LOLER regulations require all lifting operations to be accurately planned and supervised by a competent person. Consequently, regulations also require that all lifting equipment must undergo regular examinations. Conducted by a qualified technician, LOLER examinations ensure that a lift is fit for its purpose, and it is the responsibility of the business that owns or rents the equipment to make sure these examinations take place.
Accordingly, this piece of equipment should be appropriately marked with a record of each examination kept. Any defects should be reported to the person responsible for the equipment and the relevant enforcing authority (the HSE for industrial workplaces and the local authority in most others).
A LOLER inspection, known officially as a ‘thorough examination’, is not the same as routine maintenance, such as replacing worn or damaged parts, topping up fluid levels, or making minor adjustments. Testing must be performed by what is known officially as a ‘competent person’: someone qualified to perform the thorough examination.