Selection and conformity of work equipment

What you must do

You must select suitable work equipment and consider:

• its initial integrity and conformity with European requirements
• where it will be used, and
• the purpose for which it will be used

You should also take account of:

• ergonomic factors, to avoid undue strain on the user
• the need for adequate space and safe access, including maintenance activities (especially if working at height)
• the forms of energy used or produced (eg radiation, vibration, noise)
• the substances used or produced (eg fumes)

Information produced by the work equipment manufacturer can greatly help in selecting suitable work equipment. Risk assessment will also help in this process, identifying where hazards can be avoided or reduced by selecting suitable work equipment (such as those with lower noise or vibration levels), or in determining the specification of bespoke equipment.

Most new work equipment should comply with common minimum European safety requirements but, before putting it into use, you should still make simple checks:

• that the equipment is not obviously unsafe, comes with all features necessary for safety (eg guarding for machinery) and is suitable for the purpose to which it is to be used or provided
• that it comes with user instructions, which should be in English
• if machinery, that information on noise and vibration emissions is provided
• that it is CE marked and accompanied by a Declaration of Conformity, unless these are not required because:
  • no European Product Supply Directive applies (mainly non-powered access equipment and non-powered hand-held tools)
  • it is partly completed machinery, in which case it should come with a Declaration of Incorporation but no CE mark
  • it is electrical equipment, which does not need to be accompanied by the Declaration of Conformity, but must still be CE marked

Information on noise and vibration emissions should be sought early on in the process of selecting new work equipment. By selecting low vibration and lower noise equipment, you can significantly reduce the risks from exposure to these hazards during its use (eg with hand-held power tools and other machinery, such as mobile ride-on plant or static noisy machinery).

If you are buying new machinery, you may find the checklists within the HSE leaflet Buying new machinery helpful when considering the machinery's health and safety characteristics, suitability and conformity with essential requirements for health and safety.

What you should know

PUWER regulation 4 requires that work equipment is:

• suitable for its intended purpose
• selected so that the risks to the health and safety of users can be managed
• used only for the operations for which it is suitable

This builds on the general obligation employers have under section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act to provide safe equipment and manage the risks in its use, handling, storage and transport.

In selecting new work equipment, employers also need to be aware of their duty under PUWER regulation 10 (as amended by the Health and Safety (Miscellaneous Amendment) Regulations 2002). This requires employers to ensure that work equipment conforms at all times with any essential requirements relating to its design and construction, by virtue of European Community law (Product Supply Directives).

While you are not expected to assess the detailed design of work equipment, there are certain basic checks which users can and should make when selecting and obtaining new work equipment, including looking for any obvious health and safety issues.

New products subject to European product supply requirements should be:

• CE marked
• accompanied by information, including user instructions
• (in most cases) a Declaration of Conformity (though NOT required for most electrical equipment)

Partly completed machinery should not be CE marked and should be accompanied by a Declaration of Incorporation instead of a Declaration of Conformity. Employers need to keep work equipment in conformity, which means that it is maintained so it remains safe.