Sector statutory inspections

Statutory Inspections for Fabrication & Welding

LOLER, PUWER, PSSR and COSHH LEV compliance from one independent inspection body.

Since 2019 all welding fume, mild steel included, is classified as a human carcinogen, and HSE will not accept any indoor welding without engineering control. That makes the extraction and its 14 month test the legal heart of a fab shop, with inspection campaigns still targeting fabricated metals.

SEIS tests the fume LEV and examines the cranes, slings, presses and air in the same programme.

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Independent & impartial
Competent engineer surveyors
Reports issued promptly

2019

All welding fume reclassified as carcinogenic

14 months

Maximum interval between LEV tests

6-monthly

Cycle for chains, slings and lifting magnets

100%

Indoor welding now requires LEV, whatever the duration

Fab shop cover

Fabricators, welders and sheet metal shops
Structural steel and architectural metalwork
Fume LEV, lifting and pressure in one programme
Reports graded for your QSHE system

What needs inspecting

What needs inspecting in a fabrication shop

The 2019 reclassification changed the shape of compliance here: LEV is required for all indoor welding regardless of duration, general ventilation no longer counts, and the extraction carries a thorough examination and test at least every 14 months. The lifting and pressure estate runs on its usual clocks alongside.

Equipment	Regime	Statutory position	What you receive
Welding fume LEV (hoods, on-torch, extracted benches)	COSHH	Thorough examination and test at least every 14 months; required for all indoor welding since 2019	LEV test report to HSG258
Overhead cranes, jibs and runways	LOLER	Thorough examination at least every 12 months	Report of Thorough Examination
Chains, slings, shackles and lifting magnets	LOLER	Every 6 months, each item individually identified	Report of Thorough Examination
Power presses working cold metal	PUWER	Every 6 months with interlocked, automatic or photo-electric guards; every 12 months with fixed guards or enclosed tools	Written record of thorough examination and test
Press brakes and guillotines	PUWER	Inspection at risk-based intervals set by a competent person	Written record of inspection
Air receivers serving plasma and shop air	PSSR	Written Scheme where the system exceeds 250 bar litres, report within 28 days	Written Scheme certification and examination report
Fork lift trucks and side loaders	LOLER	Every 12 months, with fork arms and attachments every 6	Report of Thorough Examination

The press brake runs on risk-based PUWER intervals; only the power press working cold metal carries the fixed statutory cycle. Neither produces a certificate: the output is a written record.

Sector compliance

The fume rules that changed everything

HSE safety alert STSU1 followed the international reclassification of all welding fume as a Group 1 carcinogen, with the evidence drawn substantially from mild steel work. The enforcement position since is blunt: no known safe exposure, no indoor welding without LEV, and RPE where extraction alone cannot finish the job.

What an inspector expects at the arc

Engineering control at every indoor welding station, whatever the job length: extracted benches, hoods positioned within capture distance, or on-torch extraction. Where LEV cannot capture everything, supplemented RPE under a proper programme, and RPE outdoors as standard.

The paperwork half is the 14 month thorough examination and test, benchmarked to HSG258, covering capture at each hood rather than just fan function. Fabricated metals businesses have been a standing target of HSE inspection campaigns since the reclassification, so the report gets asked for.

How SEIS covers a fab shop

One programme carries the fume LEV tests, the crane and accessory examinations, the press cycles and the air receiver's Written Scheme, aligned so visits coincide wherever the intervals allow.

Sling registers are itemised piece by piece, because the 6 month accessory cycle is where fab shops most often drift out of date, and press guarding is recorded at each examination since a guarding change moves the statutory interval. Everything lands in the client portal graded for action.

Related services

Overhead crane examinations12 month cycles for cranes and runways Power press inspectionsThe statutory 6 and 12 month press cycles PUWER regulations explainedRisk-based intervals and the power press exception

Common questions

Fabrication & Welding inspection FAQs

Do you cover small welding shops as well as structural fabricators?

Yes. The duties are identical from a two-bay welder to a structural steel plant, and the programme scales to the estate.

How quickly can you attend?

Usually within a few working days. Call 0330 043 8191 with your bay count and equipment list and we will schedule around production.

Does mild steel welding really need extraction now?

Yes. Since the 2019 reclassification all welding fume is treated as carcinogenic, and HSE will not accept indoor welding without suitable engineering control, typically LEV, whatever the duration of the job. The safety alert is at hse.gov.uk.

How often is the fume extraction tested?

A thorough examination and test at least every 14 months by a competent person working to HSG258, with capture measured at each hood and reports kept five years.

Is our press brake on the statutory press cycle?

No. The fixed 6 and 12 month cycles apply to power presses working cold metal, set by the guarding type. Press brakes and guillotines run on risk-based PUWER intervals, as our PUWER guide explains, and none of it produces a certificate.

Do lifting magnets and slings follow the crane's date?

No. Accessories run their own 6 month cycle, individually identified, even where the crane above them runs 12 months. The sling register is the most common gap we find in fab shops.

What does the air receiver need?

A certified Written Scheme of Examination where the system exceeds 250 bar litres, then examination to that scheme with the report inside 28 days. Plasma cutters and shop air compressors usually clear the threshold together.

Can the LEV test and the crane examinations share a visit?

Yes, and they should. We align the 14 month LEV clock with the 12 month crane cycle so the shop takes one interruption, not two.

Book statutory inspections for your Fabrication & Welding operation

0330 043 8191 Request a quote