Appendix 5 – PUWER and LOLER legal requirements for employers

PUWER covers a broad range of work equipment to ensure it is suitable and safe for use. PUWER[1] contain a number of legal requirements for employers, including that equipment must be:

• • suitable for its intended use
  • selected with regard to the working conditions and risks to the health and safety of people in the premises, and additional risk posed by its use
  • only used for operations and under conditions for which it is suitable
  • maintained in an efficient state, working order and in good repair
  • marked in a clearly visible manner with any marking appropriate for reasons of health and safety

And that:

• •  where there is a maintenance log, it should be kept up to date
  •  where the use of work equipment is likely to involve a specific H&S risk: its use is restricted to those given the task of using it
  • repairs/modification/maintenance/servicing is restricted to people designated to do so and that they have adequate training
  •  people who use, or supervise/manage the use of, work equipment must:
    • have adequate health and safety information and where appropriate, written instructions pertaining to its use
    • have received adequate training for purposes of health and safety, including training in the methods which may be adopted when using the work equipment, any risks which such use may entail and precautions to be taken
  • work equipment or any part of work equipment is stabilised by clamping or otherwise where necessary for health and safety purposes
  • work equipment incorporates any warnings or warning devices which are appropriate for reasons of health and safety

LOLER[2] contains further legal requirements for employers, specific to equipment used for the lifting and lowering of loads, including that:

• • it is of adequate strength and stability
  •  it is positioned or installed in such a way as to reduce the risk, as far as reasonably practicable, of the equipment or load striking a person, or of the load drifting, falling freely or being unintentionally released
  • it is clearly marked to indicate its ‘safe working load’ (SWL), as well as that of any accessories (and including all potential configurations where this affects SWL) 
  • accessories must be marked to show any characteristics that might affect their safe use 
  • where it is not designed for lifting people, but might be used this way in error, it is clearly marked to indicate it should not be used in this way 
  • lifting operations involving the equipment must be properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised and carried out in safe manner
  • it is thoroughly examined and inspected by a competent person (six monthly for equipment used for lifting people), who must then complete a written report

LOLER specifically addresses lifting equipment to ensure it is used safely and properly maintained. LOLER also includes specific requirements in relation to equipment used for lifting people, including that 

• • it is marked to indicate the number of people that can be lifted in addition to its SWL
  • a person using it / carrying out activities from the carrier is prevented from being crashed, trapped, stuck or falling from the carrier
  • if a person becomes trapped in a carrier they are not exposed to danger and can be freed
  •  it has devices to prevent the risk of the carrier falling, or if this cannot be prevented due to site / height differences, that the carrier has an enhanced safety coefficient suspension rope / chain, and the rope / chain is inspected by a competent person every working day