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Work equipment (arbeidsmiddel)

Work equipment is everything employees use for their work: machines, installations, apparatus, tools and other aids. The employer makes sure it is safe, maintained and, where needed, inspected, and that people know how to use it.

Explanation

Under the Dutch Working Conditions Act (Arbowet), work equipment means all machines and related products, installations, apparatus, tools, digital systems and other aids used at the workplace to carry out the work. Think of a drill, forklift, aerial work platform, crane, ladder, mobile scaffold, cutting machine or process installation. Personal protective equipment has its own rules and is covered under PBM. For vehicles on the public road, traffic rules such as the periodic vehicle inspection also apply.

The employer has to arrange four things. The equipment is suitable and safe for the work, also when it is hired. It is maintained, with records such as a maintenance log, and safety guards are not removed. It is inspected where needed: before first use and after relocation if safety depends on how it is set up, and periodically in case of wear or ageing. Finally, employees receive information and instruction and are competent where required.

How often you have to inspect is not fixed in the law. The government names once a year as a safe minimum. You determine the frequency using the RI&E (risk assessment), the manufacturer's instructions and the standards or the sector working conditions catalogue (arbocatalogus). A competent person or body carries out the inspection and the proof is kept at the workplace. For some equipment, such as lifts, pressure equipment and large cranes, a designated body is required.

Inspecting, maintaining and calibrating are three different things. Maintenance keeps the equipment in good condition, in an inspection a competent person determines whether it is safe, and calibration shows whether a measuring instrument measures accurately. A gas meter or sound level meter that you use for safety therefore needs both maintenance and calibration. Keep them separate in your records.

Example from practice

A metalworking company keeps a list of all machines, forklifts, ladders and lifting equipment. For each item it shows when it was maintained and inspected, by whom, and when the next inspection is due. If a forklift's inspection has expired, the owner gets a reminder and the forklift stays out of use until it has been inspected.

© 2026 BrydgeOne. General information, not legal or other professional advice. No rights can be derived from this explanation.

In BrydgeOne

Where you work with Work equipment

ObjectsManage machines, locations and assets centrally. Calibration & measuring equipmentCalibrate equipment and track certificate validity. Workplace inspectionsCarry out inspections with clear checklists.
Knowledge base

Keep reading

Keeping track of work equipment inspection and maintenance: how to build an inspection registerYou keep track of work equipment inspection and maintenance in a register that holds, per item, its identification, location, type of inspection, interval, last and next date, the party who carried it out, the outcome, the certificate and the status. As an employer you decide which equipment has to be inspected, have a competent person do it, and be able to show the written proof at the workplace. Below you can read how to set this up, where intervals come from, what to do after a rejection and what an example register looks like. Workplace inspection checklist: what to check and how to follow upA good workplace inspection checklist makes the difference between really seeing something and just walking a round. Below you can read what to check, how often, who does it and how to follow up findings, with an example checklist per theme. Managing calibration of measuring equipment: register, interval and certificatesYou manage the calibration of measuring equipment with a register in which every instrument has its own line, with accuracy and tolerance, interval, last and next calibration date, certificate and status. Calibration establishes how much an instrument deviates from a reference, so you know whether you can still trust your measurements. Below you can read which instruments to include, how to set the interval, what to do when an instrument turns out to be out of tolerance and what an example register looks like.
Glossary

See also

CalibrationCalibrationPBMPersonal protective equipmentArbowetWorking Conditions Act (Arbowet)RI&ERisk Inventory and Evaluation

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