The Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Provision and Use of Work Equipment) Regulations 2006

Made: 8th August 2006

Laid before Parliament: 15th August 2006

Coming into force: 24th November 2006

The Secretary of State makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 (“the 1972 Act”) and by sections 85(1)(a) and (b), (3) and (7) and 86(1) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 (“the 1995 Act”).

The Secretary of State is a Minister designated for the purposes of section 2(2) of the 1972 Act in relation to measures relating to the safety of ships and the health and safety of persons on them.

In accordance with section 86(4) of the 1995 Act the Secretary of State has consulted the persons referred to in that section.

PART 1 — GENERAL

Citation, commencement and revocation

1

• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Provision and Use of Work Equipment) Regulations 2006 and shall come into force on 24th November 2006.

• (2) The following provisions are hereby revoked—

• (a) the Merchant Shipping (Guarding of Machinery and Safety of Electrical Equipment) Regulations 1988 ;

• (b) regulation 10 of the Merchant Shipping (Safe Movement on Board Ship) Regulations 1988 ;

• (c) regulation 2 of the Merchant Shipping (Safety at Work Regulations)(Non-UK Ships) Regulations 1988 .

Interpretation

2

• (1) In these Regulations—

• “the Act” means the Merchant Shipping Act 1995;

• “CE marking” means a marking signifying compliance with the basic requirements of design and manufacture of, and the specifications and test methods applicable to, a piece of work equipment which have been adopted by the appropriate authorities in the European Economic Area;

• “competent person” means a person possessing the knowledge or experience necessary for the performance of the duties under these Regulations;

• “contract of employment” means a contract of employment, whether express or implied, and if express, whether oral or in writing;

• “employer” means a person by whom a worker is employed under a contract of employment and (except in regulation 4(4) and (5)) includes a self-employed person to whom the requirements imposed by these Regulations apply by virtue of regulation 4(5);

• “fishing vessel” means a vessel for the time being used for, or in connection with, fishing for sea fish other than a vessel used for fishing otherwise than for profit; and for the purposes of this definition “sea fish” includes shellfish, salmon and migratory trout (as defined by section 44 of the Fisheries Act 1981 );

• “Government ship” has the meaning given in section 308(4) of the Act;

• “health and safety” includes the occupational health and safety of persons whilst on board the ship and whilst boarding or leaving the ship;

• “public service vessel” means any vessel operated by and on behalf of a public body while it is carrying out the authorised functions of that body;

• “relevant inspector” means a person mentioned in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of section 258(1) of the Act;

• “ship” includes hovercraft;

• “United Kingdom ship” means a ship which—is a United Kingdom ship within the meaning of section 85(2) of the Act; oris a Government ship; oris a hovercraft registered under the Hovercraft Act 1968 ;

• “United Kingdom waters” means the sea or other waters within the seaward limits of the territorial sea of the United Kingdom;

• “use” in relation to work equipment, means any activity involving work equipment and includes starting, stopping, programming, setting, transporting, repairing, modifying, maintaining and servicing, including cleaning;

• “work equipment” means any machinery, appliance, apparatus, tool or installation for use at work (whether exclusively or not).

• (2) Subject to paragraph (1), words and expressions used in these Regulations shall have the same meaning as in Council Directive 89/655/EEC , as amended by Council Directive 95/63/EC , concerning the minimum health and safety requirements for the use of work equipment by workers at work.

Meaning of “worker”

3

• (1) In these Regulations “worker” means any person employed under a contract of employment, including a trainee or apprentice other than a person who is training in a vessel which is being used either—

• (a) to provide instruction in the principles of responsibility, resourcefulness, loyalty and team endeavour and to advance education in the art of seamanship; or

• (b) to provide instruction in navigation and seamanship for yachtsmen,

and which is operating under a relevant code.

• (2) In this regulation “relevant code” means—

• (a) the Large Commercial Yacht Code as set out in Merchant Shipping Notice No. 1792(M), issued by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, an executive agency of the Department for Transport;

• (b) the Code of Practice for the Safety of Small Commercial Sailing Vessels ;

• (c) the Code of Practice for the Safety of Small Commercial Motor Vessels ; or

• (d) the Code of Practice for the Safety of Small Vessels in Commercial Use for Sport or Pleasure Operating from a Nominated Departure Point .

• (3) In paragraph (2) each reference to a Code includes a reference to any document containing an amendment or replacement of that Code which is considered by the Secretary of State to be relevant from time to time.

Application

4

• (1) These Regulations shall apply to the use of work equipment by a worker or by the person mentioned in paragraph (6) on United Kingdom ships except when—

• (a) the use of work equipment by a worker is on a public service vessel or a vessel engaged in search and rescue; and

• (b) characteristics of that use of work equipment inevitably conflict with a provision of these Regulations,

and in such a case there shall be a duty on the employer so far as is reasonably practicable to ensure the health and safety of workers when using that work equipment.

• (2) Regulations 4(1), (4) to (6), 13, 14, 24 and 39 to 41 apply in relation to ships other than United Kingdom ships when they are in United Kingdom waters.

• (3) Regulation 8(5)(b) shall not apply in relation to a Government ship unless it is commercially managed, and for these purposes “commercially managed” means the management of which is entrusted by the owner to some other person pursuant to a contract.

• (4) The duties imposed by these Regulations on an employer in respect of work equipment shall apply in relation to such equipment provided for use or used by a worker who is an employee of his.

• (5) The duties imposed by these Regulations on an employer shall also apply to a self-employed person in respect of work equipment on a ship, which he—

• (a) provides for use and uses himself, or

• (b) provides for use by another person (whether self-employed or not).

• (6) In respect of his own use of work equipment on a ship, whether provided by him or not, a self-employed person shall be treated as a worker and shall ensure that the requirements of these Regulations in relation to a worker are met.

• (7) These Regulations shall not apply in relation to the activities of a worker which are covered by the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 or the Provision and Use of Work Equipment (Northern Ireland) Regulations 1999 .

• (8) The provisions of the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Health and Safety at Work) Regulations 1997 shall continue to apply, but without prejudice to any more stringent or specific provisions contained in these Regulations.

PART 2 — DUTIES OF EMPLOYERS

Persons on whom duties are imposed

5

Where a person on whom a duty is imposed by any provision of these Regulations does not have control of the matter to which the provision relates because he does not have responsibility for the operation of the ship, then any duty imposed by that provision shall also extend to any person who has control of that matter.

Suitability of work equipment

6

• (1) The employer shall ensure that the work equipment made available to workers on the ship may be used by workers without impairment to their health or safety, and is—

• (a) suitable for the work to be carried out, or

• (b) properly adapted for that purpose.

• (2) In selecting work equipment, every employer shall have regard to the working conditions and characteristics and to the risks to the health and safety of workers which exist in the particular ship where that equipment is to be used and any additional risk posed by the use of that work equipment.

• (3) The employer shall ensure that work equipment is used only for operations, and under conditions, for which it is suitable.

• (4) In this regulation “suitable” means suitable in any respect which it is reasonably foreseeable will affect the health and safety of any worker.

• (5) In this regulation, the duty to ensure work equipment can be used without impairment to health or safety includes ensuring that the working posture and position are consistent with ergonomic principles.

Maintenance

7

• (1) The employer shall ensure that work equipment is maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair.

• (2) The employer shall ensure that where any machinery has a maintenance log, the log is kept up to date.

Inspection

8

• (1) The employer shall ensure that, where the safety of work equipment depends on the installation conditions, it is inspected by a competent person—

• (a) after installation and before being put into service for the first time; or

• (b) after assembly at a new site or in a new location,

to ensure that it has been installed correctly, in accordance with any manufacturer's instructions, and is both safe to operate and capable of operating safely.

• (2) The employer shall ensure that work equipment exposed to conditions causing deterioration which is liable to result in dangerous situations is inspected by a competent person—

• (a) at suitable intervals; and

• (b) each time that exceptional circumstances which are liable to jeopardise the safety of work equipment have occurred,

to ensure that health and safety conditions are maintained and that any deterioration can be detected and remedied in good time.

• (3) In sub-paragraph (2)(b), “exceptional circumstances” shall include modification work, accidents, natural phenomena and prolonged periods of inactivity.

• (4) The employer shall ensure that the result of an inspection made under this regulation is recorded, retained and readily available for inspection until the next inspection has been made and recorded.

• (5) The employer shall ensure that no work equipment—

• (a) if obtained from on board the ship, is used outside the ship, or

• (b) if obtained from outside the ship, is used in the ship,

unless it is accompanied by physical evidence that the last inspection required to be carried out under this regulation has been carried out.

• (6) In paragraph (5) “used outside the ship” means both—

• (a) used anywhere outside the ship (including on board another ship); and

• (b) operated by workers who are employed by another person.

• (7) This regulation does not apply to work equipment used for lifting loads, including persons.

• (8) In relation to an inspection under this regulation, “inspection”—

• (a) means such visual or more rigorous inspection by a competent person as is appropriate for the purpose described;

• (b) where it is appropriate to carry out testing for the purpose, includes testing the nature and extent of which are appropriate for that purpose.

Specific risks

9

• (1) Where the use of work equipment is likely to involve a specific risk to health or safety, the employer shall ensure that—

• (a) the work equipment is used only by those persons given the task of using it; and

• (b) any repair, modification, maintenance or servicing of that work equipment is carried out only by those persons who have been specifically designated to perform operations of that description (whether or not also authorised to perform other operations).

• (2) The employer shall ensure that the persons designated for the purposes of sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (1) have received adequate training related to any operations in respect of which they have been so designated.

Information and instructions

10

• (1) The employer shall ensure that all workers who use work equipment have available to them adequate health and safety information and, where appropriate, written instructions pertaining to the use of that work equipment.

• (2) For the purposes of paragraph (1) the employer shall ensure that any person who supervises or manages the use of work equipment is provided with adequate health and safety information and, where appropriate, written instructions pertaining to the use of that work equipment.

• (3) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraphs (1) and (2), the information and instructions required by either of those paragraphs shall include information and, where appropriate, written instructions on—

• (a) the conditions in which, and the methods by which, the work equipment may be used;

• (b) foreseeable abnormal situations and the actions to be taken if such a situation were to occur; and

• (c) any conclusions to be drawn from experience in using the work equipment.

• (4) The employer shall ensure that every worker is made aware of—

• (a) any dangers relevant to him;

• (b) work equipment present in the work area or site; and

• (c) any changes affecting him, in as much as those changes affect work equipment situated in his immediate work area or site, even if he does not use such equipment directly.

• (5) Information and instructions required by this regulation shall be readily available and comprehensible to a worker who is, or may be, about to use the work equipment and to any worker supervising or managing him.

Training

11

• (1) The employer shall ensure—

• (a) that all workers who use work equipment have received adequate training for the purposes of health and safety, including training in the methods which may be adopted when using the work equipment, any risks which such use may entail and precautions to be taken; and

• (b) that specifically designated persons carrying out a function referred to in regulation 9(1)(b) have received adequate training for that specific function.

• (2) For the purposes of paragraph (1) the employer shall ensure that any person who supervises or manages the use of work equipment has received adequate training for purposes of health and safety, including training in the methods which may be adopted when using the work equipment, the risks which such use may entail and precautions to be taken and, where applicable, training specific to a function referred to in regulation 9(1)(b).

Conformity with Community requirements

12

• (1) The employer shall ensure that an item of work equipment conforms at all times with any essential requirements, other than requirements which, at the time of its being first supplied or put into service on a ship to which these Regulations apply, did not apply to work equipment of its type.

• (2) In this regulation “essential requirements”, in relation to an item of work equipment, means requirements relating to the design and construction of work equipment of its type in any of the instruments listed in the Schedule (being instruments which give effect to Community directives concerning the safety of products).

• (3) Work equipment which carries a CE marking shall be taken to comply with the provisions of a Community directive, provided that the CE marking is relevant for the purpose for which the equipment is to be used.

• (4) In paragraph (3), reference to a CE marking shall include the marking for an alternative standard which provides, in use, equivalent levels of safety, suitability and fitness for purpose.

Dangerous parts of work equipment

13

• (1) The employer shall ensure that every dangerous part of the ship's work equipment is provided with guards or protection devices to prevent access to danger zones or to halt movements of dangerous parts before the danger zones are reached.

• (2) The employer shall ensure that all guards and protection devices provided in pursuance of these Regulations—

• (a) are of substantial construction and properly maintained;

• (b) do not give rise to any additional hazard;

• (c) are not easily removed, by-passed or disabled;

• (d) are situated at a sufficient distance from the danger zone;

• (e) do not restrict the view of the operating cycle of the equipment more than is necessary;

• (f) are so constructed or adapted that they allow operations necessary to fit or replace parts and for maintenance work, restricting access so that it is allowed only to the area where the work is to be carried out and, if possible, without having to dismantle the guard or protection device.

• (3) In this regulation, “danger zone” means a zone within or around work equipment in which the presence, whether in whole or in part, of any worker would expose him to a risk to his health or safety.

Electrical equipment

14

The employer shall ensure that all ship's electrical equipment and installations are so constructed, installed, operated and maintained that the ship and all workers are protected against electrical hazards.

Protection against specified hazards

15