Power press safety, inspections & maintenance

Maintaining the safety of power press and process machinery in compliance with PUWER

A power press is defined in PUWER 98 as "a press or brake for the working of metal by means of tools, or for dye proving, which is power driven and which embodies a flywheel and a clutch."

The purpose of a power press inspection and safety test is to ensure that all the guards and other protective devices, e.g. light curtains, fitted to the machine area are inefficient and effective working order and that the press is safe to use.

Your challenge

Requirements for examinations of power presses are covered in the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) as applied to power presses.

The regulations state that:

• Power presses with automatic, photo-electric or interlocking guards should be thoroughly examined every six months
• Power presses with fixed guards or enclosed tools should be thoroughly examined every 12 months
• Process machines with guards should also be inspected regularly, although intervals are not specified
• For paper guillotines and injection moulding machines, there are guidance notes which recommend periodic safety inspections.

Other guarded machinery with safety devices that are prone to deterioration will require an inspection under PUWER Regulation 6. Although intervals are not specified, the frequency is determined from the machine’s PUWER Assessment.

Benefits

• Achieve and maintain compliance with PUWER, helping to ensure the safety of your power press and process machinery
• Enable better planning of maintenance and repair programmes to spread costs
• Gain complete peace of mind from a trusted, independent inspection partner with no financial association to contractors
• Experienced team with comprehensive understanding of the latest regulations
• One supplier to drive efficiency of inspections
• Expert team of qualified inspection engineers operating nationwide, supported by a central planning team
• Innovative approach to inspections with online tools to add value including Swift, giving 24/7 access to inspection reports

Experts in Puwer regulation, power press safety, inspections & maintenance

Bureau Veritas has more than 190 years of experience worldwide performing power press and process machinery inspections and maintenance in compliance with PUWER. Also, We support organisations in giving their teams training and the background and knowledge they need to meet complex regulatory requirements such as PUWER across sites, countries and regions.

We have an experienced team of inspection engineers operating nationwide to help businesses like yours to achieve and maintain compliance around power press and process machinery.

We can undertake comprehensive inspections of your equipment in line with regulatory requirements and guidelines. As your compliance partner, we also offer advice on meeting your obligations, including frequency of inspections to optimise costs.

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