If your workplace uses cranes, hoists, lifting accessories or any other equipment to raise or lower loads, LOLER applies to you.
Understanding what the regulations require and what happens if they are not followed is essential for any employer, duty holder or facilities manager responsible for lifting operations.
This guide from Metreel explains what LOLER is, who it applies to, what it requires in practice. Crucially, it will also run through how it affects the use of overhead cranes, hoists and associated lifting equipment.
What Does LOLER Stand For?
LOLER stands for the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. The regulations are enforced and overseen by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and were made law under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
LOLER replaced earlier legislation, including the Construction and Use (Lifting) Regulations 1961.
Who Does LOLER Apply To?
LOLER places duties on people and companies who own, operate or have control over lifting equipment. In practice, this means:
- Employers who provide lifting equipment for use at work
- Self-employed persons who use lifting equipment
- People who have control over lifting equipment, for example, a facilities manager responsible for a crane installed in a leased building
If your site has an overhead crane, workstation crane, jib crane, monorail hoist or any other lifting equipment, LOLER obligations fall on whoever is responsible for that equipment, whether it is owned, leased or hired.
What Equipment Does LOLER Cover?
LOLER covers lifting equipment such as cranes, hoists and lifts, as well as lifting accessories such as chains, ropes, slings and shackles. The regulations apply regardless of the size or complexity of the equipment. A simple lever hoist used occasionally in a workshop is subject to the same legal framework as a multi-tonne overhead travelling crane in a manufacturing facility.
Equipment used to lift people, such as passenger lifts, scissor lifts and mobile elevated work platforms, is subject to more stringent inspection requirements than equipment used only to lift loads.
What Are The Main Requirements Of LOLER?
LOLER sets out four principal areas of requirement.
1. Strength and stability
All lifting equipment must be of adequate strength and stability for the intended use. Equipment must be fit for purpose, safely installed and used correctly. For overhead cranes and hoists, this means the equipment must be designed, manufactured and installed to handle the loads it will be asked to lift, with appropriate safety margins built in.
2. Positioning and installation
Lifting equipment must be positioned or installed to reduce the risk of the equipment or a load striking a person, or the load drifting, falling freely or being released unintentionally. For fixed installations such as overhead cranes and runway beams, this requirement is addressed at the design and installation stage by a competent engineer.
3. Marking
All lifting equipment and lifting accessories must be clearly marked with their safe working load (or working load limit). Where the safe working load depends on the configuration of the equipment, each configuration must be marked. This marking must be legible and permanently attached to the equipment.
4. Organisation of lifting operations
LOLER requires that all lifting operations involving lifting equipment must be properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised and carried out in a safe manner. For routine lifts using fixed overhead equipment, standard operating procedures typically satisfy this requirement. For complex or non-routine lifts, a formal lift plan is required.
What Is A LOLER Thorough Examination?
The thorough examination is the most operationally significant requirement for most businesses. Under LOLER, lifting equipment must be thoroughly examined at regular intervals by a competent person to ensure it remains safe to use.
A thorough examination is not simply a visual inspection. It is a systematic and detailed examination carried out by someone with the relevant knowledge, skills and experience to assess whether the equipment is safe for continued use. It may include functional testing, load testing and detailed inspection of structural components, wear items and safety-critical parts.
How Often Is A Thorough Examination Required?
The required frequency depends on the type of equipment. An inspection is needed every six months for lifting equipment used to lift people or every twelve months for all other lifting equipment. Additionally, an inspection is needed after any significant repair or modification. Equipment may also require examination before first use if it has not previously been used, or if it has been obtained from another business without documentary evidence that a previous examination has been carried out.
Where the risk assessment indicates that more frequent examination is necessary. For example, for equipment operating in harsh conditions, at high cycle rates or handling hazardous loads, the competent person may specify shorter intervals.
Who Can Carry Out A Thorough Examination?
The examination must be carried out by a competent person who is independent of the day-to-day management of the equipment. In practice, this is typically a specialist inspection company or a qualified engineer from an organisation accredited for lifting equipment examination, such as a member of the Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA).
What Records Must Be Kept?
Detailed records of inspections must be maintained and be readily available for regulatory authorities or internal audits. Under LOLER, examination reports must be kept until the next examination report is received, or for two years, whichever is longer. Where a report identifies a defect that poses an existing or imminent risk of serious personal injury, the competent person is required to notify the relevant enforcing authority (HSE or local authority) in addition to the duty holder.
LOLER And Overhead Cranes
For businesses operating overhead cranes, workstation cranes, jib cranes or monorail systems, LOLER obligations are ongoing throughout the life of the equipment. The key practical requirements are:
- The crane and all lifting accessories (hooks, chains, slings, shackles) must be marked with their safe working load
- A thorough examination must be carried out at least every 12 months by a competent person, with records retained
- Any defects identified during examination must be assessed and acted upon and equipment with defects posing an imminent risk must be taken out of service immediately
- Lifting operations must be planned and supervised by a competent person
- Operators must be adequately trained and competent to use the equipment safely
The rated capacity indicator (RCI) fitted to many overhead cranes is a LOLER-relevant safety device. It prevents the crane from being operated beyond its safe working load, which is a direct requirement of the regulations.
LOLER And Hoists
Hoists, whether electric chain hoists, wire rope hoists or manual chain blocks, are lifting equipment under LOLER and subject to the same requirements as cranes. The hoist itself, its suspension point and any lifting accessories used with it must all be included in the thorough examination programme.
A common oversight is treating the hoist in isolation from its mounting. If the hoist is suspended from a trolley running on an overhead crane or monorail, the entire system must be examined together, not just the hoist unit.
LOLER And PUWER: What Is The Difference?
LOLER and PUWER are closely related and often apply to the same equipment simultaneously. The distinction is that PUWER covers all work equipment including its suitability, maintenance, inspection and safe use. However, LOLER adds specific requirements for equipment used to lift loads or people.
In practice, for lifting equipment: PUWER sets the baseline requirements for work equipment generally, and LOLER overlays additional obligations specific to lifting. Both must be met. Metreel’s blog post on PUWER regulations for lifting equipment covers the PUWER requirements in more detail.
What Are The Consequences Of Non-Compliance?
Failure to comply with LOLER can result in enforcement action by the HSE, including improvement notices, prohibition notices and prosecution. More importantly, failure to comply can result in serious accidents. Lifting equipment failures including dropped loads, structural collapses, hoist runaway are among the most serious injury risks in industrial workplaces, and the HSE takes enforcement of LOLER seriously.
Where a thorough examination has not been carried out, or where a known defect has not been addressed, liability in the event of an accident is significantly heightened for both the employer and the individual duty holder.
Lifting Equipment From Metreel – Get Advice About LOLER Compliance
For businesses operating overhead cranes, workstation cranes, hoists or any other lifting equipment, a documented LOLER compliance programme is not optional, it is a legal requirement.
If you need support with lifting equipment supply, installation or have questions about LOLER compliance for your crane or hoist system, get in touch with the Metreel team.
Or, to discuss purchasing any of our lifting equipment based on LOLER requirements, please give us a call on 0115 932 7010.