Work Equipment Safety in Ireland: Employer Duties Under the General Application Regulations 2007

If your business uses machinery, power tools, vehicles or any other equipment at work, the main Irish rules sit in the Use of Work Equipment provisions of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 299 of 2007). This guide sets out what those provisions require of employers: suitability, maintenance, inspection, information and training, guarding, controls and isolation from energy sources. It applies to employers across Ireland, including office, healthcare and service firms in Dublin that run printers, shredders, workshop tools, catering kit or building plant.

One point on numbering first. In the consolidated text on the Law Reform Commission's Revised Acts site, the work equipment rules are in Part 2, Chapter 2 (Regulations 27 to 61). Chapter 1 of Part 2 deals with the workplace itself. The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) guidance on work equipment is also written against Chapter 2. This post follows that numbering. For the wider picture of the Regulations, see our overview of the General Application Regulations 2007.

What counts as "use" of work equipment

Regulation 27 defines terms for the chapter. According to the Revised Acts text, "use of work equipment" is wide. It covers use, transport, repair, modification, maintenance, servicing, cleaning, and starting or stopping the equipment. That matters in practice because many injuries happen during cleaning, clearing a jam or maintenance, not normal operation, and the duties apply to those tasks too.

Suitability and selection (Regulation 28)

Regulation 28 sets out the employer's general duties in a list of paragraphs, (a) to (q). In plain terms, the list covers the following.

• Selection: choose equipment with regard to the conditions and hazards at your own workplace, including any extra hazards the equipment itself creates.
• Installation and location: install and locate equipment, or adapt it, so it can be used without risk.
• Minimising residual risk: where a risk cannot be completely removed, take appropriate measures to minimise it.
• Space and access: provide enough space between moving parts and nearby fixed or moving parts, and safe access to and positions in areas needed for production, adjustment and maintenance.
• Restricting use: where equipment poses a specific risk, limit its use to the employees who need to use it, and make sure people who repair or maintain it are competent.
• Ergonomics, lighting and markings: consider working posture and position, light the areas where equipment is worked on or maintained, and make sure it carries the warnings and markings essential to safety.
• Heat, fire, explosion and energy supply: protect against hot or very cold parts, fire, overheating, explosion and, where relevant, lightning, and supply or remove energy and substances safely.
• Appropriate use: use equipment only for operations and under conditions for which it is appropriate.

The first item in the list ties the duty to equipment standards: the employer must ensure that work equipment provided to employees complies, where appropriate, with the relevant national enactments implementing EU directives on work equipment. Our suggestion: when buying or hiring, ask the supplier for the manufacturer's instructions and any declaration of conformity, and keep them with the equipment file.

Information and instruction (Regulation 29)

Regulation 29 requires employers to give employees adequate information and, where appropriate, written instructions on the work equipment. Employees must also be made aware of safety and health risks relevant to them, including risks from equipment near their workstation even if they do not use it. The HSA guidance on work equipment adds that the information should cover conditions of use and foreseeable abnormal situations.

Regulation 29 is headed "Information and instruction" and does not itself mention training. Regulation 28 requires that, where equipment poses a specific risk, use is restricted to employees who need to use it, and that those who repair, modify, maintain or service it are competent to do so. The HSA guidance gives fork-lift operators as an example of equipment where use should be limited to trained employees, and suggests planning cover for illness and leave. It also notes that its guide is not a legal interpretation.

Inspection (Regulation 30)

Regulation 30 is the inspection rule. According to the Revised Acts text, it requires:

• an inspection after installation and before first use, where safety depends on the installation conditions, and again after assembly at a new site or location;
• periodic inspections and, where appropriate, testing, for equipment exposed to conditions that cause deterioration likely to result in danger, with deterioration remedied in good time;
• inspections carried out by a competent person;
• results recorded and kept available for 5 years from the date of inspection, and made available to inspectors and, on request, to equipment users.

The regulation itself does not set a fixed interval for periodic inspection of general work equipment. The HSA work equipment toolkit page we read also gives no interval for general equipment. Fixed examination intervals appear for lifting equipment, which is a separate subject; our guide to thorough examination of lifting equipment covers it. For everything else, the interval is a judgement based on how fast the equipment deteriorates and how it is used. A practical approach: set intervals in writing, based on the manufacturer's instructions and your risk assessment, and review them after any incident or near miss.

Maintenance (Regulation 31)

Regulation 31 requires the employer to keep work equipment, by means of adequate maintenance, in a condition that complies with the chapter throughout its working life. The text says that where possible maintenance should take place while the equipment is shut down; where that is not possible, protective measures must be taken or the work done outside the danger area. A maintenance log for any machine must be kept up to date.

The page does not set maintenance frequencies. The HSA toolkit also gives none. So the frequency is for you to decide and justify, using manufacturer guidance and your risk assessment.

Controls, stopping and restarting (Regulation 32)

Regulation 32 lists requirements for control devices. Among them, as read in the Revised Acts text:

• controls that affect safety must be clearly visible and identifiable;
• equipment can be started only by deliberate action on a control provided for that purpose;
• every item of equipment must have a control to stop it completely and safely, and each workstation must have a control to bring some or all of the equipment to a safe state;
• the stop control takes priority over start controls;
• where appropriate, given the hazards and the normal stopping time, the equipment must have an emergency stop device;
• exposed employees must have the time and the means to avoid hazards caused by starting or stopping the equipment.

The regulation also includes a requirement for a control to restart equipment after a stoppage, unless that exposes no one to a hazard. It does not apply to restarts that are part of a normal automatic operating cycle.

Guards and protection devices (Regulation 33)

Where moving parts could cause contact injury, Regulation 33 requires guards or protection devices to prevent access to danger zones. According to the text, guards and protection devices must:

• be of robust construction;
• not create any additional hazard;
• not be easily removed or rendered inoperative;
• be situated at sufficient distance from the danger zone;
• not restrict more than necessary the view of the equipment's operating cycle;
• allow the operations needed to fit or replace parts and, where possible, restrict access to the area where maintenance is done without removing the guard.

The HSA guidance explains that fixed guards suit parts that are rarely accessed and interlocked guards suit frequent access. Our suggestion: include guard checks in start-of-shift checks, and make it a rule that nobody uses equipment with a guard removed or bypassed.

Isolation from energy sources and lock-out (Regulation 34)

Regulation 34 requires all work equipment to be fitted with clearly identifiable means of isolating it from all its energy sources, and reconnection must not pose any risk to the employees concerned.

The regulation does not use the term "lock-out/tag-out" or prescribe a particular procedure. The HSA guidance, however, discusses the practical side. It points to residual energy (for example in capacitors or hydraulic circuits), says reconnection must not endanger workers, and says only authorised people should control restarts and the removal of padlocks or multi-lock systems. It also warns about lock-on switches, such as those on some angle grinders. A practical approach to lock-out, which is our suggestion and not a legal requirement:

• write a short isolation procedure for each machine type, naming the isolation points;
• make sure the person doing the work controls the lock, and that each person working on the machine has their own lock or a multi-lock system;
• test that the equipment is dead before starting and check for stored energy;
• name who is authorised to remove locks and restore power, and keep a record.

Making it work in your safety system

The Regulations sit under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, and equipment risks belong in your risk assessment and safety statement. Our guide to the safety statement and risk assessment under the 2005 Act explains that framework. A practical approach is to keep an equipment register listing each item, its manufacturer's instructions, who is authorised to use it, inspection dates and results, maintenance log entries, guard and isolation arrangements, and training records. That one file lets you show an HSA inspector how you meet the Regulation 28 to 34 duties.

The chapter also contains rules for mobile work equipment (including fork-lift trucks), which are outside the scope of this guide. Check Regulations 35 onwards in the Revised Acts text if you run such equipment. Also check the current consolidated text rather than relying on a summary: the Revised Acts page was shown as updated to 24 May 2023, and amendments after that date should be checked on the Irish Statute Book.

Learnsignal's offices are off Baggot Street in Dublin, and we offer in-person training from there. For current details, see our CPD pages.

Frequently asked questions

Do the work equipment rules apply to office equipment?

The definition of use of work equipment in Regulation 27 is broad, and Regulation 28 requires equipment to be suitable and used safely. The sources we read do not carve out offices. Treat shredders, guillotines, trolleys and similar items as in scope and cover them in your risk assessment.

How often must work equipment be inspected?

Regulation 30 requires inspection after installation and at a new site, and periodic inspection for equipment exposed to deterioration. It does not give an interval for general equipment. Records must be kept for 5 years from the date of inspection.

Who counts as a competent person for inspection?

Regulation 30 requires inspection by a competent person, suited to the equipment's nature, location and use. The Regulations do not define the term themselves; section 2(2) of the 2005 Act describes a competent person as having sufficient training, experience and knowledge appropriate to the nature of the work to be undertaken. Choose someone with the knowledge and experience to judge that particular equipment, and record why they are suitable.

Does Irish law require a lock-out/tag-out system?

Regulation 34 requires clearly identifiable means of isolating equipment from all energy sources, and safe reconnection. It does not prescribe a lock-out/tag-out procedure by name. The HSA guidance discusses padlocks and multi-lock systems as practical measures.

Where can I check the current text?

Use the Irish Statute Book and the Law Reform Commission's Revised Acts page for S.I. No. 299 of 2007, and the HSA's guidance on work equipment for its practical explanation.

Work equipment risk is managed by choosing, maintaining, inspecting, guarding and isolating equipment, and by making sure people know how to use it safely.