LOLER Explained: Lifting Equipment Examination Intervals Employers Get Wrong

PUWER gets most of the attention when it comes to work equipment safety, but lifting equipment specifically sits under its own separate regulations with their own inspection intervals — and the two are easy to mix up. An employer who's confident their forklift truck and their patient hoist are both "covered by the same annual inspection" may well be wrong on the timing for one of them.

What LOLER actually covers

The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) apply specifically to lifting equipment and lifting accessories used at work — cranes, forklift trucks, passenger and goods lifts, hoists, vehicle tail lifts, and lifting accessories like slings, chains, shackles and eyebolts. It sits alongside the broader Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER), which covers work equipment generally, but LOLER adds specific additional duties for lifting operations because of the particular risks involved when loads — including people — are suspended or moved through the air.

The examination interval that trips people up

LOLER sets two different thorough examination intervals depending on what the equipment is used for, and confusing the two is one of the most common compliance gaps. Equipment used to lift people — passenger lifts, patient hoists, scissor lifts used for personnel, and any lifting accessories used in connection with lifting people — requires thorough examination at least every six months. All other lifting equipment not used for lifting people — goods lifts, cranes, forklift trucks, vehicle inspection hoists — requires thorough examination at least every twelve months. Lifting accessories such as slings, chains, and shackles generally require six-monthly examination regardless of what type of load they're used with, because of the higher failure consequences involved. These are minimum frequencies, not fixed defaults: a competent person can and should recommend more frequent examination where equipment condition, usage intensity, or manufacturer guidance calls for it.

Beyond the routine schedule

Thorough examinations aren't only a calendar event. LOLER also requires examination before equipment is used for the first time (unless it comes with a valid manufacturer's declaration of conformity that's less than 12 months old), after installation at a new site or location, and following any exceptional circumstances likely to have affected its safety — damage, a significant change in use, an accident, or a substantial period out of use. Skipping an examination after one of these trigger events because "the next scheduled one isn't due yet" is a common and avoidable gap.

Who can carry out a thorough examination

A thorough examination has to be carried out by a competent person — someone with the appropriate practical and theoretical knowledge and experience to detect defects and assess their significance for the equipment's continued safe use. This is a higher and more specific bar than the general "competent person" language used elsewhere in health and safety law; thorough examination competence is usually evidenced through relevant professional accreditation and demonstrable experience with the specific type of lifting equipment involved, not simply general maintenance experience.

Lifting operations still need planning, not just inspected equipment

LOLER compliance isn't only about equipment condition. Every lifting operation involving lifting equipment must be properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised, and carried out safely — covering factors like the load, the route, ground conditions, and the competence of the people operating the equipment. A perfectly examined and certified crane can still be involved in a serious incident if the specific lift itself wasn't properly planned for the load and conditions on the day, which is why LOLER treats equipment examination and lifting operation planning as two separate, both-mandatory duties rather than one covering the other.

FAQ

Is LOLER the same as PUWER?
No. PUWER covers work equipment generally; LOLER adds specific additional duties for lifting equipment and lifting operations because of the particular risks involved, including mandatory thorough examination intervals that PUWER doesn't itself set.

How often does lifting equipment need a thorough examination?
Equipment used to lift people, and lifting accessories generally, need examination at least every six months. Other lifting equipment needs examination at least every twelve months. These are minimum intervals — more frequent examination may be needed depending on use and condition.

Who is allowed to carry out a LOLER thorough examination?
Only a competent person with the specific practical and theoretical knowledge to detect defects in that type of lifting equipment and assess their significance — a higher bar than general maintenance competence.

Does a valid thorough examination mean a specific lift is automatically safe?
No. LOLER also requires every lifting operation to be properly planned and supervised by a competent person, separately from the equipment's examination status.

LOLER's six-month and twelve-month examination intervals are easy to state but easy to misapply across a mixed fleet of lifting equipment, which is exactly where compliance gaps tend to appear. Learnsignal's guide to PUWER and work equipment safety covers the broader regulatory framework LOLER sits alongside. Browse our CPD courses to build lifting equipment safety into your team's compliance training.