Machinery and Equipment

The maintenance of machinery and equipment is covered in the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER).  There will also be information contained in the User’s manual for the machinery and equipment In use.

Some of the most serious incidents on farms involve machinery and equipment.  The problems don’t only occur during day to day operations, they can also happen during in-house maintenance and when clearing blockages.  There have been many reports of limbs lost due to entanglement with rotating PTOs which have either had defective guards or no guards fitted at all.

Machinery and equipment should be maintained in good working order at all times and ideally there should be a record of this. Some machinery and equipment requires formal statutory inspection and this is covered on other pages of the website. 

All employees should undertake a pre-use inspection of the machinery and equipment that they are about to use and immediately report any defects to their Manager.  Defective equipment must not be used until it has been repaired or is replaced. Ideally pre-use inspections should be recorded. 

You should ensure that only those persons who are trained and competent undertake maintenance and that they follow the ‘Safe Stop’ procedure before works commence. 

Safe Stop - Gears in Neutral, Engine Off, Handbrake On, Keys Out!

Always ensure that machines are isolated before maintenance, cleaning, clearing blockages or adjustment. If machinery and equipment is connected to an Electrical supply make sure that it is fully isolated and ideally that there is a lock out procedure in place to prevent it from being started. 

Never put put yourself or anyone else at risk and make sure that new employees are supervised at all times during their training.  

Training is an essential part of competence and it is necessary to ensure that farm workers have received the relevant information, instruction and training to ensure that they can undertake their duties and be safe while doing so. 

Training is available in many forms and this includes:

• formal training delivered by a training centre;
• informal training - delivered by a competent person usually on the job;
• online/e-learning.

Training is required whenever an new employee joins the workforce and this should be a full introduction to the workplace, the hazards and control measures required to ensure the safety of employees and others.  Induction training should cover topics such as:

• Fire - avoidance, evacuation, location of firefighting equipment, contacting emergency services, muster location etc;
• Risk Assessment - what they cover, what action is required by the employee and what to do if the risk assessment is not able to be followed;
• PPE - what is provided, when it should/must be worn, how it should be stored and maintained and what to do if it is lost of damaged;
• Machinery and Vehicles - authorised persons, pre-use inspections, maintenance, defect reporting/recording;
• Tools and Equipment - authorised persons, pre-use inspections, maintenance, defect reporting, storage. 

Where formal training is indicated in HSE Guidance this should be provided before the employee is authorised to use the machinery, vehicles or equipment in question. Formal training is required for those persons operating the following:

• ATV (ride on or sit in);
• Telescopic Handlers;
• Chainsaws;
• Pesticide Use;
• Towing Trailers (to comply with licencing requirements).

HSE guidance provides a wealth of information regarding training and should be consulted for new employees and those changing roles which may require additional training.   It is the employer's responsibility to ensure that an employee has been appropriately trained and that they remain competent.  Refresher training may also be required to ensure continued competence. 

Agricultural trailers and trailed appliances are exempt from the legal testing requirements of road vehicles however they are covered by the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.  The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) applies to any equipment that is used for work and therefore includes agricultural trailers and trailed appliances. 

If the trailers are taken onto the public highway they must also comply with the Road Traffic Act in regard to their condition whether they are road worthy. 

The responsibility is on the owner to ensure that the equipment is safe and in good working order.  If the trailer is being pulled on the public highway and it is found to be defective by law enforcement agencies or the Police the driver and owner could be liable to prosecution.

Daily checks should be carried out to ensure that the vehicle and trailer are in good condition and that all necessary safety equipment is working correctly.  Checks should ideally be recorded, however, these records do not need to be held in a specific format. There are a number of freely available inspection sheets available on the internet.

In addition to ensuring that the trailer is in a roadworthy condition you must also ensure that there is a number plate displayed on the trailer or trailed appliance. 

In 2014 Harry Christian-Allan who was 19 years old was killed while undertaking casual harvest work with a local company.  Harry was asked to transport grain from one location to another a few miles away but unfortunately during the journey the tractor and tendem-axle trailer combination appeared to lose control on a downhill section of the road and struck a bridge. 

In the HSE investigation that followed the HSE found that the trailer on the tractor was fitted with drum-type brakes that had not been correctly adjusted, rendering them ineffective.  Harry's employer was found guilty of breaching Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Atc 1974 and Regulation 5 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 related to maintenance of equipment. 

Harry's mother Jane Gurney has since been working hard to encourage farmers and tractor drivers to get their trailers serviced annually and to perform daily checks to ensure that they are safe.  An 18 point check is carried out by approved testers and it is known as the Tilly Test. Trailers which have been checked and serviced are given a distinctive sticker to verify that the trailer is safe. More information can be found at:

 Tilly Pass. Head to Tow. 

In addition to the safety of the trailer itself, the load being transported must not be overlooked.   Loads must be fully secured before moving off and must remain secure at all times.