We help you towards compliance with the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) with a comprehensive assessment of your machinery and processes against the requirements of each of the relevant regulations.
A PUWER assessment from Knox Thomas is carried out by machinery safety specialists, on site, against your actual equipment. You get a clear record of where each machine stands, practical recommendations your team can act on, and permanent access to our interactive PUWER portal to manage the work that follows. Not sure what the regulations ask of you? Start with our guide to what PUWER is and what a PUWER inspection is for.
Hazard Identification
Our expert assessors conduct a comprehensive review of your machinery, identifying all potential hazards. We analyse the mechanical, electrical and ergonomic aspects of machinery safety, as well as considering human factors and the operational context of the machinery. Current industry best practice and up to date standards form a crucial part of our assessment, and we work hard to ensure that processes and machinery meet the necessary industry requirements.
Recommendations and Action Plan
Identifying hazards is only one part of a useful PUWER assessment, so concrete, practical control recommendations form a key part of our service. Our recommendations may include engineering controls, administrative measures, personal protective equipment (PPE) suggestions, training needs and more. As with every stage of our assessment process, we aim to understand your team and their needs so that our recommendations are truly actionable.
Keep Track of Progress
A PUWER assessment can produce a lot of data, and we want to make sure that data is as useful to you as possible. Making sure the right people get the right information, and that rectification work is accurately tracked, is central to doing that well. We provide our reports in multiple accessible formats, including an interactive PUWER portal that allows you to prioritise control work and keep track of progress with your team. Permanent access to the portal is included with every PUWER assessment at no extra charge.
Working With Your Team
A PUWER assessment is never the only important activity going on in a manufacturing space. We work with you throughout the assessment process to make sure we can complete a rigorous review without causing disruption to your production schedules. If you have a maintenance window, a shutdown or a quiet shift, we plan around it.
PUWER Training
Perhaps you want to carry out your own PUWER assessment and do not need us to complete a full one, but would like some help getting started. Alongside our full PUWER service we offer custom PUWER training, so your team can take our freely available PUWER assessment tools and use them effectively wherever you need them.
Who We Work With
Most of our PUWER assessments are for manufacturers who own and run the machinery day to day: food production, metal fabrication, packaging, plastics, timber, logistics and process plants. If you are a manufacturer looking at a wider review of your equipment, our Machinery Risk Assessment for Manufacturers page sets out how a PUWER assessment fits alongside the risk assessment duties that come with CE and UKCA marked machinery. For the difference between the two, read PUWER Regulation 10 and CE marking.
KnoxThomas’ work ”has enabled us to demonstrate to regulators (the HSE) that we are compliant.”
Book a PUWER assessment
For a free initial consultation simply book an appointment via our meeting system, or fill out the contact form to email us. Tell us roughly how many machines you have and where they are and we will come back with a scope and a price. We aim to respond to all enquiries within 24 hours.
