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Machine guarding checklist
For competent people reviewing machine safeguarding arrangements. Record equipment and scope, safeguarding basis and guard records. Try the form below, see every question or download a blank PDF or Word copy.
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What does PUWER require for dangerous parts?
HSE PUWER guidance addresses measures to prevent access to dangerous machinery parts or stop their movement before access. Safeguards must be suitable and maintained. Inspection needs competent assessment of the actual machine and tasks.
Last updated . Facts checked by the SiteSurvey team on 6 October 2026 against HSE machinery safety and HSE maintenance of work equipment.
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Every question in the machine guarding inspection template
A machine guarding record covering guard identity, visible condition, approved interlock checks, access risks, defects and restrictions on machine use. 6 sections and 33 questions. Follow-up questions and guidance appear only when an answer calls for them, so the person on site never sees the ones that do not apply.
Make it your own: every question is editable
This is a starting point, not a fixed form. Once it is in your SiteSurvey account you can reword any question, add or remove questions, sections and answer options, and add your own logo, so it fits the way your team works and the jobs you do.
Details you only enter once
Add this form to a project in SiteSurvey and it fills in what the project already knows, so nobody on site retypes it and every form on the job uses the same names. Anything filled in can still be changed.
- Project: the project name
- Site or premises address: the site address, from the space or the project
- Client or organisation: the project's customer
Record details and scope
- ProjectShort answer
Filled in from the project in SiteSurvey.
Fills in from the project name - Site or premises addressShort answerFills in from the site address, from the space or the project
- Client or organisationShort answerFills in from the project's customer
- Record date*Date
- Person completing the record*Short answer
- CheckThis records checks against an approved safeguarding specification. It is not a machinery risk assessment, safety-control validation, conformity declaration or permission to bypass guards.
- CheckHSE PUWER guidance addresses measures to prevent access to dangerous machinery parts or stop their movement before access. Safeguards must be suitable and maintained. Inspection needs competent assessment of the actual machine and tasks.
Equipment and scope
- Machine ID, model and location*Short answer
- Competent person and authorisation*Short answer
- Manufacturer or approved procedure reference*Short answer
- Work or inspection scope and exclusions*Notes
Safeguarding basis
- Machine risk assessment and guarding specification*Short answer
- Operating, cleaning, setting and maintenance tasks covered*Notes
Include the relevant operating, cleaning and maintenance tasks. A guard seen in place does not cover every mode of access.
- Safe isolation and authorised test procedure*Short answer
Guard records
- Guard or protective deviceRepeat for each guard or protective device. Each one asks:
- Guard ID, type and hazard protected*Short answer
- Fixings, integrity, gaps and access observations*Notes
- Approved functional test and actual resultShort answer
- Outcome*Choose one
- Meets recorded check
- Defect or uncertainty
- Not checked
- Restriction, isolation and person informed*NotesShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Guard evidencePhotos
Handover
- Use decision*Choose one
- Available within recorded limits
- Restricted use
- Out of service
- Restrictions, isolation and person informed*NotesShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Repair or follow-up job referenceShort answer
- Condition and defect evidencePhotos
Actions and review
- Are further actions required?*Choose one
- Yes
- No
- Further actionRepeat for each further action. Each one asks:Shown when “Are further actions required?” is “Yes”
- Action and evidence reference*Notes
- Person responsible*Short answer
- Target dateDate
- Action status*Choose one
- Open
- In progress
- Completed
- Completion evidence*NotesShown when “Action status” is “Completed”
- Outstanding limitations and information to pass onNotes
- Record status*Choose one
- Ready for review
- Further work needed
- Work or use stopped
- Reviewed byShort answer
- Review dateDate
- Author signature*Signature
- CheckSigning records the information entered. It does not itself certify legal compliance, remove a limitation or authorise unsafe work.
Scope and responsibility
This records checks against an approved safeguarding specification. It is not a machinery risk assessment, safety-control validation, conformity declaration or permission to bypass guards.
What a useful entry looks like
Operating, cleaning, setting and maintenance tasks covered
Include the relevant operating, cleaning and maintenance tasks. A guard seen in place does not cover every mode of access.
Review includes production operation and the recorded cleaning task. Maintenance access is assessed separately under the agreed isolation arrangements.
Fictional example of record wording. Use the actual evidence and approved arrangements for your job; this is not a completed report or an instruction to carry out the work.
See it filled in
A completed machine guarding inspection report, made by SiteSurvey from a fictional site visit: every answer, the photos, the guidance that applied and the sign-off, ready to send as a PDF.
Machine Guarding Inspection FAQs
How should I record “Operating, cleaning, setting and maintenance tasks covered”?
Include the relevant operating, cleaning and maintenance tasks. A guard seen in place does not cover every mode of access.
Can an interlock be bypassed to test the machine?
This form provides no such permission. Use the approved safe test procedure and competent personnel.
Does an emergency stop replace a guard?
No. Record safeguards against the approved specification; an emergency stop is not a substitute for required guarding.
What if a device cannot be checked safely?
Record it as not checked, document the restriction and refer it for competent review.
What are the limits of this template?
This records checks against an approved safeguarding specification. It is not a machinery risk assessment, safety-control validation, conformity declaration or permission to bypass guards.
Can I complete this form on site and share the record?
In the SiteSurvey app the form works offline, with photos and signatures recorded against the questions. Share the completed record as a PDF or a link. Dates and action owners are recorded fields; this form does not send reminders or update other systems.
Related
Related templates
Templates that go with the machine guarding inspection form
A record of PPE selection, issue, condition, wearer instruction, defects and replacements, with item-level photos and acknowledgement.
A PUWER assessment record covering intended use, equipment hazards, safeguarding evidence, maintenance arrangements, competence and risk-control decisions.
An isolation record linking equipment, energy sources, isolation points, locks, verification evidence, handovers and authorised restoration of service.
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