Neuguard's PUWER / AUWED Services
We provide PUWER and AUWED machinery assessment services that can be delivered through a standardised assessment format or tailored to suit the specific needs, machinery types and operating environment of your organisation.
Provision & Use of Work Equipment (PUWER) Regulations 1998
PUWER — What the Law Requires
PUWER is legal, mandatory and enforceable in the UK. If you use work equipment or machinery, you must ensure it is:
- Suitable and safe for use
- Properly maintained and inspected
- Used only by trained, competent personnel
- Provided with appropriate guarding, controls and instructions
Failure to comply risks:
- HSE enforcement & prosecution
- Serious injury & downtime
- Incalculable financial and reputational damage
If machinery is in your workplace, PUWER applies to you.
What Employers Must Do
To comply with PUWER, organisations must:
- Assess machinery risks
- Ensure equipment suitability
- Implement guarding & safety measures where applicable
- Maintain and inspect equipment
- Train operators and maintenance staff
- Keep compliance records
This is exactly where Neuguard helps clients to achieve compliance and peace of mind.
Amended Use of Work Equipment Directive 2009/104/EC
AUWED — What the Law Requires
AUWED is the European directive that sets minimum health and safety requirements for the use of work equipment by workers at work. If you use machinery or work equipment within a European workplace, you must ensure it is:
- Suitable and safe for use
- Properly maintained and inspected
- Used only by trained, competent personnel
- Provided with appropriate guarding, controls and instructions
- Assessed and managed in line with applicable national requirements
Failure to comply risks:
- Regulatory enforcement and prosecution
- Serious injury and operational downtime
- Significant financial and reputational damage
If machinery is used in your workplace, AUWED may apply to you through the relevant national legislation of the country in which the equipment is operated.
What Employers Must Do
To comply with AUWED requirements, organisations must:
- Assess machinery and work equipment risks
- Ensure equipment is suitable for its intended use
- Implement guarding and safety measures where applicable
- Maintain and inspect equipment
- Train operators and maintenance personnel
- Keep appropriate compliance records
- Manage residual risks and corrective actions
This is exactly where Neuguard helps clients achieve compliance, consistency and peace of mind across UK and European operations.
Neuguard has the capacity to provide AUWED machinery assessments in European countries and can support clients operating internationally.
Our Scoring Methods
Neuguard can apply either a qualitative or quantitative scoring method for PUWER assessments, depending on the client’s preference, internal procedures and reporting requirements.
Our qualitative method uses a simple traffic light system to categorise findings by priority. This provides a clear and easy-to-understand overview of machinery compliance, helping clients quickly identify high-priority issues, moderate concerns and lower-priority improvements.
Our quantitative method is based on the Hazard Rating Number system. This uses numerical values to assess factors such as severity of harm, likelihood of occurrence, frequency of exposure and number of persons at risk. The resulting score provides a structured basis for prioritising corrective actions and demonstrating risk reduction once improvements have been implemented.
Both methods are designed to produce practical, compliance-focused outputs. Whether a client prefers a simple visual priority system or a more detailed numerical risk rating, our PUWER assessments provide clear findings, proportionate corrective actions and a prioritised route towards improved machinery safety.