Puwer 1998

Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, regulation 6, states:

Every employer shall ensure that work equipment exposed to conditions causing deterioration which is liable to result in dangerous situations is inspected—

(a) At suitable intervals; and
(b) Each time that exceptional circumstances which are liable to jeopardise the safety of the work equipment have occurred, to ensure that health and safety conditions are maintained and that any deterioration can be detected and remedied in good time.

Every employer shall ensure that the result of an inspection made under this regulation is recorded and kept until the next inspection under this regulation is recorded.

To find out more about the responsibility of using a Forklift Truck and the HSE’s expectation of the employer and employee’s please click the PDF link below.

forklift truck guide Download

Thorough Examination:

Beware: not every Examination is truly Thorough. CFTS is the only standard guaranteed to fulfil your obligations under LOLER 98 & PUWER 98.

Some so-called “Thorough” Examinations only cover a fork truck’s lifting mechanism, doing the minimum to meet LOLER 98 (in blue, below); but you also have a duty under PUWER 98 to ensure equipment is safe to use – and that requires a much more detailed test (also including the items in red). Only CFTS Thorough Examination is certain to cover both parts.

Hover your mouse over an item to see more detail… and think: would you want to use a truck that hadn’t had its brakes checked?

Thorough Examination: whose Responsible?

When a fork lift truck is owned outright, responsibility for its Thorough Examination is straightforward. But what about when it’s on hire or lease?

Under Health and Safety legislation, the employer of the fork lift truck operator has a duty of care to ensure the equipment is safe:

“It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, as far as is reasonably practical, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees.”

Health & Safety at Work Act, 1974

Where the employer is also the outright owner of the truck, the implication of this duty (in the light of LOLER 98 and PUWER 98) is clear: the employer must arrange a regular  Thorough Examination schedule appropriate to the truck and its use.

If the truck is leased, or rented on a long-term basis (12 months or more), the responsibilities are the same as if it was owned outright, and the duty remains with the employer of the truck operator.

However, if the truck is provided on a short term basis (one day to one year) the rental company has responsibility for arranging Thorough Examination as its owner…

…BUT the employer of the truck’s operator must still satisfy themselves that the truck carries a valid Thorough Examination – usually by insisting on having a copy of the Report of Thorough Examination included with the rental documentation.

In addition, the truck must have a valid Report of Thorough Examination whenever it leaves an owner’s undertaking – in effect, when it changes hands, or is transferred between companies, whether on a temporary or permanent