) has been amended by the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/320);
3. regulations 10(1) and (2), 11(2) and 18(1) have been amended by the Health and Safety (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2002 (SI 2002/2174);

Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment regulations 1998 LOLER

In general, LOLER requires that any lifting equipment used at work for lifting or lowering loads is:

• strong and stable enough for particular use and marked to indicate safe working loads;
• positioned and installed to minimise any risks;
• used safely, i.e. the work is planned, organised and performed by competent people; and
• subject to ongoing thorough examination and, where appropriate, inspection by competent people.

Full details of the requirements of LOLER are contained in the supporting Approved Code of Practice Safe use of lifting equipment. Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. Approved Code of Practice and Guidance. L113 HSE Books 1998 ISBN 0 7176 1628 2.

• The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998