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Is this machine
safe to use
today?

A free plant and equipment inspection checklist: 20 checks in plain English, each with the regulation behind it. PUWER and LOLER, in the order an operator actually walks a machine.

Published · Last reviewed

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What a plant inspection
has to cover.

Two sets of regulations do most of the work here and they are constantly confused. PUWER 1998 covers all work equipment and asks whether it is suitable, maintained and safely used. LOLER 1998 sits on top for anything that lifts, and adds the thorough examination: an independent technical inspection on a fixed interval that a daily walk-round does not replace and cannot postpone.

PUWER against LOLER, the intervals, and who is competent to sign+
PUWER, in one line
All work equipment must be suitable for the job (Reg 4), maintained in efficient working order (Reg 5), inspected where safety depends on installation or deterioration (Reg 6), and used only by people who have had adequate training (Reg 9).
LOLER, in one line
Anything used for lifting loads or people must be of adequate strength and stability (Reg 4), positioned to reduce risk (Reg 5), lifting operations planned by a competent person (Reg 8), and thoroughly examined on interval (Reg 9).
The two intervals
A thorough examination is required at least every 6 months for equipment used to lift people, and every 12 months for everything else, or in accordance with an examination scheme drawn up by a competent person. Accessories such as slings and chains: 6 months.
Who signs what
The operator does the pre-use check: that is a look, listen and function test, not a signature of competence. The thorough examination needs a competent person with enough independence to be objective, which in practice means it is not the person who maintains the machine.
What this checklist covers
20 checks across three sections: 8 the operator walks before starting, 6 on function and controls, 6 on the paperwork behind the machine. Each entry names the regulation it comes from.
The walk round

Before you start it.

Eight things the operator sees without turning a key. This is the pre-use check PUWER expects daily.

Function and controls

With the engine running.

Six things you can only check by starting it. Do them where the machine can move safely.

The paperwork

What stands behind it.

Six checks on the folder. This is what an inspector reaches for after the machine passes.

A starting point for your own review, not legal advice. Always check against the current regulations and HSE guidance. Put your own company in the field above and the PDF carries your name instead of ours. Ticks, notes and site details stay in your browser. Nothing is sent to us.

Download

Or use it as a printable template.

Download the blank plant and equipment inspection checklist as a PDF, or work through the list above on screen and save that instead, dated and carrying the site, the person who prepared it and the score out of 20. Nothing is gated: no email address to hand over, no account to create, no trial to start.

Download the blank template (PDF) PDF · 20 checks · 69 KB · free, no sign-up
A blank template
The PDF above carries all 20 checks, each with the regulation it comes from and a ruled line for the evidence, the owner and the date. Print it and fill it in on site.
Or a completed record
Work through it on screen first and Save as PDF produces a dated record of what was in place and what was not, with your evidence notes typed against each check.
Your ticks stay in your browser
Ticks, notes and site details are held on this device only. Nothing is sent to us, so you can close the tab and pick it up tomorrow on the same machine.
Your name on it, not ours
Put your company in the field above and the downloaded PDF carries your letterhead instead of Unibuild's. It is free: a sheet you hand to a client should be able to have your name on it.

Worth knowing. A checklist filled in once, the week of an audit, is a snapshot. The evidence behind it is either generated as the work runs or reconstructed under pressure, and that is the difference between a template and a record. It is also what the health and safety module is for.

By duty holder

The same inspection,
read by role.

These are the same checks above, grouped by whoever normally answers for them.

Operator

The walk round and the function section, every day the machine runs. The pre-use check is yours, and so is the authority to refuse a machine that fails it.

Site manager

That the daily records exist for the days the machine ran, that the operator is authorised for this site, and that a defect can actually take a machine off the job.

Competent person, LOLER

The thorough examination. Independent enough to be objective, which in practice means not the person who maintains it, and to interval rather than to convenience.

Appointed person, lifting

Item 5 of the paperwork. The lift plan, the exclusion zone, the duty chart and the ground. Nothing lifts over people.

Plant manager or hirer

Servicing, examination scheduling and the defect route. A defect reported into a system that never removes a machine from service is a record of a decision, not a control.

Principal contractor

That plant coming onto site arrives with its paperwork rather than a promise to send it, and that hired-in machines are checked on arrival not on invoice.

After the checklist

You shouldn't need
this checklist.

On the platform each machine has a record: the checks, the defects, the examinations and the dates they expire, so the walk-round is entered once and the certificate never quietly lapses.

Questions

What people ask before
they use the checklist.

The questions that come up most often around a plant and equipment inspection checklist, answered against the regulations rather than around them.

What is the difference between PUWER and LOLER?+
PUWER 1998 applies to all work equipment and covers suitability, maintenance, inspection, training, guarding and controls. LOLER 1998 applies specifically to equipment used for lifting loads or people and adds requirements on strength and stability, positioning, planning of lifting operations and, most visibly, the thorough examination on a fixed interval. A telehandler is subject to both.
How often is a thorough examination required?+
At least every six months for lifting equipment used to lift people and for lifting accessories such as slings, chains and shackles, and at least every twelve months for other lifting equipment. Alternatively it can be done in accordance with an examination scheme drawn up by a competent person, which may set different intervals based on use.
Does a daily pre-use check replace the thorough examination?+
No, and they are not the same kind of thing. The pre-use check is a look, listen and function test by the operator to catch obvious deterioration since yesterday. The thorough examination is a detailed technical inspection by a competent person, on interval, with a written report. Neither substitutes for the other.
Who is a competent person for a thorough examination?+
Somebody with the practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of the equipment to detect defects and assess their significance, and with enough independence and authority to report without fear or favour. In practice that usually means it is not the person responsible for maintaining the machine, and often not an employee of the owner.
What should happen when a machine fails a check?+
It comes out of service before it comes off the checklist. That means a physical control such as removing the key or tagging the isolator, not just a note in a book, plus a logged defect with an owner and a date. A defect route that cannot actually stop a machine being used is not a control.
Do we need a lift plan for every lift?+
Every lifting operation must be properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised and carried out safely, under LOLER Regulation 8. For a routine, repetitive lift the plan can be a generic one covering that operation. For anything complex, tandem, blind, over occupied areas or near live services, it needs to be specific to that lift.
Is this checklist free, and do I have to sign up?+
It is free and there is nothing to sign up for. No email address, no account, no trial. Tick it above, add evidence notes if you want them, and download the result as a PDF. Ticks, notes and site details are held in your own browser and nothing is sent to us.
Can I put my own company name on the PDF?+
Yes. There is a company field beside the site and the person completing it, and whatever you put there becomes the letterhead on the downloaded PDF instead of ours. It is a free checklist: a sheet you hand to a client should be able to carry your name.
Does Unibuild do this for me?+
No supplier makes a business compliant, and be wary of one that says its software does. What the platform does is hold the record: the check, the person, the date, the photograph and the action that followed, retrievable by site and by date with an audit trail behind it. The duty stays with the duty holder. More on the health and safety module.
Next step

On the machine
outside.

Take this to the biggest thing on your site and see whether the folder agrees with the walk round.

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