LOLER stands for the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. Where PUWER covers work equipment in general, LOLER adds a specific regime for anything used at work for lifting or lowering loads, including people. Its best-known requirement is the thorough examination, and its intervals are among the few fixed numbers in GB health and safety law.
What equipment LOLER is relevant to
Cranes, hoists, passenger and goods lifts, mobile elevating work platforms, vehicle lifts, tail lifts, telehandlers with lifting attachments, patient hoists in care settings, and the accessories that go with them: slings, shackles, eyebolts, chains and hooks. If it lifts a load at work, it is in. A forklift is lifting equipment and also work equipment, so both regimes apply.
The thorough examination intervals
Regulation 9(3) requires lifting equipment exposed to conditions causing deterioration to be thoroughly examined at least every 6 months where it is for lifting persons or is an accessory for lifting, and at least every 12 months for other lifting equipment. The alternative is examination in accordance with an examination scheme drawn up by a competent person, which is what heavily used or unusual equipment normally has.
What a thorough examination is not
It is not a service and it is not the daily pre-use check. A thorough examination is a detailed inspection by a competent person, independent enough to give an objective view, resulting in a written report. Maintenance keeps the equipment working; the examination establishes whether it is safe. Firms that let their maintenance contractor do both should be satisfied the independence is real.
What moves the cost
The number and type of items, whether the equipment is at one site or many, whether the examination needs the equipment taken out of service or a load test, and whether accessories are examined at the same visit. The economical arrangement is almost always a scheduled visit covering everything on one site at once, rather than a callout per item.
Where it meets manual handling
A patient hoist in a care home is the point where LOLER and the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 meet: the hoist exists because the manual handling assessment said the load should not be lifted by hand, and it then has to be thoroughly examined every 6 months because it lifts a person. Care providers that get the first half right and miss the second are common.
Questions people ask about loler regulations
What does LOLER stand for?
The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998.
How often should lifting equipment be inspected?
At least every 6 months for equipment used to lift persons and for accessories for lifting, and at least every 12 months for other lifting equipment, unless an examination scheme drawn up by a competent person sets different intervals.
Is a thorough examination the same as a service?
No. A service maintains the equipment. A thorough examination is an independent assessment of whether it is safe to continue in use, and it produces a written report.
Does LOLER apply to a forklift?
Yes. A forklift is lifting equipment under LOLER and work equipment under PUWER, so both sets of duties apply to it.