Maintenance Duties & Arrangements
The requirements outlined in "Good Repair & Condition" for maintenance build on the Health and Safety at Work Act's particular general duties which cover maintenance, ie:
- to maintain plant to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that it is safe and without risks to health;
- to have arrangements for ensuring, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety and absence of risks to health as regards articles.
Maintenance Arrangements should include:
- routine maintenance, such as periodic checks, inspections, testing and equipment care (for example, servicing, lubrication, replacement of worn parts, cleaning, etc.);
- planned preventive maintenance, such as periodic replacement of parts before they reach the end of their useful life.
In addition, employer's should also consider having the safety net of employee reporting systems so that observations on equipment condition or performance can be investigated to enable faults or potential defects to be remedied on an ad hoc basis. Such systems also help in monitoring and improving the effectiveness of routine and preventive maintenance arrangements in that a high need for reactive ad hoc maintenance indicates weaknesses in active systems for maintenance.