Regulation 9 of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER)
Regulation 9 of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) require duty holders to ensure the thorough examination of lifting equipment is undertaken initially, when safety depends on the installation conditions and thereafter periodically for lifting equipment that can deteriorate to a dangerous situation.
LOLER applies to all places of work and defines:
Lifting equipment as: work equipment that lifts or lowers loads and includes its attachment used for anchoring, fixing and supporting it.
Accessory for lifting as: work equipment for attaching loads to machinery for lifting.
Work equipment as: any machinery, appliance, apparatus tool or installation for use at work (whether exclusively or not).
The requirements for lifting equipment and accessories to be thoroughly examined periodically does not replace an employers’ responsibility to maintain lifting equipment in efficient working order and good repair, and to ensure inspections are undertaken between thorough examinations. In all cases employers should adopt an effective risk based regime to ensure safety is maintained at all times and any defects with the potential to cause harm will be detected and remedied in good time.
This Guidance aims to provide the Safety Assessment Federation (SAFed) approach to carrying out the regulatory thorough examinations under LOLER Regulation 9 and particular with regards to the competent person, schemes of examination and periodicity of examinations.
In-service inspection procedures: Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 - Regulation 6
The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER 98) regulation 6 requires that where the risk assessment carried out under regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 has identified a significant risk to the operator or other workers from the installation or use of the work equipment, then a suitable inspection should be carried out. Inspections should be undertaken by such persons who have the necessary knowledge and experience to do so.
Where the work equipment is of a type where the safe operation is critically dependant on its condition in use and deterioration would lead to a significant risk to the operator or another person, the frequency of inspections should be based on how quickly the work equipment is likely to deteriorate and therefore give rise to a significant risk.
SAFed member companies have compiled a list of work equipment which, based on their extensive experience, is likely to require some form of periodic inspection. The recommended maximum inspection periodicities listed are purely for guidance and are not a requirement of PUWER 98. The risks imposed by work equipment must be evaluated by the duty holder or by an individual or organisation competent to do so on the duty holder’s behalf.
The results of the risk assessment may result in the frequency of inspection being increased for different aspects of use of the work equipment and also be dependent upon the protective devices fitted.
The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007, Regulation 30
The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007, Regulation 30 requires that an employer shall ensure that where the safety of work equipment depends on the installation conditions, an initial inspection is carried out before the equipment is put into use, and where the equipment has been assembled at a new site or location to ensure the work equipment is installed correctly and working properly.
In addition, an employer shall ensure that in the case of work equipment which is exposed to conditions causing deterioration liable to result in a danger to safety or health, periodic inspections, and, where appropriate, testing is carried out, including when special circumstances arise, which are liable to make work equipment unsafe, including modification work, accidents, natural phenomena or prolonged inactivity, in order that deterioration is detected and remedied in good time.
Inspections described above should be carried out by a competent person, who has the necessary knowledge and experience to do so, and as appropriate to the nature, location, and use of the work equipment. Where the work equipment is of a type where the safe operation is critically dependent on its condition in use and deterioration would lead to a significant risk to the operator or another person, the frequency of inspections should be based on how quickly the work equipment is likely to deteriorate and therefore give rise to a significant risk.
SAFed member companies have compiled a list of work equipment which, based on their extensive experience, is likely to require some form of periodic inspection. The recommended maximum inspection periodicities listed are purely for guidance and are not a requirement of the General Application Regulations 2007. The risks imposed by work equipment must be evaluated by the duty holder or by an individual or organisation competent to do so on the duty holder’s behalf. The results of the risk assessment may result in the frequency of inspection being increased for different aspects of use of the work equipment and also be dependent upon the protective devices fitted.
SAFed April 2022
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