PUWER 1998 · Work equipment

Robot Arm Inspection and Testing

Independent inspection of your robot arm as work equipment, against the PUWER duties, by a competent engineer surveyor.

A robot arm is inspected as a system: the arm, the cell around it, and every device that promises the arm will stop before it reaches a person. We carry out PUWER inspection and testing of industrial robots and cobot installations, and issue the written record of inspection.

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  • Independent and impartial
  • Competent engineer surveyors
  • Reports issued promptly
The cell is the machineFencing, gates, scanners and stops are inspected with the arm
Risk basedInspection at intervals set by a competent person under Reg 6
Written recordThe output is a record of inspection, not a certificate
Cobots includedForce limited robots are judged against their application, not their brochure
Work equipment we inspect

Why your robot arm needs PUWER inspection

An industrial robot arm moves with speed, reach and indifference, so its safety was never in the arm: it lives in the safeguarded space around it. Perimeter fencing and interlocked gates keep people out while the robot runs, light curtains and area scanners stop it when someone crosses the line, and the teach pendant's enabling device protects the one person allowed inside during programming. PUWER inspects all of it as one machine.

Collaborative robots move the boundary rather than remove it. A cobot's force and speed limiting only makes it safe for the specific application assessed, the payload, the tooling, the reachable pinch points, and a cobot fitted with a gripper full of sheet metal edges is not collaborative in any meaningful sense. The inspection judges the installation against its risk assessment, and says so in writing when the two have drifted apart.

Six axis industrial robots
SCARA and delta robots
Collaborative robot cells
Palletising robots
Perimeter fencing and gates
Light curtains and scanners
Teach pendants and enabling devices
Safety controllers and stops
How it works

How we inspect your robot arm

The inspection walks the cell boundary for gaps, reach over and reach through, tests every gate interlock and its ability to stop the arm, proves light curtains and scanner fields against the robot's actual stopping distance, exercises the teach pendant enabling device and reduced speed mode, checks resets are outside the cell, reviews the cobot application against its assessment, and confirms emergency stops function from every station.

  • 1

    Test the boundary, not the brochure

    Fencing, curtains and scanners are proven against where the arm can actually reach and how far it travels after a stop.

  • 2

    Prove every stop

    Gate interlocks, emergency stops and protective stops are fired with the robot running, because a stop that has never been tested is a hope.

  • 3

    Record the system's verdict

    The written record covers the arm, the safeguards and the application, with defects, timescales and the inspection interval stated.

Why businesses choose SEIS

  • Robot cells inspected as systems, arm and safeguards together
  • Cobot applications judged against their real tooling and payloads
  • Stops and interlocks fired live, with results recorded
  • Records and reminders through the SEIS client portal
What we check

Robot arm: what a thorough inspection covers

Fencing gaps and reach over

Cells grow conveyor openings and pallet gaps over time. The boundary is walked and gauged, including the reach over nobody measured since installation.

Bridged gate interlocks

A cable tied gate switch is the classic robot cell defect. Every interlock is operated and its stop function proven with the arm in motion.

Scanner fields versus stopping distance

A scanner field drawn short of the robot's real stopping distance protects nothing. Field boundaries are checked against measured stops.

Enabling device function

The teach pendant's three position enabling switch must stop the arm on release and on panic grip. Both are tested in reduced speed mode.

Cobot force settings

Force limits set for yesterday's gripper do not cover today's. Settings, tooling and pinch points are reviewed against the current application.

Resets outside the cell

A reset reachable from inside the cell lets the robot restart around a person. Reset positions and restart behaviour are checked and recorded.

Intervals and your record

How often, and what you receive

Every robot arm inspection closes with a written record of inspection under PUWER covering the arm, the safeguarding devices and their tested performance, the state of the cobot application where relevant, defects with timescales, and the interval set by our competent person. PUWER asks for this record rather than a certificate, and it is filed in your SEIS client portal where auditors, insurers and integrators can be answered from one place.

No fixed intervalFrequency set by risk and how the equipment is used
After assemblyRe-inspected where safe use depends on correct assembly or relocation
A written recordA dated inspection record, not a statutory certificate
Where it liftsAny powered lifting function is examined under LOLER

Anyone selling a PUWER certificate is using a marketing word, not a legal one. We issue a clear, dated inspection record you can hand to an HSE inspector or your insurer.

Full statutory cover

Part of our full PUWER inspection service

Robot arm is one of the many kinds of equipment we cover. We inspect the full range, across every sector, as an independent provider, one item or a whole site, anywhere in the UK.

See our full PUWER inspection service
Other services

Other statutory inspections we carry out

Many sites run more than one regime. We can examine all of it, under one independent provider.

LOLER inspectionThorough examination and certification of lifting equipment and accessories. PSSR examinationWritten Schemes and certified examination of pressure systems. LEV testingLEV thorough examination and test of your extraction systems.
PUWER FAQs

Robot arm inspection: common questions

Do robot arms need statutory inspection under PUWER?
Yes. A robot and its safeguarding are work equipment, and Regulation 6 requires inspection at suitable intervals wherever deterioration or drift could create danger, which in a robot cell it demonstrably can.
What does the inspection cover, the robot or the cell?
Both, as one system. The arm's condition matters, but most robot accidents are safeguarding failures: bridged interlocks, short scanner fields and gaps in the fence, which is where the inspection spends its time.
Are collaborative robots exempt because they are force limited?
No. A cobot is only collaborative for the application that was assessed. Change the gripper, the payload or the layout and the assessment, and the inspection, must catch up.
How often should a robot cell be inspected?
At an interval set by a competent person from the cell's duty and rate of change. Cells that are reprogrammed and retooled often need attention more often than static ones.
Do you test the stops with the robot actually running?
Yes. Interlocks, curtains and emergency stops are fired in motion, because stopping performance is the entire promise those devices make.
Is there a certificate for the robot?
No. PUWER produces a written record of inspection rather than a certificate, and the record with its tested stop results is what an investigator will ask for.
Where are the duties set out?
In PUWER 1998, with the machinery standards behind the safeguarding devices. HSE guidance on PUWER covers the work equipment duties, and our PUWER regulations guide explains records, intervals and defects.
How do I book a robot cell inspection?
Call 0330 043 8191 or use the contact form with the cell count and layout. Robot palletisers usually share a line with the wrappers and erectors on our packaging machinery inspection page, and one visit can cover the line.

Is your robot arm due a PUWER inspection?

Talk to an engineer surveyor, get a quote and book your inspection anywhere in the UK.

0330 043 8191 Request a quote