---
id: KB-CN-014
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/construction/site-machinery-owned-hired-and-other-peoples
idioma: en
categoria: sector-construccion
subcategoria: maquinariaobra
audiencia: usuario
nivel: intermedio
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-CS-006, KB-CF-014]
citadoPor: [KB-CN-018]
---

# Site machinery: owned, hired and other people's

_Three situations treated as one that are not: who keeps the paperwork and who answers for its use both change._

**Responde a:** site machinery documentation · paperwork for hired plant · the subcontractor brings its own machinery · machinery access control

On a mid-sized site, machines from three different sources coexist, and documentation control is usually built for one of them: your own. The other two get improvised, and that is exactly where Monday morning's access problems come from.

## The three situations and what changes

| Source | Who holds the paperwork | Who answers for its use |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Yours | You | You |
| Hired | The hire firm issues it; you hold it while it is there | You, while you use it |
| A subcontractor's | Their company | Them, but you for letting it in |
| Hired with an operator | The supplier, operator's certification included | It is shared, and worth writing down |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> The second row is the most neglected for one specific reason: **a hired machine's documentation leaves with the machine**. While it is on site you hold it, and the day it goes back it drops out of your reach — but the works carry on, and if in two years someone asks about a job done with it, you will have to show what applied then. A copy goes into the site file on arrival, not on return: by then nobody remembers.

## What to check before it comes in

1. **That the machine's documentation is current** — Inspections, marking and whatever its type requires.
2. **That whoever operates it is certified for that machine** — Certified for one is not certified for all.
3. **The insurance covering it, and how far** — Especially on hire: it does not always include what you assume.
4. **And record the in and out dates** — It is what ties each job to the machine that did it.

> [!WARNING]
> The case that generates most argument is hire with an operator: **one party supplies the machine and another directs the work**. If it is not written down who gives instructions and who answers for that operator's safety, the answer gets decided after the incident, which is the worst possible moment. Half a signed page at contracting settles what no machine documentation will ever clarify.

## When the subcontractor's machinery arrives

**En corto**

- Ask of it what you ask of yours, through the same route as their other documents.
- The operator is theirs, but they are on your site: certification is checked the same.
- And if something comes in undocumented «just for today», record who authorised it.

> [!NOTE]
> What documentation each type of machine requires, what certification the operator needs and how it is coordinated with the other companies is set by the applicable rules and your prevention service. **Check with them**; here it is about the copy being where it will later be needed.

**Should I keep papers for a machine that was there two days?**

Yes, with its dates: that is what ties it to those days' work.

**Is the hire firm's documentation enough as is?**

Yes, keeping a copy while it is there and noting the period.

**What if the machine breaks and is swapped?**

It is another machine: another number, another set of papers, another date.

## Ejemplos

**A contractor returns hired plant and months later is asked for papers on a job it did.**

- Files a copy in the site record on arrival, with dates

→ The job stays tied to the machine that did it, even though the machine is gone.

**A hired machine arrives without its documentation.**

- Requests it from the hire company before bringing it up

→ The machine does not sit idle at the bay.

**Nobody knows which inspections are due on the owned machine.**

- Records expiries per item of plant

→ The warning arrives before the date.

**A subcontractor's machine goes on site unchecked.**

- Checks the equipment documentation before authorising

→ What comes in has been checked.

**The equipment documentation sits at the hire company's office.**

- Keeps its own copy with the project file

→ It is shown on site without phoning anyone.

**A review asks about a machine from months ago.**

- Checks what was recorded on that date

→ You answer from the record.