# What checks does work equipment need?

Choose equipment suitable for the job and maintain its safety throughout its working life.

Jurisdiction: England, Wales, Scotland
Source check: 2026-11-03. Editorial status: source-checked draft; specialist sign-off pending.

## Who this covers
Businesses owning, controlling or using work equipment, including hired equipment.

## The requirement
Provide suitable, safe equipment, appropriate maintenance and inspection, safeguards and adequate information, instruction and training.

## Practical steps
- Assess equipment against the job and conditions of use.
- Identify inspection and maintenance needs from risk and manufacturer information.
- Make sure users are trained and safeguards remain effective.

## Common mistake
A maintenance visit is not automatically the inspection or thorough examination a particular item needs. Lifting equipment can have additional requirements.

## Timing
Risk-based inspection intervals and relevant installation or exceptional-event checks; not one annual rule for all equipment.

## Questions for a provider
- What does the inspection cover and exclude?
- Is a separate thorough examination required?
- What evidence will we receive?

## Official sources
- [HSE: PUWER overview](https://www.hse.gov.uk/work-equipment-machinery/puwer-overview.htm)
- [HSE: inspection of work equipment](https://www.hse.gov.uk/work-equipment-machinery/inspection.htm)

General information, not an assessment or a statement that a business is compliant.


## Buy support for the actual machine and its use

### Before you commission work
Identify equipment, intended tasks, instructions and known modifications before requesting inspection or advice. Include second-hand and hired items where relevant. Tell the provider about cleaning, adjustment and maintenance activities so the brief is not limited to the machine’s normal production cycle.

### Follow through on the result
Match findings to individual equipment and record who will arrange and verify any work. Ask what the report leaves outside its scope, including any separate specialist examination. Do not treat a service invoice as interchangeable with every inspection or examination record simply because each relates to the same machine.

## Buying the right work
- Identify the machine or equipment and its actual use.
- Provide instructions, maintenance information and any modifications.
- Ask what inspection is appropriate and whether other specific requirements apply.

## What you can do yourself
Keep an equipment inventory, arrange maintenance and make sure users can report defects. Simple checks still need appropriate knowledge and instructions.

## When to get help
Use relevant competence for technical inspection, repairs, guarding or modifications. Some equipment also has duties under other regimes, such as lifting or pressure systems.

## Records to keep
- Equipment identity and intended use.
- Inspection and maintenance information relevant to its risks.
- Training, defects and action on faults.

## Does PUWER only concern large machinery?
No. Work equipment is a broad category that includes tools and other equipment used at work.

Source check for this expanded guide: 2026-11-03. Specialist sign-off pending.