PUWER equipment breaches increase by 29% on construction sites

PUWER breaches on construction sites have increased by 29% following 7,000 inspections conducted by the Building Safety Group (BSG), which compared Q2 with Q3 this year.

PUWER stands for the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations. It places duties on people and companies who own, operate, or have control over work equipment. PUWER regulations are enforced by HSE inspectors during regular checks. An improvement notice will be placed on a piece of equipment if a health and safety inspector feels that it has not been subject to inspections and risk assessments detailed under PUWER.

In these instances, the inspector will tell the business owner what actions they need to take to comply with PUWER regulations and give them a period of 21 days to put these actions into place. If the actions are not followed within this period a prohibition notice will be enforced, preventing the owner from using the equipment.

Consequences of not adhering to PUWER

Fines for non-compliance of PUWER regulations can range from £10,000 to several hundred thousand pounds, depending on the risk and outcome. In serious cases, such as where injuries occur due to faulty lifting equipment, directors and managers can face prosecution and even imprisonment. Businesses may also face enforcement notices, halting operations until issues are resolved. In one case example, a construction company was fined £120,000 when a worker was injured due to an unexamined lifting accessory that failed during a lift.

PUWER Regulations

Andy Harper, Head of Technical & CDM Support at BSG commented: “Businesses need to look at PUWER regulations closely and make note of what is considered ‘work equipment’ which is a ‘catch all’ term that covers any tool, appliance, or piece of machinery that could potentially pose a risk to employees.”

Andy added: “PUWER regulations require a competent person to periodically inspect each piece of work equipment to ensure it is fit for use, and to officially record their findings for future reference. With more complex pieces of machinery, instructions on how to use the equipment, alongside any potential safety issues, should be made available to all equipment users.”

Mark Johnson | BA (Hons) MA | Communications and External Affairs Manager, The Building Safety Group

For further information about PUWER and how these regulations apply to your business, please visit the BSG HUB: MS 43 Record of Inspection PUWER & L22 PUWER