Chipper, grinder and mobile machine inspections: what regulators say and how often

This page reports what the named codes, regulators and makers say. It is not training and does not teach the work. This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here.

Aerial lifts, cranes and trucks have their own pages: bucket trucks and EWPs (six-month and 12-month examinations), cranes in tree work and truck and trailer rules. The general rules for chippers and grinders are in the chippers and stump grinders guide. Courses that teach machine operation are covered in certifications by country.

The sources side by side

Source and machine	What it says about inspection and records
UK, Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, regulation 5. Machine: All work equipment	The employer ensures equipment is maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair. Where a machine has a maintenance log, the log is kept up to date
UK, same regulations, regulation 6. Machine: All work equipment	Equipment exposed to conditions that cause deterioration liable to result in dangerous situations is inspected "at suitable intervals" and each time exceptional circumstances that could jeopardise its safety have occurred. The result is recorded and kept until the next inspection. Equipment that leaves the undertaking, or is obtained from another, is accompanied by physical evidence that the last required inspection was done. The regulation sets no number of days
HSE, leaflet AFAG606, Mobile stump grinders. Machine: Stump grinder	Maintenance follows the maker's handbook. Before work on the cutting mechanism the engine-stopping device is applied, the key is out of the ignition and the cutter mechanism is secured. The cutters are checked each day for damage and wear and replaced if damaged or worn beyond the maker's tolerances. Replacement cutters are machined to match the existing ones to keep the mechanism balanced
SafeWork NSW, Woodchipper guide. Machine: Trailer-mounted hand-fed chipper	The cutting disc or drum is maintained to the maker's specifications or a competent person's recommendations. Before the inside of a chipper is reached, the controls are isolated and tagged out or the key is removed, and a mechanical means holds the disc or drum still. Maintenance or repairs are recorded for each chipper the business controls. Testing of the bump bar, operator control device, interlocks and presence-sensing safeguards is listed among the items to document, with test results recorded
WorkSafe Victoria, Woodchipper safety. Machine: Trailer-mounted hand-fed chipper	The page quotes the Victorian rule that plant is inspected to the extent necessary to monitor any risk from its use. It says the cutting disc or drum should be maintained to the maker's specification or a competent person's recommendation, with pre-start, daily, weekly and monthly checks. A record of inspection and maintenance is kept for the period the employer has management or control of the chipper
WorkSafeBC, OHS Regulation section 16.3. Machine: Mobile equipment (loaders, carriers, trucks)	Before mobile equipment is first operated on a shift the operator inspects it and reports unsafe or potentially unsafe defects. The operator also monitors performance during operation. The employer keeps a record of any reported defect for at least 2 years
WorkSafeBC, OHS Regulation section 16.17. Machine: Mobile equipment	Records of any maintenance, repair or modification that affects safe performance are kept and are reasonably available to the operator and maintenance staff during work hours
WorkSafeBC, OHS Regulation section 16.18. Machine: Mobile equipment	Equipment that has had contact with a high voltage source is removed from service until a qualified person has inspected it and completed any necessary repairs

Chippers

WorkSafe Victoria's page says a disc or drum can take up to 5 minutes to stop if the system is un-clutched, and it ties the way guards are fixed to that run-down time: guards held by bolts or screws that need tools are described as acceptable only if removal takes longer than the disc or drum takes to stop. SafeWork NSW's guide gives the same run-down figure. WorkSafeBC's Part 12 sets a lock-out rule for the driven-feed chipper: no part of a person's body is on the feed table or in the guard chute unless the feed rollers have stopped and the chipper motor is turned off and locked out. None of the three sources names a calendar interval for a chipper inspection; the Victorian page lists the pre-start, daily, weekly and monthly checks as part of maintenance to the maker's specification.

Stump grinders

The HSE leaflet is the only source on this page that names a check for a grinder in terms of time: the cutters are looked at each day. Everything else in it points to the maker's handbook. The leaflet is dated 04/13 on the copy read here and says it is for use with the maker's handbook as part of a risk assessment.

Loaders, carriers and excavators

WorkSafeBC treats a compact loader or a tracked carrier as mobile equipment, so the shift inspection, the two-year defect record and the maintenance record above apply to it as WorkSafeBC words them. For tracked excavators and walking excavators used in tree work, the HSE page says that when the machine is used for lifting the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 apply, and that in some cases, such as cable crane operations, the machine may need a current certificate of thorough examination. The same HSE page says all operators receive appropriate training for the machine.

What the sources leave to the maker

Four of the five machine sources hand the detail to the maker's handbook or to a competent person: HSE for grinders, SafeWork NSW and WorkSafe Victoria for chippers, and the UK regulations' "suitable intervals". WorkSafeBC is the one source here that fixes a number for mobile equipment, which is the two-year life of a defect record. For lifts, the BC regulation's 12-month inspection is on the bucket trucks page.

Credit: HSE and legislation.gov.uk text is adapted under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (Crown copyright). SafeWork NSW text is adapted under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. WorkSafe Victoria and WorkSafeBC are described in our own words.