Direct answer
PUWER requires work equipment used at work to be suitable, maintained and used safely by people who have appropriate information, instruction and training. For packaging machinery, review the actual machine, product, tasks, access, controls, safeguards, isolation, inspection and changes at the site rather than relying on a label or declaration alone.
Key takeaways
- Confirm which machinery, attachments and work activities are in scope.
- Assess suitability and risk in the actual installation.
- Keep evidence of inspection, maintenance and competence.
- Review after change, damage, deterioration or a significant event.
Establish the legal and technical scope
Include the complete installed equipment and the way it is used: loading, production, clearing, cleaning, changeover, maintenance and foreseeable abnormal tasks. New, used, hired and modified equipment can all need a site assessment.
- List machines, conveyors, feeders and ancillary equipment
- Include temporary and maintenance modes
- Identify employees and others exposed
- Record supplier information and known limitations
Assess the actual machine, task and site
Check stability, environment, product hazards, access, trapping, ejection, temperature, pressure, electrical and control risks. Safeguards should support the real task rather than encourage bypassing.
- Verify guards and protective devices
- Review stopping, isolation and stored energy
- Assess cleaning and jam-clearing tasks
- Check control labels, visibility and restart behaviour
Create and retain suitable evidence
The required record depends on risk and circumstances. Retain assessments, inspections, maintenance, defects, modifications, training and verification so the site can show how risks are controlled.
- Machine-specific risk assessment
- Inspection and defect records
- Maintenance and safeguard test evidence
- Operator and maintenance training records
Keep the control current
Changes to product, format, speed, tooling, software, guards, location or use can alter risk. Investigate incidents and repeated bypasses as evidence that the control may not suit the work.
- Use formal modification change control
- Review after relocation or major repair
- Act on repeated guard or fault problems
- Keep instructions and training current
Comparison table
| Control area | Key question | Typical evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Confirm which machinery, attachments and work activities are in scope. | Applicable legislation, standards and responsibility |
| Assessment | Assess suitability and risk in the actual installation. | Risk assessment and verified safeguards |
| Records | Keep evidence of inspection, maintenance and competence. | Drawings, declarations, tests and training records |
| Review | Review after change, damage, deterioration or a significant event. | Change control, inspection and periodic review |
Free working templates
Download these files and adapt them to the actual machine, product, site and acceptance plan.
Official guidance and further reading
These sources provide the current regulatory or standards context. Always check the latest version before making a compliance decision.
Related buyer guides and tools
Relevant machinery and support routes
Use the guide to define the requirement, then compare the specialist routes below against representative product, packaging and output evidence.