For vehicle repair garages, MOT stations, tyre and exhaust bays, bodyshops and small engineering workshops: mostly small businesses with a handful of staff, a lift or two, a compressor, welding kit and a great deal of accumulated habit.
Four areas, from vehicle lifts through to electric vehicle systems.
LOLER 1998
Vehicle lifts are lifting equipment and must be thoroughly examined by a competent person: at least every 6 months where the lift can raise a person, otherwise at least every 12 months, or in accordance with a written examination scheme. Mechanical locks must always be engaged, and a vehicle must never be worked under supported only by a trolley jack: axle stands, rated and on firm level ground, every time.
PUWER 1998; Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000
An air receiver is a pressure system needing a written scheme of examination. Compressed air must never be used to blow down clothing, benches or a person. Multi-piece and split-rim commercial vehicle wheels must be inflated inside a purpose-made inflation cage, with the operator standing out of the trajectory.
COSHH 2002
Running an engine indoors produces carbon monoxide, which is colourless, odourless and fatal. Extraction must be connected and used every time an engine runs inside, even briefly. Isocyanate paints need a spray booth with local exhaust ventilation and air-fed breathing apparatus, and welding fume, including from mild steel, needs local exhaust ventilation at the point of welding.
Electricity at Work Regulations 1989
Fixed electrical installations and portable equipment both need periodic inspection and testing. EV traction batteries run at hundreds of volts DC, are capable of fatal electrocution and can remain live after shutdown. Only technicians with recognised EV training should work on high-voltage systems, and a damaged battery pack must be quarantined outside, away from buildings.
The full document set.
Risks, law and the full range of PHW products for garages and workshops in one place.
Up to four of your people assessed for competence in one day, on your own site and machines, with minimum downtime. Plus a written safe-system pack for each topic.
Tell us how many people work on your lifts and equipment and the site postcode, and we will come back with a quote and dates.
PHW has certificated thousands of candidates nationwide, for multinationals and small firms alike.
HSE prosecutions in this line of work.
No fine (custodial/other sentence) · 2026-01-30
A worker removing roof tiles during a garage demolition fell through an unprotected opening and died several weeks later from head injuries.
Read the case →