Road Legal

LOLER is the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. The regulations aim to reduce risks to employees, and others' health and safety from lifting equipment provided for use at work.

The regulations require that lifting equipment provided for use at work is:

• of  adequate strength and stability for its particular use and clearly marked to indicate its safe working load (Regulations 4 and 7);
• positioned or installed to reduce any risks to as low as reasonably practicable (Regulation 6);
• used in a safe manner - every lifting operation must be properly planned and appropriately supervised (Regulation 8);
• thoroughly examined and, if appropriate for the purpose, inspected by competent persons at suitable intervals (Regulation 9).

Who has duties under LOLER?

Duties under LOLER apply to anyone with control, to any extent, of:

• lifting equipment;
• a person at work who uses, supervises or manages the use of lifting equipment; or
• the way in which lifting equipment is used, to the extent of his control.

Therefore anyone with responsibility, directly or indirectly, for work equipment and its use - for example, employers, the self employed and those who hire work equipment - all have duties under LOLER.

Further, where a company provides personnel to undertake work which will involve the use of lifting equipment then that company has a duty under LOLER to provide persons competent to undertake the work.

What is lifting equipment?

The potential scope of LOLER is extremely wide. Lifting equipment includes such equipment as cranes, forklift trucks, goods lifts, construction site hoists, mobile elevating work platforms, vehicle inspection hoists, gin wheels, ropes, chain slings, eye bolts, etc.

If you allow employees to provide their own lifting equipment then this too is covered by the regulations.

Organisation of lifting operations

Any lifting or lowering of a load which involves lifting equipment must be properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised and carried out in a safe manner. The “competent person” planning the operation should have adequate practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of planning lifting operations.

Remember that as well as planning the lifting operation as required by LOLER, it will also be necessary to:

• carry out a risk assessment under Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999; and
• select suitable equipment for the range of tasks as per Regulation 4 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER);
• take into account the location, the load to be lifted, the duration and the specific operation to be carried out.

Note: For repetitive routine lifts the initial plan will only be required for the first lifting operation. This will, however, need to be reviewed if circumstances and/or the nature of the load changes.

Thorough examinations and inspections

Thorough examinations of lifting equipment must be undertaken to ensure that any defects identified are remedied in good time. Duty holders under LOLER must ensure that a thorough examination of lifting equipment is made:

• before the lifting equipment is put into service for the first time (unless it has not been used before and it has an EC declaration of conformity or, if obtained from another person, it is accompanied by physical evidence of the last thorough examination required to be carried out);
• where the safety of lifting equipment depends on the installation conditions, after installation and before being put into service for the first time;
• where the safety of lifting equipment depends on the installation conditions, after assembly and before being put into service at a new site or in a new location;
• where lifting equipment is exposed to conditions causing deterioration which is liable to result in dangerous situations, at least every six months (or 12 months depending on the type of equipment) and whenever exceptional circumstances have occurred which are liable to jeopardise the safety of the lifting equipment.

Exceptional circumstances which are liable to jeopardise the safety of lifting equipment may include: any accident involving lifting equipment; after extended periods without proper servicing or maintenance; or after long periods of use after substantial modification and repairs.

An examination scheme should be drawn up in respect of a thorough examination. This can be carried out by the user, owner, manufacturer or some other independent party provided they have the necessary competence. Any examination scheme for lifting equipment should take account of:

• its condition;
• the environment in which it is to be used; and
• the number of lifting operations and the loads lifted.

A thorough examination may include a visual examination, strip down of the equipment and functional tests.

If appropriate for the purpose, there must also be an inspection by a competent person at suitable intervals between thorough examinations. You should carry out an inspection of lifting equipment where your risk assessment has identified risks to the operator or other workers which would be addressed by regularly inspecting it. Examples of lifting machinery which may require regular inspection are forklift trucks, hoists and automated stacking equipment.

Reporting defects

The competent person who conducts the thorough examination must immediately notify the employer of any defect in the equipment which could become a danger to anyone. The competent person must also make a written report of this to be sent to the employer and to any person from whom the lifting equipment has been hired or leased.

The competent person making an inspection must also immediately notify the employer of any defect in the lifting equipment which could become a danger to anyone. A record of this inspection must be made in writing.

Written reports of thorough examinations will need to be sent to the relevant enforcing authority where there is a defect in the lifting equipment involving an existing or imminent risk of serious personal injury.

Written records are required to be kept in respect of both through examinations and inspections.

Schedule 1 of LOLER specifies the information that must be contained in the report of a thorough examination.

Of course, lifting equipment which has been reported as having a defect must not be used before the defect is rectified.

Offences

Failure to comply with the provisions of LOLER is a criminal offence. The maximum penalty in the magistrates' court is £5,000. Conviction in the crown court, in respect of more serious offences, carries an unlimited fine.

Further information

For quick guidance on the regulations go to the HSE's simple guide to LOLER.

For detailed guidance please refer to the Safe Use of Lifting Equipment L113 Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 Approved Code of Practice and Guidance, available from HSE Books.

Poppy Williams is a solicitor for DLA Piper UK LLP.