Compliance
LOLER thorough examinations: intervals, reports and pre-use checks
By the CheckBadges team · Updated · 8 min read
The short answer
Under LOLER 1998, lifting equipment exposed to deterioration must be thoroughly examined by a competent person at least every 6 months if it lifts people or is a lifting accessory, at least every 12 months otherwise, or at intervals set by an examination scheme. The examiner gives a written report, and operators still check the equipment before use between examinations.
Key takeaways
- 6 months: lifting accessories and equipment that lifts people. 12 months: other lifting equipment, including a standard forklift.
- An examination scheme drawn up by a competent person can set different intervals instead.
- Also examine before first use (unless a recent declaration of conformity covers it), after installation, and after exceptional circumstances.
- Keep in-service reports until the next report or for two years, whichever is later.
- A thorough examination doesn't replace the operator's pre-use check.
What is a LOLER thorough examination?
A thorough examination is a systematic, detailed examination of lifting equipment by a competent person, who then writes a report. HSE describes it as "a systematic and detailed examination of the equipment and safety-critical parts, carried out at specified intervals by a competent person who must then complete a written report" (HSE).
It's a requirement of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER), regulation 9. What it covers is the competent person's call: usually visual examination and functional checks, measurements of wear and, in some cases, non-destructive testing or load testing. HSE notes that "most lifting equipment does not need routine testing as part of the thorough examination - in fact some overload tests can cause damage to lifting equipment."
The competent person needs "such appropriate practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of the lifting equipment to be thoroughly examined as will enable them to detect defects or weaknesses and to assess their importance". They can be your own employee if they're "sufficiently independent and impartial", but HSE says it "should not be the same person who undertakes routine maintenance of the equipment", because they'd be assessing their own work.
How often: 6 months, 12 months or an examination scheme
In service, lifting equipment exposed to conditions that cause deterioration must be thoroughly examined at fixed maximum intervals or under a scheme. Regulation 9(3) sets them (legislation.gov.uk):
| Equipment | Maximum interval | Or |
|---|---|---|
| Lifting accessories (slings, shackles, hooks, eyebolts, chains) | 6 months | An examination scheme |
| Equipment used to lift people (MEWPs, scissor lifts, passenger lifts, a forklift with a work platform) | 6 months | An examination scheme |
| All other lifting equipment (a forklift used only for loads, cranes, goods hoists) | 12 months | An examination scheme |
On top of the periodic examinations, LOLER also requires a thorough examination:
- before first use, unless the equipment is new and comes with a declaration of conformity made not more than 12 months before it's put into service;
- after installation or assembly at a new site, where safety depends on installation conditions (a tower crane, a platform lift built into a building);
- after exceptional circumstances that could affect safety, which HSE says may include damage or failure, long periods out of use, and major changes such as modifications or repairs to critical parts.
An examination scheme lets a competent person set intervals to suit the equipment and how it's used, longer or shorter than 6 or 12 months. HSE's leaflet INDG422 says a longer period "must be based on a rigorous assessment of the risks", and the scheme should be reviewed at each thorough examination.
Where people are lifted by equipment that wasn't designed for it, the 6-month interval still applies: HSE says "whether the lifting equipment is designed to lift them or not - the equipment must be thoroughly examined at six-monthly intervals, or in accordance with the examination scheme" (HSE).
What counts as lifting equipment?
Lifting equipment is "work equipment for lifting and lowering loads", including the attachments used to anchor, fix or support it, and a lifting accessory is equipment for attaching loads to machinery. HSE's brief guide names "cranes, forklift trucks, lifts, hoists, mobile elevating work platforms, and vehicle inspection platform hoists", plus accessories "such as chains, slings, eyebolts etc" (INDG290). INDG422 adds stairlifts, construction hoists, dumb waiters, scissor lifts, vehicle tail lifts, bath hoists, telehandlers and vehicle lifts.
Some equipment is outside LOLER but still covered by PUWER: conveyors, the three-point linkage on a tractor, escalators, and "simple pallet trucks (that only raise the load just clear of the ground so it can be moved)". Pallets, skips and one-trip slings attached to a load count as part of the load.
Forklifts and MEWPs: LOLER and PUWER together
A forklift is both lifting equipment and work equipment, so two sets of rules apply to different parts of it. HSE's INDG422 uses the forklift as its example:
- the LOLER thorough examination covers the lifting mechanism, "eg the chains and forks";
- PUWER inspection covers the non-lifting parts, "such as the brakes, lights, and fall-over protection";
- maintenance of both is a PUWER duty.
The two can be combined into one visit if your competent person agrees. HSE's lift truck guidance lists the lifting parts as "the mast, chains, carriage, forks and tilt mechanism", examined at least every 12 months, or every 6 months if the truck is used to lift people "even on an occasional basis" (L117, paragraphs 165–166). The day-to-day side is covered in forklift pre-use checks in the UK.
MEWPs and scissor lifts lift people, so they're on the 6-month interval unless an examination scheme says otherwise. For US rules on the same machines, see MEWP inspection requirements.
What goes in a thorough examination report
Regulation 10 requires the examiner to tell you "forthwith" about any defect that "is or could become a danger to persons", and then to give you a written report containing the information in Schedule 1, authenticated by signature or "equally secure means". There's no set form, but HSE says all 11 items must be included. In summary:
- Your name and address as the employer.
- The address of the premises where the examination was made.
- Details that identify the equipment, including its date of manufacture where known.
- The date of the last thorough examination.
- The safe working load, or the safe working load for the last configuration examined.
- For a first examination after installation or assembly: that it is one, and whether it was installed correctly and would be safe to operate.
- For other examinations: whether it was within a 6-month interval, a 12-month interval, an examination scheme, or after exceptional circumstances, and whether the equipment would be safe to operate.
- Any defect that is or could become a danger, the repair needed, the time by which a developing defect must be fixed, the latest date for the next examination, any tests made, and the date of the examination.
- The name, address and qualifications of the person making the report, and their employer.
- The name and address of anyone signing the report on their behalf.
- The date of the report.
Where a defect involves "an existing or imminent risk of serious personal injury", the examiner must also send a copy of the report to the enforcing authority (HSE or the local authority). Once you've been told about a defect, regulation 10(3) says the equipment must not be used before the defect is put right, or after the deadline the report sets for a defect that isn't yet dangerous.
How long to keep LOLER records
Regulation 11 sets how long you keep each kind of report (legislation.gov.uk):
| Record | Keep it |
|---|---|
| Declaration of conformity | For as long as you operate the equipment |
| Thorough examination before first use (lifting equipment) | Until you stop using the equipment |
| Thorough examination before first use (lifting accessory) | Two years after the report |
| Thorough examination after installation or assembly | Until you stop using the equipment at that place |
| In-service thorough examination (6-monthly, 12-monthly or scheme) | Until the next report, or two years, whichever is later |
| Inspection between examinations | Until the next inspection record is made |
Records don't have to be paper. HSE says you "should be able to provide a written copy when necessary", for example to an inspector or when equipment goes out on hire, and that records "should also be protected from unauthorised alteration."
Pre-use checks between examinations
A thorough examination happens once or twice a year; a sling can be damaged on Tuesday. That's why HSE's guidance expects checks in between: "users may need to undertake simple pre-use checks (eg on lifting chains and slings), or make checks on a daily basis (eg for lift trucks)". INDG422 is blunt that the examination regime "does not replace the necessity for operators to carry out checks to lifting equipment and accessories before use."
HSE's LOLER code of practice, L113, calls the operator "the first line of defence in identifying any faults or damage", and says pre-use checks "should be carried out before the lifting equipment is used during each working day or at the beginning of each shift." If a check finds a defect, the operator "should report and record the defect and not use the equipment unless authorised to do so."
Lifting accessories rely on this most: HSE says they "do not normally need formal inspection, provided that proper pre-use checks are made and they undergo their standard thorough examination."
| Pre-use check | Inspection (reg 9(3)(b)) | Thorough examination | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Catch day-to-day damage and malfunction | Catch deterioration between examinations | Detailed check of safety-critical parts |
| Who | The trained operator or user | A competent person, often the operator or maintenance staff | A competent person, independent of routine maintenance |
| How often | Each day or shift, before use | As the risk assessment and competent person decide | 6 or 12 months, or per a scheme |
| Paperwork | Defects reported and recorded | A written record, kept until the next one | A written report with Schedule 1 contents |
Keeping the daily checks alongside the reports
Most businesses get their thorough examination reports from an outside examiner and keep them on file; the gap is usually the daily checks in between. CheckBadges puts a QR sticker on each forklift, MEWP or hoist so the operator can do the pre-use check on their own phone with no app or login. A failed item needs a note and can carry photos, emails you straight away, and is shown to every operator who scans that machine until you mark it fixed. Every check is filed by machine with the operator's name and the time. It doesn't replace the thorough examination or the examiner's report.
Frequently asked questions
How often does a forklift need a LOLER thorough examination?
At least every 12 months for its lifting parts, or every 6 months if it's used to lift people even occasionally, unless an examination scheme drawn up by a competent person sets other intervals. A new truck with a declaration of conformity made within the last 12 months doesn't need one before first use.
Is a scissor lift covered by LOLER?
Yes. Scissor lifts and other mobile elevating work platforms are lifting equipment, and because they lift people they need a thorough examination at least every 6 months unless an examination scheme says otherwise.
Who can carry out a LOLER thorough examination?
A competent person with the practical and theoretical knowledge to detect defects and judge how serious they are. They can be your own employee if they're independent and impartial, but HSE says they shouldn't be the person who does routine maintenance on that equipment.
Do pallet trucks need a LOLER thorough examination?
HSE says simple pallet trucks that only raise the load just clear of the ground aren't lifting equipment under LOLER. PUWER still applies, so they must be maintained and checked.
Does a LOLER thorough examination include a load test?
Not usually. HSE says most lifting equipment doesn't need routine testing as part of the examination, and some overload tests can damage it. The competent person decides whether a test is needed.
Can LOLER reports be kept electronically?
Yes, as long as you can produce a written copy when needed and the records are protected from unauthorised alteration.
Keep reading
- PUWER pre-use checksPUWER pre-use checks explained: what regs 4–6 require, when a quick check is enough, when a recorded inspection is needed, who can do it and what to record.
- Forklift pre-use checks (UK)UK forklift daily checks: HSE's L117 says operators should check the truck at the start of each shift and document the results. What to check, records, LOLER.
- MEWP inspection requirementsMEWPs need an operator pre-start check each shift, a frequent inspection every 3 months or 150 hours, and an annual one. ANSI A92 and OSHA rules explained.
- What is a competent person?OSHA defines a competent person as one who can spot hazards and has authority to fix them. Compare competent, qualified and authorized, and who inspects what.
- Forklift inspection checklistFree forklift inspection checklist for the OSHA daily pre-shift check: 30 visual and operating checks with what a pass looks like. Print it or use QR codes.
- Equipment inspection glossaryPlain-English definitions of equipment inspection and safety terms.
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