“Is my team LOLER trained?” is one of the most common questions we hear from businesses operating cranes, hoists and other lifting equipment. It is also, strictly speaking, the wrong question.
The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) does not hand out a single “LOLER certificate” for people and it does not prescribe a fixed training syllabus.
What it does require is competence, at every stage of a lifting operation, and that is a broader and more practical standard than most businesses expect.
In this post, we’re here to explain more about what LOLER actually says about training and competence.
Please note: This article is intended as a guide. However, it is not designed to replace an individual health and safety assessment of your operations.
What LOLER Actually Requires
LOLER sits alongside the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) and applies to any equipment used at work for lifting or lowering loads, including cranes, hoists, and their accessories. Regulation 8 requires that every lifting operation involving lifting equipment is:
- Properly planned by a person with the appropriate knowledge and experience
- Appropriately supervised
- Carried out in a safe manner
None of that is achievable without trained, competent people. LOLER does not name a qualification, but the HSE guidance is clear that duty holders must be able to demonstrate that operators, slingers, signallers and appointed persons have the knowledge, experience and, where necessary, formal training for the specific equipment and task in front of them.
Training vs Thorough Examination: Two Different Duties
It is worth separating two obligations that are often bundled together under “LOLER compliance”:
- Thorough examination is a statutory inspection of the equipment itself, carried out by an independent competent person at intervals set out in LOLER (generally every 6 or 12 months depending on use). We cover this in detail in our piece on gantry crane thorough examinations.
- Operator and personnel training is the employer’s ongoing duty to ensure the people using, planning and supervising lifting operations are competent to do so. This is where most compliance gaps actually appear.
A crane can pass its thorough examination with a clean bill of health and still be operated unsafely by someone who has not been trained on that specific machine. LOLER treats both as necessary, not interchangeable.
Who Needs Training and For What
Training obligations under LOLER are not one size fits all. Who needs what depends on their role in the lifting operation, from the person at the controls to the person who planned the lift in the first place. Here is how those requirements break down by role.
Operators
Anyone operating a crane, hoist, or below-the-hook device needs equipment-specific training. This should cover the safe working load and how it is displayed, pre-use checks, emergency stop procedures and the limits of the specific installation, since a workstation crane and a rail-mounted gantry are not operated the same way.
Slingers and Signallers
Where loads are slung rather than fixed, the people attaching loads and directing lifts need training in load calculation, sling angles and standard signalling. This is closely tied to understanding safe working load, since misjudging SWL is one of the most common causes of lifting incidents.
Appointed Persons
For anything beyond routine, repetitive lifts, LOLER expects a competent appointed person to plan the operation. This role carries legal weight and typically needs its own accredited training rather than on-the-job learning.
Fall Protection and Work at Height
Where lifting equipment is used in conjunction with fall arrest systems, training obligations under LOLER overlap with the Work at Height Regulations 2005. Anyone using rigid rail or fall arrest equipment needs to understand rescue procedures as well as day-to-day use.
Training Doesn’t Replace Good Equipment Design
Well-specified equipment reduces how much training burden sits on your team. Features such as a rated capacity indicator that stops an operator exceeding SWL, or a below-the-hook device that removes a manual slinging step, are engineering controls that support competence rather than substitute for it. LOLER’s hierarchy still expects trained people behind the controls, but the right equipment specification makes their job safer and more consistent.
This is also where material handling equipment earns its place. Replacing manual lifts with a crane or hoist does not remove the training requirement, but it does shift the risk profile from manual handling injuries to equipment competence, which is generally easier to manage and document.
A Practical Compliance Checklist
- Confirm thorough examination intervals are met (6 months for lifting people or fall arrest use, 12 months otherwise)
- Keep equipment-specific training records for every operator, not just a generic “lifting equipment” certificate
- Appoint and train a competent person to plan non-routine lifts
- Refresh training when equipment changes, not on a fixed calendar alone
- Cross-check LOLER training against PUWER, Work at Height and Manual Handling obligations, since most real installations sit under more than one regulation
How Metreel Supports LOLER Compliance
Metreel is a UK manufacturer and supplier of material handling equipment, including cranes, hoists and fall protection systems, and we design equipment with LOLER and PUWER compliance built in from the outset.
Alongside supply, we provide inspection and maintenance services, including periodic competent-person examinations and the documentation to support them.
If you are reviewing training and compliance across your lifting equipment, whether that is a single gantry crane or a full rail-mounted installation, get in touch with Metreel.
We also welcome you to download our brochure to see how our equipment and support services can help.