Machinery safety at home and at work: PUWER in plain English

A pillar drill, a table saw or a log splitter doesn’t know whether it is being used for a hobby or for a business. The law does notice the difference, though. At work, the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 — usually shortened to PUWER — set out what has to happen. At home, nobody inspects your shed, but the same principles are the best guide to using machinery without getting hurt.

This guide summarises what HSE says about PUWER, what the rules on selling machinery cover, and the habits worth borrowing for home use. It is general information, not legal advice.

When PUWER applies

HSE explains that PUWER places duties on people and companies who own, operate or have control over work equipment, and on businesses whose employees use work equipment, whether the business owns it or not.

“Work equipment” is defined very widely. HSE describes it as any machinery, appliance, apparatus, tool or installation for use at work, whether exclusively or not — and that includes equipment that employees provide for their own use at work. “Use” is wide too: starting, stopping, setting, transporting, repairing, maintaining, servicing and cleaning all count.

So if you run a small gardening, building, maintenance or workshop business, the machines on this site that you use for the business are work equipment.

What PUWER asks for

HSE’s overview says equipment provided for use at work must be:

• suitable for the use it is put to;
• safe to use, maintained in a safe condition and, where installation or wear could make it dangerous, inspected;
• used only by people who have had adequate information, instruction and training;
• fitted with suitable safety measures — normally guarding, emergency stops, a way of isolating it from its energy sources, clear markings and warning devices.

HSE goes further on the details. Access to dangerous parts should normally be prevented by fixed guards, with interlocked guards where routine access is needed. Where a dangerous part can’t be fully guarded — HSE gives the example of the blade of a circular saw — it must be protected as far as possible and a safe system of work used. Equipment needs controls for starting, stopping and controlling it; a way of isolating it from all power sources, including electric, hydraulic, pneumatic and gravitational energy; and, where necessary, clamping or other means to stabilise it.

HSE also points out that some equipment is covered by other law as well: lifting equipment by LOLER, pressure equipment by the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations (relevant if you use an air compressor at work) and personal protective equipment by the PPE Regulations. Woodworking machinery has its own Approved Code of Practice.

Protective equipment comes last, not first

HSE’s PPE guidance says employers must assess the risks and provide PPE free of charge where it is needed — but PPE is for the hazards that remain after engineering controls and safe systems of work have been applied. In a workshop that means guards and dust extraction first, then the ear defenders, safety glasses and masks on top.

When you buy a machine

There are rules for the people who make and supply machinery too. The Office for Product Safety and Standards publishes guidance on the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008, which apply to machinery, interchangeable equipment, safety components and partly completed machinery, and set obligations for manufacturers and their authorised representatives. The guidance was revised after legislation extended recognition of the CE marking for products placed on the Great Britain market (in force from 1 October 2024), which is why you will see machines sold in Great Britain with a CE mark, a UKCA mark or both.

Those rules are about how a machine is designed and supplied. They don’t make the machine safe to use carelessly — that part is still down to the person using it.

Borrowing the habits at home

PUWER doesn’t apply to DIY in your own home, but its principles translate neatly:

1. Read the manual first. Honda’s safety advice for its machines starts with reading the owner’s manual thoroughly and understanding the stickers on the machine — and making sure anyone else who uses it has been shown how.
2. Pick the right machine for the job. That is PUWER’s “suitable” test in plain words. A small bench-top saw such as the Einhell TC-TS 200 is sold for light DIY cutting; ripping sheets of board is what site saws such as the DeWalt DWE7485 are built for.
3. Keep the guards on. Riving knives, blade guards, chuck guards and shredder funnel interlocks are there because the dangerous part can’t be removed. DeWalt even stores the riving knife, anti-kickback pawls and push stick on board its table saw so they don’t go missing.
4. Isolate before you reach in. Unplug (or stop the engine) before clearing a blocked shredder, changing a blade or adjusting a belt. Shredder makers such as Bosch and Einhell supply a prodder so that hands stay out of the funnel.
5. Hold the work, not the hazard. HSE talks about stabilising equipment by clamping; at home that means a drill press vice rather than fingers, and a machine that is bolted or clamped to a stable bench.
6. Look after it. Damaged leads, blunt blades and missing guards are exactly the “deterioration” PUWER inspections look for.
7. Then add PPE. See noise and hearing protection and eye, face and breathing protection.

Engines are a special case

Petrol generators, chippers, log splitters and mixers add carbon monoxide and fuel to the list of hazards. Read generators and carbon monoxide and storing petrol at home before you buy one.

If you employ people

If anyone works for you, HSE’s PUWER pages and the PPE guidance are the place to start — and they go into far more detail than this summary, including inspection, maintenance logs, training and mobile equipment.