What Is a LOLER Inspection?

LOLER requires lifting equipment to be thoroughly examined by a competent person at set times, and inspected between examinations where the risks call for it. This guide explains when each is due and what the examination report must show.

Overview

What a LOLER inspection is

What is a LOLER inspection? It is the thorough examination of lifting equipment by a competent person that the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) require in Great Britain. Where deterioration could lead to danger, it is due at least every 6 or 12 months or as an examination scheme sets, and ends in a written report.

LOLER also uses the word inspection on its own, for a lighter check between thorough examinations, explained below. For Northern Ireland, the matching law is the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999.

In short

Lifting accessories, such as slings and shackles, and equipment for lifting people fall in the 6-month group. Other lifting equipment falls in the 12-month group.
There are also examinations before first use and after installation, with exemptions for some new equipment.
The examiner must be competent, and should not be the person who maintains the equipment.
The report says whether the equipment is safe to operate and when the next examination is due.

On a contract lift, our own appointed person plans the lift and writes the lift plan.

The terms

Thorough examination and inspection under LOLER

Both duties sit in regulation 9. A thorough examination is a systematic and detailed examination of the equipment and its safety-critical parts, made by a competent person at set intervals and recorded in a written report (HSE).

Inspections are lighter checks. Regulation 9 asks for them where appropriate, made by a competent person at suitable intervals between thorough examinations, so that deterioration is found and put right in good time. The checks are visual and functional, and HSE names cranes as one example of machinery that needs them (Lifting equipment at work).

Under regulation 10, the person making an inspection reports a dangerous defect to the employer in the same way as an examiner, and makes a written record of the inspection. Regulation 11 says that record is kept until the next one is made.

Checks before use

Neither duty replaces the check before each use. LEEA, the Lifting Equipment Engineers Association, treats this pre-use inspection as the first level of check: a look for obvious signs of damage, normally made by the operator to the maker’s instructions.

Side by side, the three levels of check compare like this.

Check	Made by	Written record
Pre-use check	The operator, in LEEA’s code	None required by LOLER
Inspection	A competent person	A record, kept until the next one is made
Thorough examination	A competent person	A report to the employer, with the contents set in Schedule 1

LOLER and PUWER

The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) apply to all work equipment, lifting equipment included, and LOLER adds duties specific to lifting. On a lift truck, the lifting parts are examined under LOLER and other safety-related parts, such as brakes and steering, under PUWER (HSE).

Intervals

LOLER inspection frequency

A thorough examination is due at four points, set out in regulation 9. Our LOLER guide has the intervals in a table.

Before first use. New equipment does not need one if it has a declaration of conformity, the maker’s declaration that it meets the rules it was supplied under such as the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008, made no more than 12 months before it goes into service. Equipment from another business does not need one if it arrives with physical evidence of its last thorough examination.
After installation. Where safety depends on how the equipment is installed, it is examined once installed, and after each assembly at a new site or location, before it is used.
At regular intervals. Where equipment is exposed to conditions that can make it deteriorate to the point of danger, it is examined at least every 6 months if it is a lifting accessory, such as a sling or shackle, or lifts people. Anything else is examined at least every 12 months. An examination scheme, a schedule of checks that a competent person draws up for the item, can set the intervals instead.
After exceptional circumstances. Each time something happens that could make it unsafe, such as damage or failure, or a long spell out of use (HSE’s examples).

Overhead crane bridge on a trailer in an empty warehouse, with a second bridge already raised behind it — Overhead crane bridges being installed in an empty warehouse, one already raised and one still on its trailer.

The law sets no fixed interval for inspections. HSE says they are usually needed where a risk assessment has found a significant risk from using the equipment. The gap between them depends on how much the equipment is used, its age and remaining design life, its environment and the maker’s literature (LEEA).

Who

Who can carry out a LOLER inspection

LOLER says a competent person, without naming a qualification. For a thorough examination, that means someone with enough practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of the equipment to detect defects or weaknesses and judge how much they matter to its safety and continued use (HSE guide for employers).

The examiner can work for an outside company or for you. HSE says they should not be the person who carries out the equipment’s routine maintenance, because they would then be assessing their own work, and should be independent and impartial enough to make objective decisions.

Hired equipment

Hired equipment must come with evidence of its last thorough examination, as above. Our LOLER guide explains who keeps the examinations up to date during a hire. On a contract lift, where the contractor plans the lift and provides the crane with its operator and lifting team, HSE’s guidance L113 says the contractor must make sure the crane is maintained and thoroughly examined.

What is checked

What a LOLER thorough examination looks at

The law sets no checklist. The competent person decides the scope of each examination, and where there is an examination scheme, its schedule of checks sets that out.

The examination itself is a careful, critical visual one, backed up where appropriate by other means such as measurement and testing (LEEA).

LEEA’s code shows the kind of fault to look for. Its pre-use inspection guidance for chain slings lists faults that mean a sling should be withdrawn from service, among them markings that can no longer be read, stretched or bent links, hooks that have opened, and cracks or heat discolouration.

For cranes, BS 7121-2 sets out what to examine for each type of crane, and our guide to the BS 7121-2 series summarises it.

The report

The report of thorough examination

The everyday name for this report is a LOLER certificate. Schedule 1 lists what it must contain, including:

the employer it was made for, and the address where it was made
details that identify the equipment, with its date of manufacture where known
the date of the last thorough examination, and the date of this one
the safe working load (SWL), or for equipment whose SWL changes with its set-up, the SWL for the configuration examined
which kind of examination it was, and whether the equipment would be safe to operate
each defect found to be dangerous or likely to become so, the repair it needs and, for one not yet dangerous, the time before it could become so
the latest date for the next thorough examination, and details of any test made
the examiner’s details, and the date of the report

Our guide The Difference Between SWL and WLL explains the load figure. Work to the SWL marked on the equipment and to the maker’s instructions. Regulation 8 also makes a competent person responsible for planning each lift, and on a crane lift that is the appointed person.

When a defect is found

The examiner tells the employer straight away about any defect that in their opinion is or could become a danger to people, then sends the written report to the employer and to anyone the equipment is hired or leased from. Where the defect involves an existing or imminent risk of serious personal injury, a copy also goes to the enforcing authority: HSE for hired or leased equipment, and otherwise the authority for the premises.

The employer must not use the equipment until that defect is put right. Where the report gives a time limit for a defect that is not yet dangerous, the equipment must not be used after that time unless the defect has been fixed.

Keeping the report

Regulation 11 sets how long each report is kept, depending on the kind of examination and the equipment. Our LOLER guide lists the periods.

From our lifts

Gary Stephens

Operations Director · Synergy Lifting Ltd

When a hired crane or a customer’s gear arrives, we check the thorough examination report is in date, identifies the item in front of us and lists no defects that haven’t been cleared. If it’s missing or out of date, that item isn’t used on our lift.

On machine moves using a customer’s own blocks and slings, the most common problem we find is slings that should have been withdrawn. Where an item can’t be confirmed as fit, we use our own gear.

Our tip: keep one register of every lifting accessory with its next examination date, book the examiner before the earliest one falls due, and put anything that comes back damaged or unlabelled in a quarantine bin until it’s examined.

Questions

Common questions

Can I do my own LOLER inspection?

Yes, if the person who examines the equipment is competent and stands apart from its upkeep. HSE accepts an in-house examiner who is independent and impartial enough to examine without fear or favour, but says the examiner should not be whoever carries out the equipment’s routine maintenance. The report must name the examiner and say who employs them.

Is a LOLER certificate a legal requirement?

Yes. In Great Britain, regulation 10 of LOLER requires the examiner to send a written report of each thorough examination to the employer, and to anyone the equipment is hired or leased from. The law calls it a report of thorough examination. Northern Ireland sets the same duty in regulation 10 of its 1999 regulations.

What does a LOLER certificate look like?

There is no set form. LOLER sets out what the report must contain, not its layout. Every report must identify the equipment and say whether it would be safe to operate. HSE says records need not be kept in hard copy, as long as you can provide a written copy when necessary.

Is a LOLER inspection every 6 or 12 months?

It depends on the equipment. Where deterioration could lead to danger, regulation 9 calls for a thorough examination at least every 6 months for lifting accessories and equipment that lifts people, and at least every 12 months for other lifting equipment. An examination scheme drawn up by a competent person can set different intervals instead.

How frequently do lifting chains need to be examined?

At least every 6 months, unless an examination scheme sets other intervals. A chain sling is a lifting accessory, so it falls in LOLER’s 6-month group where it is exposed to deterioration that could lead to danger. LEEA’s code says it is good practice to check chain slings in regular use at the start of each shift or working day.

What does a LOLER inspection checklist include?

LOLER sets no checklist. The scope of each thorough examination is for the competent person to decide, and an examination scheme sets it out as a schedule of checks (HSE). LEEA describes it as a careful, critical visual examination, backed up by measurement or testing where appropriate. For cranes, our BS 7121-2 series guide covers what to examine by type.

Does a LOLER inspection include a load test?

Only where the competent person decides one is needed. HSE says the need for a test, and the kind of test, should be based on an assessment of risk, and that testing may not be needed at every thorough examination. Where a test is made, Schedule 1 requires its details to go in the report.

Is a LOLER inspection the same as a service?

No. HSE’s guide for employers says a thorough examination may show up poor maintenance but is not intended to replace it, and its lift truck guidance says inspections made as part of a scheduled service are not a thorough examination. Keeping equipment maintained in good repair is a separate duty, under regulation 5 of PUWER.

Do passenger lifts need a LOLER inspection?

Yes, where it is provided for people at work. HSE says passenger lifts and combined goods and passenger lifts in workplaces, used mainly by people at work, are subject to thorough examination and inspection under LOLER. As equipment for lifting people, a lift falls in the 6-month group where deterioration could lead to danger, unless an examination scheme says otherwise.

Does a tail lift need a LOLER inspection?

Yes, where it is used at work. HSE’s L113 lists vehicle tail lifts among its examples of lifting equipment, and our L113 guide explains that list. Where deterioration could lead to danger, a tail lift needs a thorough examination at least every 12 months, or every 6 months if it lifts people, unless an examination scheme sets other intervals.

Get help

Arranging the lift once the gear is examined

Call us on 0800 008 6096 or email office@synergy-lifting.co.uk. Let us know what the load weighs and where it has to go, and add photos of it and of any lifting gear you plan to use. We will come back to you with how we would lift it.

For a crane with operator or a full contract lift, see crane hire and contract lifting. Machines that need lifting into place come under machine movement.