A service sticker does not prove that a LOLER thorough examination has covered the right lifting equipment, safety-critical parts or legal interval. Employers who provide or control lifting equipment at work need a reliable register, a competent examiner and a system that turns every reported defect into timely action.
Identify what LOLER covers
The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 apply to people and businesses that own, operate or control lifting equipment used at work. The duty can apply whether equipment is owned, hired or supplied with an operator. Hiring a vehicle lift, hoist or telehandler does not transfer all responsibility to the hire company.
Lifting equipment is work equipment for lifting or lowering loads. The load can include a person. Examples include cranes, workplace passenger and goods lifts, construction hoists, vehicle tail lifts, bath hoists, mobile elevating work platforms, industrial lift trucks and vehicle lifts. Lifting accessories include chains, slings, hooks, shackles and eyebolts used to attach a load to lifting machinery.
Do not assume every item that raises something falls within LOLER. HSE excludes, for example, many conveyors and simple pallet trucks that only lift a load just clear of the ground. They remain work equipment under PUWER. Where scope is uncertain, record the equipment's principal function and obtain competent advice instead of leaving it off the register.
HSE: LOLER overview ↗ · Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 ↗
Separate thorough examination from checks and maintenance
A LOLER thorough examination is a systematic and detailed examination of the equipment and its safety-critical parts by a competent person. The examiner decides the appropriate scope and may use visual examination, functional checks, wear measurements, non-destructive testing, load testing or internal examination where justified. Routine overload testing is not automatically required and can itself damage some equipment.
Pre-use checks help an operator find visible damage before work. Risk-based inspections may be needed between thorough examinations. Maintenance lubricates, adjusts, repairs and replaces parts so equipment continues to operate safely. These activities support one another, but none is a substitute for another.
PUWER normally applies alongside LOLER. On a lift truck, a LOLER examination may focus on the lifting mechanism, chains and forks, while PUWER inspection and maintenance cover brakes, steering, lights and protective structures. The arrangements can be coordinated, but the record must show that both the lifting and non-lifting safety risks were addressed.
HSE: thorough examinations and inspections of lifting equipment ↗ · Related guide: PUWER inspection requirements →
Use the correct examination trigger and interval
Before first use, lifting equipment normally needs thorough examination unless it has a valid Declaration of Conformity made less than 12 months earlier and its safety does not depend on installation or assembly. Equipment whose safety depends on installation must be examined after installation and before use. Equipment assembled or installed at a new location, such as a tower crane, must also be examined after assembly and before use there.
For equipment in service and exposed to deterioration liable to result in danger, the default intervals are at least every six months for lifting equipment used to lift people, every six months for lifting accessories, and every 12 months for other lifting equipment. Those are maximum default periods, not a promise that equipment will remain safe between dates.
An alternative is an examination scheme drawn up by a competent person. It should identify the equipment and parts, examination methods, testing and intervals, taking account of use, loading, environment, age and manufacturer information. Longer intervals require a rigorous risk basis; harsher use may require shorter ones. Review the scheme at examinations and after events that alter risk.
Arrange a further examination after exceptional circumstances liable to jeopardise safety, such as damage, failure, a long period out of use, a significant change in use, modification or repair of a critical part. Do not wait for the next calendar date after a collision, overload or structural repair that could affect integrity.
Appoint a competent and sufficiently independent examiner
The competent person needs appropriate practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of the specific lifting equipment. They must be able to detect defects or weaknesses and judge their importance for continued safe use. A general maintenance background does not automatically establish competence for every crane, hoist, accessory or people-lifting system.
The examiner may work for an external inspection body or for the employer. They do not have to be an insurer. An in-house examiner must, however, be sufficiently independent and impartial to make objective decisions without fear or favour. HSE advises that the person should not assess their own routine maintenance work.
Before appointment, check equipment scope, qualifications, knowledge, experience, independence, reporting arrangements and professional liability cover where relevant. Give the examiner access to the equipment history, previous reports, examination scheme, manufacturer information, incidents, modifications and working environment.
Connect each item to its examination basis and defect controls.
HR + SAFETY can help build a lifting-equipment register, check LOLER and PUWER coverage, define competent-person responsibilities and create a practical defect and return-to-service process.
Discuss a LOLER compliance reviewControl reports, records and defects
The competent person must provide a written report containing the information required by Schedule 1 to LOLER. It should identify the equipment, examination date, next due date, examination scheme where applicable, tests completed, defects that are or may become dangerous, the time for rectification and the examiner's identity. A tag or certificate without the required particulars is not enough.
Retain a first-use report for lifting equipment until the business stops using it, and for lifting accessories for two years. Keep an installation-dependent report until the equipment is no longer used at that location. Keep an in-service thorough-examination report until the next report is made or for two years, whichever is later. Electronic records are acceptable if they are secure from unauthorised alteration and can be produced in writing.
If a defect is or could become dangerous, the employer must be told and must take effective action. A serious and significant defect requires the equipment to be taken out of service immediately until it is put right. A defect with a stated deadline must be remedied within that period, and the equipment must not be used after the deadline unless the defect is satisfactorily corrected.
Where a defect presents an existing or imminent risk of serious personal injury, the competent person must also send the report to the relevant enforcing authority. The employer's process should therefore define isolation, tagging, alternative equipment, repair approval, any re-examination and the person authorised to return equipment to use.
LOLER Schedule 1: report particulars ↗ · Related guide: getting risk assessments into the workplace →
Apply additional control where people are lifted
Equipment used to lift people has the six-month default examination interval, but frequency alone is not the control system. It must be suitable for the purpose, clearly marked with the permitted number of people and safe working load, and arranged to prevent people falling from or being crushed, trapped or struck by the carrier.
Plan foreseeable failures and evacuation. Passenger lifts, access platforms, bath hoists and other people-lifting equipment may serve disabled people, older people or anyone unable to self-rescue. The assessment and emergency arrangements should address communication, safe recovery, trained assistance, power loss and any delay that could increase harm.
Increase examination, maintenance, supervision and contingency where failure could expose several people, vulnerable users or critical operations to serious consequences. Describe the actual premises and occupants; do not apply unrelated statutory building labels as shorthand for risk.
HSE: lifting people ↗ · Related guide: work at height risk assessment →
Ten-point LOLER thorough examination checklist
For a North East workshop, warehouse, care provider or contractor, the useful test is not whether the spreadsheet contains dates. It is whether each item is identifiable, examined for the correct risks, supported by daily controls and prevented from returning to work with an unresolved dangerous defect.
- List lifting equipment, lifting accessories, ownership and workplace location.
- Confirm which items are within LOLER and which separate PUWER duties apply.
- Record safe working loads, configurations and people-lifting restrictions.
- Identify first-use, installation, relocation and exceptional-event examinations.
- Apply the six- or 12-month interval, or a competent written examination scheme.
- Verify the examiner's equipment-specific competence, independence and authority.
- Coordinate pre-use checks, interim inspections, maintenance and thorough examination.
- Check every report contains the required particulars and a clear next due date.
- Isolate dangerous equipment and complete repairs within any stated deadline.
- Retain secure records and define who authorises return to service.
A defensible LOLER system begins with a complete lifting-equipment register, separates examination from maintenance, uses the correct statutory interval or competent examination scheme and closes every defect. The report is evidence of the process—not permission to use unsafe equipment.
This guide provides general information for UK employers. It is not legal advice and should not replace advice based on the facts of a specific matter.