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For the owner or works manager of a factory, fabricator or machine shop. A load on the overhead crane, a guard tied back, nothing written down. Then HSE or a customer's auditor asks who is trained, and you need the answer on the day.

The firm was fined £277,500. The film shows what HSE or a customer's auditor will ask a manufacturer, and how PHW assesses your own people on your own site so you have the answer.
Sound on. Captions are built in. The words of the film are on its own page.
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.
Counterbalance and reach forklifts move stock between goods-in, production and despatch, often with people on foot alongside. In a small works, whoever is free takes the forklift.
A guard tied back or left off leaves moving parts open to anyone who reaches in. The firm in the film was prosecuted after a worker was trapped in unguarded machinery.
A load on the overhead crane needs a planned lift, and someone trained to sling and signal it.
Grinders and Stihl saws used with the wrong wheel, or a wheel mounted wrongly, are a recognised cause of serious injury. Each has its own assessed practical standard.
Solvents, coolants and cleaning agents used in production fall under COSHH, with exposure controlled and, where needed, monitored.
Stock and components moved by hand, hand tools used for long periods, and electrical work on production machinery each carry their own, separate duty.
The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER), regulation 9, requires the employer to make sure everyone who uses work equipment has received adequate training, and the same for the people who supervise them. For forklifts, the Approved Code of Practice and guidance L117, published by HSE, sets out the training model.
PUWER regulation 11 requires measures that prevent access to the dangerous parts of machinery, with fixed guards where practicable.
The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, regulation 8, requires every lifting operation to be planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised and carried out in a safe manner.
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 cover solvents, coolants and cleaning agents used in production.
The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 and the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 cover handling and hand tool use respectively. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 apply to electrical work on production machinery.
The employer decides who is authorised to operate each machine, and writes it down. PHW's certificates, records and packs are the evidence behind that decision.
PHW has certificated thousands of candidates nationwide, for multinationals and small firms alike. These are the machines, packs and records that fit a shop floor.
The evidence trail HSE, a customer's auditor or an insurer can check.
How verification works → · Take the one-minute manufacturing check →
Tell PHW your machines and how many people, and you get a quote and dates back.
Get a quoteHSE prosecutions in this line of work.
£594,000 + £5,834 costs · 2026-09-04
Two workers suffered burns when hot water sprayed from steam pipework during a gasket repair at a food factory.
Read the case →£170,000 + £7,999 costs · 2026-05-12
A fitter's hand was trapped under a three-tonne machine when forklift forks unexpectedly dropped, resulting in two amputated fingers.
Read the case →£44,000 + £8,062 costs · 2026-02-26
Seven workers developed vibration-related illness including finger blanching and nerve damage after risks went unassessed and uncontrolled.
Read the case →