Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
England-focused reference checklist
Editorial source review: 2026-10-17
https://saeedazarshab.com/articles/england-building-regulations/puwer-1998/

INDEPENDENT GUIDANCE — not project-specific legal/design advice or a compliance certificate. Check the official current requirements and applicable transition.

PUWER governs the suitability and safe use of work equipment, from hand tools to machinery. It requires appropriate selection, maintenance, protective measures and user competence. Hiring equipment or seeing a conformity mark does not remove the need to assess its condition and intended site use.

WHAT TO CHECK
[ ] Match equipment to the task, material, environment and users rather than only its purchase specification.
[ ] Check guards, protective devices, controls and isolation arrangements before authorised use.
[ ] Identify required inspections and maintenance based on installation, deterioration and exceptional events.
[ ] Provide task-relevant information, instruction and training, restricting higher-risk equipment to authorised people.
[ ] Quarantine defective equipment and verify corrective work before putting it back into service.

RECORDS TO KEEP
- Equipment register with identification, intended use and maintenance responsibility.
- Inspection, service and defect-repair records appropriate to the equipment.
- Operator instruction, competence and authorisation records.

WHEN TO GET SPECIALIST HELP
Remove unsafe equipment from use and seek competent maintenance or machinery-safety advice when protective measures, suitability or safe isolation are uncertain.

SCOPE AND EDITION
Sources reviewed 17 October 2026. Great Britain application includes England. PUWER can apply alongside LOLER and other equipment-specific rules; this entry is not a machinery design or maintenance instruction.

OFFICIAL SOURCES
PUWER 1998 — latest available legislation
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/2306/contents

HSE: PUWER guidance
https://www.hse.gov.uk/work-equipment-machinery/puwer.htm

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, except where otherwise stated. Original practical summary by Saeed Azarshab.
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/