Machine moving standards

The machine moving standards cover jacks, chain blocks and lever hoists, winches and hoists, and securing loads on road vehicles. This guide sets out each standard, its current edition and what it means on a machine move.

Overview

What the machine moving standards are

Machine moving standards are the British and European standards for the gear used to jack, pull, lift and secure heavy machines on a move: jacks, chain blocks and lever hoists, winches and hoists, and the lashings that hold a machine on a lorry. Each section sets out the scope and current edition, then what applies on site.

In short

Hand chain blocks and lever hoists count as machinery, so they come with a declaration of conformity.
Both parts of BS EN 14492, on power driven winches and hoists, are being revised.
BS EN 12195 sets how to work out the lashings for a load on a road vehicle, and DVSA’s code refers to it.
No British or European standard is written for machine skates, so PUWER and the maker’s rating apply.

Jacks	BS EN 1494:2000+A1:2008
Hand powered lifting equipment	BS EN 13157:2004+A1:2009
Power driven winches	BS EN 14492-1:2006+A1:2009
Power driven hoists	BS EN 14492-2:2019
Load securing on road vehicles	BS EN 12195-1:2010, with parts 2 to 4 on the lashing gear
Hydraulic gantries	BS 7121-13:2009
Legal status	Voluntary standards. BS EN 1494, BS EN 13157 and both parts of BS EN 14492 are designated in Great Britain for new machinery.

Jacks

Jacks: BS EN 1494

BS EN 1494 sets safety requirements for mobile or movable jacks, used alone or in sets, that raise and lower a load at one or more points. BSI’s summary says it covers manual, electric, hydraulic and pneumatic jacks, and lifting people is outside it. It also makes clear that nobody should work under a raised load unless the load is secured by other means. The 2000 edition, amended in 2008, is current and under review.

A jack used to lift at work must be marked with its safe working load under LOLER, and the manufacturer supplies instructions for its use and maintenance.

Hand powered

Chain blocks and lever hoists: BS EN 13157

BS EN 13157 covers lifting equipment driven by hand: chain blocks, lever hoists, jaw winches, hand-powered trolleys, drum winches and pulley blocks. Lifting people is outside it, as is use below -10 °C or above +50 °C. The current edition is from 2004, amended in 2009, and BSI has a revised edition in draft.

Lifting gear worked only by a person’s own effort still counts as machinery under regulation 4(2)(a)(v) of the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008, so it comes with a declaration of conformity.

Power driven

Winches and hoists: BS EN 14492

BS EN 14492-1 covers power driven winches, whether electric, hydraulic, pneumatic or engine driven. Part 2 covers power driven hoists, and its 2019 edition replaced the 2006 edition and brought the design rules into line with the EN 13001 crane design series. The draft of Part 1 limits it to winches that move loads along level or sloping ground, and a draft of Part 2 went out for comment in August 2026.

The GB designated list still names the 2006 edition of Part 2, which BSI withdrew in 2019. HSE’s LOLER code, L113, treats winching a load that never leaves the ground as outside LOLER, though PUWER still applies.

Load securing

Securing loads on road vehicles: BS EN 12195

BS EN 12195-1 sets out how to calculate the securing forces needed to hold a load on a road vehicle by blocking, lashing or both. It applies to vehicles over 3.5 t. Parts 2 to 4 cover the lashing gear itself, from web lashings to chains and wire rope. Part 1 dates from 2010, and parts 2 to 4 from 2001 to 2003.

In Great Britain, DVSA’s code of practice, Securing loads on HGVs and goods vehicles, replaced the older load securing guides. It asks for the securing to resist the full weight of the load forwards and half of it sideways and to the rear, and says enforcement officers refer to BS EN 12195-1 after a serious load shift. For heavy plant it calls for at least 4 direct lashings with a physical barrier front and rear. Web lashings should have a label showing the lashing capacity and that they were made to BS EN 12195-2, and they should be checked at least every 6 months.

The code is guidance, and where it says must, it reflects a legal requirement. The duties come from section 40A of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and regulation 100 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, which require a load to be secured so it causes no danger. Vehicles carrying abnormal indivisible loads may run under the STGO. Northern Ireland has its own road traffic law.

Other equipment

Skates, rollers and hydraulic gantries

Machine skates and load rollers are outside BS EN 1494, and no British or European standard is written for them. They are still work equipment, so under regulation 4 and regulation 5 of PUWER they must suit the load and be kept in good repair, and the manufacturer’s rating sets their capacity. Hydraulic gantries used to lift machines are covered by BS 7121-13, the code of practice for hydraulic gantry lifting systems.

A small yellow electric pick and carry crane inside a factory building beside large green steel tanks lying on the floor — Moving tanks inside a factory with an electric pick and carry crane.

The law

How the machine moving standards relate to LOLER and PUWER

New jacks, hoists and winches built to a designated standard are presumed to meet the 2008 Regulations for the requirements that standard covers, under regulation 7(4). The GB designated list includes BS EN 1494, BS EN 13157 and BS EN 14492, with Part 2 only in its 2006 edition. BS EN 12195 is a road transport standard and is not on it. Northern Ireland follows EU harmonised standards instead.

At work, PUWER covers all of this equipment, and LOLER adds duties for anything that lifts, from planning to marking and thorough examination. Jacks, chain blocks, winches and hoists that lift a load need a thorough examination at least every 12 months, unless a written examination scheme sets otherwise. HSE’s LOLER overview sets out what counts as lifting equipment. Northern Ireland has its own 1999 versions of LOLER and PUWER.

Sources and further reading