Sector statutory inspections

Statutory Inspections for Manufacturing & Engineering

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

No sector holds a denser statutory estate than manufacturing: cranes and slings under LOLER, presses and guarding under PUWER, air and steam under PSSR, and extraction under COSHH. Four regimes, four different clocks.

SEIS puts one independent competent person across all four, so the crane, the press, the receiver and the welding LEV sit in one calendar with one report portal.

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  • Independent & impartial
  • Competent engineer surveyors
  • Reports issued promptly

250 bar litre
PSSR trigger most compressed air systems exceed
Any pressure
Steam is a relevant fluid at any pressure
6 or 12 months
Power press cycles set by the guarding type
14 months
Maximum LEV test interval under COSHH

Factory cover

  • Machine shops, fabricators and process plants
  • Cranes, presses, pressure systems and LEV together
  • Examinations planned around production windows
  • Defect gradings your QSHE system can act on

What needs inspecting

What needs inspecting on a factory floor

Each regime keeps its own clock. LOLER fixes 6 and 12 month cycles for lifting equipment and accessories. PUWER is risk-based everywhere except the power press, the one machine with a statutory examination cycle of its own. PSSR follows the Written Scheme. COSHH puts the LEV on a 14-month maximum. The table is the map most factories are missing.

EquipmentRegimeStatutory positionWhat you receive
Overhead travelling cranesLOLERThorough examination at least every 12 monthsReport of Thorough Examination
Jib cranes, hoists and runwaysLOLERThorough examination at least every 12 monthsReport of Thorough Examination
Chains, slings, eyebolts and accessoriesLOLEREvery 6 months, each accessory individually identifiedReport of Thorough Examination
Power presses working cold metalPUWEREvery 6 months with interlocked, automatic or photo-electric guards; every 12 months with fixed guards or enclosed toolsWritten record of thorough examination and test
Machining centres and guarded machineryPUWERInspection at risk-based intervals, no fixed statutory dateWritten record of inspection
Air compressors and receiversPSSRWritten Scheme certified before use where the system exceeds 250 bar litres; examination to the scheme, report within 28 daysWritten Scheme certification and examination report
Steam boilers and steam plantPSSRSteam is a relevant fluid at any pressure, so the Written Scheme applies from the first barWritten Scheme certification and examination report
Welding fume and machining mist LEVCOSHHThorough examination and test at least every 14 months to HSG258LEV test report

Hydraulic oil is excluded as a relevant fluid, so a purely hydraulic press pack sits under PUWER rather than PSSR. The press itself may still carry the statutory power press cycle.

Sector compliance

Four regimes, one floor, one calendar

The compliance risk in manufacturing is rarely ignorance of a regime. It is the seams between them: the press examined as ordinary machinery when it carried a statutory cycle, or the steam line assumed to be below a threshold that does not exist for steam.

The power press exception

PUWER is risk-based everywhere except here. A power press working cold metal must be thoroughly examined and tested by a competent person at least every 6 months where it runs interlocked, automatic or photo-electric guards, and at least every 12 months where the tools are enclosed or the guards fixed. The cycle is statutory, the record is still a record and not a certificate, and HSG236 sets out what the examination must cover.

Guarding changes move the cycle. Retrofit a light curtain to a fixed-guard press and the examination interval halves with it.

Steam, air and the thresholds

For most fluids PSSR bites above 250 bar litres, which nearly every factory air system exceeds once the receiver is counted. For steam there is no threshold at all: steam is a relevant fluid at any pressure, so the smallest process boiler needs a certified Written Scheme of Examination before use and examination to that scheme, with reports inside 28 days.

The scheme comes first. Examining plant without a current certified WSE is not compliance, because the scheme defines what the examination must cover.

Related services
Overhead crane examinations12-monthly thorough examinations for cranes and runways Power press inspectionsStatutory 6 and 12 month examination and test cycles PSSR examination servicesWritten Schemes for air and steam systems COSHH LEV testingThorough examination and test to HSG258

Common questions

Manufacturing & Engineering inspection FAQs

What kind of manufacturers do you cover?

Machine shops, fabricators, food and process plants, foundries and assembly operations, from a single jib crane to a full four-regime estate across several units.

How quickly can you attend?

Usually within a few working days, and we plan recurring examinations around planned maintenance windows and shutdowns. Call 0330 043 8191 to align the calendar with production.

Why does our power press have a different cycle from the rest of the machinery?

It is the one machine PUWER gives a statutory examination cycle: at least every 6 months with interlocked, automatic or photo-electric guarding, or every 12 months with fixed guards or enclosed tools. Everything else under PUWER runs on risk-based intervals, as our PUWER guide explains.

Is our compressed air system really in scope for PSSR?

Almost certainly. Count the system's pressure times volume: above 250 bar litres the Written Scheme duty applies, and a typical factory receiver clears that comfortably. HSE guidance is at hse.gov.uk.

Our boiler is tiny. Does it still need a Written Scheme?

Yes. Steam is a relevant fluid at any pressure, so there is no small-boiler exemption: a certified Written Scheme of Examination before use, then examination to the scheme with the report within 28 days.

Do lifting accessories follow the crane's cycle?

No. Chains, slings and eyebolts are accessories on the 6-month cycle even where the crane itself runs 12 months, and each item is individually identified in the report.

What does the welding extraction need?

A thorough examination and test at least every 14 months by a competent person working to HSG258, with the report kept for five years. Fume plumes escaping the hood at the workpiece are the failure we photograph most.

Can all four regimes go into one visit?

Usually, yes. We build the calendar so LOLER, PUWER, PSSR and LEV dates coincide wherever the intervals allow, which cuts visits, downtime and cost without shortening any statutory cycle.

Book statutory inspections for your Manufacturing & Engineering operation

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