Commercial and industrial building can contain a whole range of boilers and pressure plant, lifts and escalators, window cleaning equipment and air conditioning plant. These items need to be inspected to satisfy statutory requirements and, if required, insured separately. An engineering policy offers:

Inspection cover for the designated item of plant to comply with current statutory requirements whereby a report is issued following an inspection detailing the items of plant and equipment examined and recording their condition at the time of inspection. Defects, observations and recommendations are identified within the report.

Explosion cover in respect of boiler and pressure plant

Breakdown cover in respect of lifts, escalators and window cleaning equipment and electrical or mechanical plant

Sudden and unforeseen damage in respect of boiler and pressure plant,
lifts, escalators and window cleaning equipment and electrical or mechanical plant

Recent legislation:

• PUWER98 – The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
• LOLER – The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998
• Electricity at Work Regulations 1989

The main points of the regulations are:

PUWER98

Users must:

• carry out risk assessments and make sure that all equipment is both safely installed and safe to use.
• decide on the inspection requirements where safety of the equipment depends on the way it is installed as new or when it is moved to a new location, where safety can be affected by deterioration whilst in service or after an exceptional occurrence.
• have regular inspections must be carried out by a competent person and documented.

LOLER

Users are required

• to use a competent person to plan lifting operations.
• ensure that the equipment is suitable
• assess requirements for inspections of the lifting equipment and accessories
• have regular inspections must be carried out by a competent person and documented.

Electricity at Work Regulations 1989

This requires all employers to provide a safe working environment with regard to all electrical equipment and systems regardless of when they were manufactured, installed or brought into use. Electrical systems must be maintained in a safe condition and an important aspect of such maintenance is periodic inspection and testing.