Under the Lifting operations and lifting equipment regulations 1998 all Lifting equipment must be subject to an examination every 6 months or 12 months depending on its application; Use our LOLER frequency guide to see how often items should be inspected here.
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Lifting equipment must be “Thoroughly Examined” (Inspected) in a number of situations, including:
Records of thorough examinations should be made and, where defects are identified, they should be reported to both the person using the equipment (and to any person from whom it has been hired or leased) and the relevant enforcing authority (HSE for industrial workplaces; local authorities for most other workplaces).
Forklifts, Sideloaders and Telehandlers. Cranes, Gantry Cranes and Lorry Mounted Cranes. Garage equipment including 2 post / 4 post vehicle lifts. Harnesses and lanyards. Loose items such as shackles, eye bolts and lifting stops. Port equipment such as Reachstackers and empty handlers. Skip lifting lorries, recovery trucks, low loaders and winches. In fact, far too much to list on one page.
These Regulations (often abbreviated to LOLER) place duties on people and companies who own, operate or have control over lifting equipment. This includes all businesses and organisations whose employees use lifting equipment, whether owned by them or not. In most cases, lifting equipment is also work equipment so the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) will also apply (including inspection and maintenance). All lifting operations involving lifting equipment must be properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised and carried out in a safe manner.
LOLER also requires that all equipment used for lifting is fit for purpose, appropriate for the task, suitably marked and, in many cases, subject to statutory periodic ‘thorough examination’. Records must be kept of all thorough examinations and any defects found must be reported to both the person responsible for the equipment and the relevant enforcing authority.
LOLER – is an abbreviation for “Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998”. It applies to any item of lifting equipment, including attachments, used for supporting, fixing or lifting. LOLER regulations apply to a range of equipment including Cranes, Forklift, Scissor lifts, Pallet trucks and mobile/elevating work platforms. We have covered as equipment and their inspection frequency on our “Guide” page.
Although some companies believe the owner of any item of equipment would be the person responsible for any legal compliance the health & safety at work act 1974 states that:
“It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees”
If you know it needs its annual inspection it's your legal obligation to ensure it has been carried out before allowing any employee to use it.
An accessory is not a permanent part but can be used to attach a load to lifting equipment. Items include Chains, Hooks, Shackles & Eyebolts. All lifting accessories are to be inspected at 6-month intervals.
Lifting equipment is a general term for any equipment that can be used to lift loads. This can include obvious items such as Jacks, Cranes etc or indeed anything that functions to raise or lower loads.
Use our inspection frequency guide here.