What is LOLER?
The acronym LOLER stands for Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, which came into effect in December of that same year and is still in place for the regulations governing lifting equipment across British workplaces. Any workplace that owns, operates, or is responsible for the use of lifting equipment such as cranes, hoists, slings, shackles, eyebolts, trucks, patient hoists, etc. is subject to LOLER.
The regulations also work alongside PUWER, or the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. PUWER regulates the use of work equipment more generally. In regards to equipment that is specifically used for lifting equipment, LOLER takes priority, while PUWER maintains the requirements surrounding the use and safety of the equipment.
Who is affected
This applies to all employers, individuals who are self-employed, or anyone that has authority over the use of lifting equipment, including the providers of such equipment. Those who lease cranes or lifting equipment are bound by the same regulations. Furthermore, the same applies to employers whose employees work lifting equipment on another person’s work site.
You do not simply have the responsibility to purchase equipment that is compliant to regulations. Any duty under LOLER requires you to examine all lifting operations that have been planned, supervised, and executed. You are also responsible for the continuous examination of the equipment, even throughout its duration of use.
The definition of lifting equipment
LOLAR applies to all work equipment that is used for lifting or lowering of loads with the additional attachments used to hold, anchor, or support it. That means:
- Cranes (mobile, overhead, tower, jib, gantry)
- Hoists and winches
- Fork-lift trucks
- Vehicle inspection lifts
- Lifting slings, chains, and and ropes
- Shackles, hooks, eyebolts, and swivel rings
- Spreader beams and lifting frames
What it doesn’t apply to is equipment where lifting is incidental to the primary function — for example, an escalator, or a stair lift in a domestic setting. It may sometimes be a bit blurry, but for anyone working with dedicated lifting equipment, it’s clear enough.
The thorough examination requirement
This is the part that catches people out most often. LOLER requires that lifting equipment be thoroughly examined at regular intervals by a competent person. This is a legal requirement, not a recommendation.
A thorough examination is more extensive than normal maintenance. It is more of an examination of the equipment that is carried out by a person whose competence and experience allows them to make the necessary judgments as to whether the equipment is safe to operate. This can include: the structural components and integrity of the equipment, load bearing components, brakes, controls, etc. It is the person’s responsibility to make a judgement beyond superficial damage and to inspect the equipment. It is critical to make a professional analysis to determine the safe operation of the equipment.
The type of equipment determines the examination frequency:
- Equipment that lifts people, thorough examination is required at least every six months.
- Accessory equipment for lifting (slings, chains, shackles, hooks, etc.): six-month examination required.
- All other lifting equipment: examination required at least every twelve months.
Deadlines listed above are the minimum required. It is the responsibility of a qualified person to determine a more frequent examination should the nature of the equipment or its working conditions require it, and many do. Equipment that is subject to a high number of cycles in more aggressive conditions is typically subjected to examinations that are more frequent than the statutory minimum.
A qualified person may also make an examination plan, and then the examination can be done according to this plan. When done according to this plan, the examination will be more individualized such that the intervals are determined by a risk assessment instead of a schedule.
What constitutes a “competent person”?
LOLER’s guidelines can be confusing as they withhold certification from specific organizations or individuals who complete thorough examinations. A “competent person” is a person who possesses the relevant theoretical and practical knowledge and experience to identify defects or deficiencies and to evaluate such defects or deficiencies in regard to the safe operation of the equipment.
Most organizations in the field engage specialized third-party inspection firms. The engineer who performs the examination shall possess the appropriate qualifications and experience specific to the equipment under examination. This entails far more than merely assigning a general maintenance contractor to the task.
The examination report
A written report must be produced by a competent person after each thorough examination. The report must include specific details such as the identification of equipment, the examination date, and identify any defects. It must also contain an opinion with respect to the continued safe use of the equipment.
These reports must be retained. Specifically, reports on lifting accessories must be retained for two years from the examination date. The report for equipment that is incorporated in a building or structure must be retained until the next examination report becomes due. Other lifting equipment is also subject to a two-year minimum report retention period.Records of examinations can be requested by inspectors when they visit a site. If records are not available or there are missing gaps in records that is a compliance failure.
If a defect is identified
If a defect is identified by a qualified person or a defect is identified that poses a threat to individuals, they must report that to the employer as well as the applicable enforcement authority, which would be the HSE or local authority, depending on the workplace, and that is not discretionary, and the employer has no authority to override that.
If there is a defect that is clearly a safety risk, the equipment should be taken out of service right away. If there is a defect that poses a risk that is serious, but not immediately obvious, the report must be completed, and the defect must be corrected within the stated time frame of the report, but not before the equipment is allowed to be used. Failing to meet that time frame is a violation of the provisions of LOLER.
New Equipment and Used Equipment
Used equipment that is going to be used for the first time or going to be used after being relocated to a different site, or new equipment that is going to be used for the first time must be vetted by an examiner as their first step in the examination process to confirm that the equipment is safe to be used for lifting. Basically, used lifting equipment is being bought and used at the risk of being inspected and then needing to be non-compliant.
Planning and Supervision
Planning and supervisory conduct of lifting operations must be assessed and in accordance with the law, planning and supervision of lifting operations must be planned by an individual who is competent. An individual of a reasonable skill level with lifting operations should be able to effectively plan and supervise their operations as if the lifts being conducted are of a low risk and are routine or repetitive. Otherwise, for lifts that are complicated, repetitive, or as if the routine or repetitive lifts that draw the attention of a reasonable level of risk, then the necessitated planning should be accounted, for in most cases as if a lift that is engineered and planned by a qualified lift.
Where to look for official guidance
The HSE issues its own guidelines for LOLER, which are authoritative. The ACOP (Approved Code of Practice) L113 addresses LOLER in depth and can be accessed for free on the HSE website. If you are in charge of compliance, it makes sense to read it in its entirety — the legislation is short, but the ACOP offers the practical guidance that enforcement is based on.