What is the difference between PUWER and LOLER?

PUWER is the general duty covering all work equipment: suitability, maintenance, inspection, and trained use. LOLER adds specific requirements for equipment that lifts — most importantly the thorough examination by a competent person at 6 or 12 month intervals. Lifting equipment is subject to both: PUWER for the general duties and LOLER for the lifting-specific ones. LOLER does not replace PUWER, it sits on top of it.

Does PUWER require a formal inspection?

It requires inspection where safety depends on the installation conditions, or where the equipment is exposed to conditions causing deterioration that could lead to a dangerous situation. It does not set universal intervals the way LOLER does. The frequency and scope come from a risk-based judgement, usually informed by manufacturer guidance and a maintenance standard such as SFG20, and the inspection should be recorded.

Does PUWER apply to contractor equipment on my site?

The duty sits with the employer who provides equipment for use at work, so a contractor is responsible for their own equipment. However, as the site duty holder you have your own obligations around permitting work and verifying competence, and where you provide equipment for a contractor to use, PUWER duties for that equipment are yours. Contract and permit arrangements should make the split explicit.

What records does PUWER expect?

There is no single prescribed record, but the duties are effectively unprovable without them. In practice that means a maintenance log demonstrating equipment is kept in efficient working order, inspection records where inspection is required, and training records showing that users were adequately instructed. If you cannot produce those on request, you cannot demonstrate compliance even where the underlying work was actually done.

PM Assist

Work equipment

PUWER Explained: The Work Equipment Regulations

PUWER is the general duty that sits underneath almost every piece of plant in a building. Where LOLER covers lifting specifically, PUWER covers work equipment broadly — and it applies to far more of an estate than most teams assume. This guide explains what it requires and where it overlaps with the regimes you already run.

Diagram summarising what is PUWER for facilities and estates teams, covering What counts as work equipment, The four core duties and PUWER, LOLER, and PSSR together

In short

PUWER is the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. It requires that equipment provided for use at work is suitable for its purpose, kept in good repair, inspected where safety depends on installation or condition, and used only by people who have been adequately trained and informed.

What counts as work equipment

The definition is deliberately wide: any machinery, appliance, apparatus, tool, or installation used at work. In a building services context that captures plant most people would expect — air handling units, pumps, compressors, generators, workshop machinery — and a great deal that people do not, including access equipment, powered doors and gates, and the hand tools an in-house team uses.

The practical consequence is that PUWER is rarely the reason a specific inspection happens, but it is frequently the reason one is required. Where no more specific regime applies, PUWER is the fallback duty, and 'no specific regulation covers it' is not a defence for equipment that is unsuitable, unmaintained, or operated by untrained people.

Machinery, appliances, apparatus, tools, and installations used at work
Includes plant, access equipment, powered doors and gates, and hand tools
Applies whether the equipment is owned, leased, or provided by a contractor
Acts as the fallback duty where no more specific regime applies

The four core duties

PUWER breaks down into a small number of practical obligations. Equipment must be suitable for the work and the conditions it is used in — the right machine for the job, in an environment it can tolerate. It must be maintained in efficient working order and good repair, with a maintenance log where one is appropriate. It must be inspected where its safety depends on installation conditions or where it is exposed to conditions causing deterioration. And it must only be used by people who have had adequate training, information, and instruction.

Those duties sit on top of specific protections around dangerous parts, controls, isolation, stability, lighting, and warnings. For an FM team the practical reading is that PUWER is what turns a maintenance regime from good practice into a legal expectation, and what makes the maintenance record itself matter — the duty is not just to maintain but to be able to show it.

Suitable for the work and the environment it is used in
Maintained in efficient working order and good repair
Inspected where safety depends on installation or condition
Used only by trained, informed, and instructed people

PUWER, LOLER, and PSSR together

These three regimes overlap deliberately rather than competing. PUWER is the general duty covering all work equipment. LOLER adds specific requirements for lifting equipment on top of PUWER — a passenger lift is subject to both, with LOLER supplying the thorough examination regime. PSSR adds specific requirements for pressure systems, again on top of PUWER, supplying the written scheme of examination.

The test to apply is: what is the equipment doing? If it lifts, LOLER also applies. If it contains a relevant fluid under pressure, PSSR also applies. If neither, PUWER alone governs — which still means suitable, maintained, inspected, and operated by trained people. Getting this mapping right across an asset register is what stops equipment falling between regimes, which is the usual way a gap appears in a compliance schedule.

Related maintenance checklists

Air Compressor Checklist·Standby Generator Checklist·Escalator & Moving Walkway Checklist·Extract Fan Checklist·All checklists

Free tools for this

Maintenance checklist generator·All free tools

Related inspection checklists

Ladder Inspection Checklist·PPE Inspection Checklist·All inspection checklists

Sources

The regulatory positions on this page come from the following primary sources. Where guidance and legislation differ, the legislation governs — always confirm the requirements that apply to your own site and jurisdiction.

Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 — legislation.gov.uk
PUWER: using work equipment safely — Health and Safety Executive

Frequently asked questions

Make maintenance evidence retrievable

PUWER duties are only as good as the records behind them. Keep manuals, maintenance logs, and inspection records searchable so evidence is a question away.

Upload and organise building documentation
AI-powered search across all your manuals
Source-cited answers for every query
Team collaboration and access control
No credit card required to start

Start free View pricing