LOLER 1998: Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Explained
Quick Answer: LOLER — the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/2307) — requires that all equipment used for lifting loads or people is strong and stable enough, marked with its safe working load, positioned to minimise risk, and subject to regular thorough examination by a competent person. Lifting equipment for raising people, and lifting accessories, must be thoroughly examined at least every 6 months; other lifting equipment at least every 12 months. HSE's Approved Code of Practice L113 explains how to comply.
Summary
LOLER applies wherever equipment is used at work to lift or lower a load — and a "load" includes a person. It covers cranes, telehandlers, vehicle hoists and ramps, scissor lifts and MEWPs, passenger and goods lifts, gin wheels and block-and-tackle, and the accessories that connect a load to the lifting machine: chains, slings, eyebolts, shackles, hooks and spreader beams. If you hire a telehandler for a day or rely on a vehicle lift in your workshop, LOLER is in play.
The regulations sit on top of PUWER (see puwer work equipment regulations). PUWER already requires all work equipment to be suitable, maintained and safe; LOLER adds the lifting-specific duties — adequate strength and stability, marking of the safe working load, planning and supervision of lifting operations by competent people, and a formal regime of thorough examination at set intervals. Lifting equipment must satisfy both sets of rules at the same time.
Two ideas run through LOLER. First, competence: lifting operations must be planned by someone who understands the loads, the equipment and the environment, and carried out by trained people. Second, thorough examination: lifting equipment deteriorates and fails dangerously, so it is examined by a competent person at defined intervals (or under a written examination scheme), with records kept and defects reported. Getting either wrong is what turns a routine lift into a fatality.
Key Facts
- Full title — Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, Statutory Instrument 1998 No. 2307.
- Approved Code of Practice — HSE L113, "Safe use of lifting equipment". Following it is one route to demonstrating compliance.
- What is covered — any work equipment for lifting or lowering loads, plus lifting accessories. Loads include people.
- Examples — cranes, telehandlers, forklifts (when lifting), MEWPs/cherry pickers, scissor lifts, vehicle lifts and ramps, passenger lifts, hoists, gin wheels; accessories: chains, slings, ropes, eyebolts, shackles, hooks, lifting beams.
- Strength and stability (Reg 4) — lifting equipment must be of adequate strength and stability for each load, and so must each part of the load and its attachment points.
- Lifting persons (Reg 5) — equipment for lifting people must prevent the person being crushed, trapped or struck, or falling from the carrier; suitable devices needed to stop the carrier falling.
- Positioning and installation (Reg 6) — equipment positioned and installed to reduce the risk of the load striking someone or drifting/falling freely.
- Marking (Reg 7) — machinery and accessories must be clearly marked with their safe working load (SWL); equipment for lifting people marked accordingly; equipment NOT for lifting people clearly marked as such.
- SWL vs WLL — SWL (safe working load) is the maximum load under the actual conditions of use; WLL (working load limit) is the manufacturer's rated capacity. Never exceed the marked figure.
- Planning (Reg 8) — every lifting operation must be properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised, and carried out safely.
- Thorough examination — lifting people / accessories — at least every 6 months, or in accordance with an examination scheme.
- Thorough examination — other lifting equipment — at least every 12 months, or in accordance with an examination scheme.
- After installation / exceptional circumstances — examined before first use after installation/assembly at a new site, and after damage, failure or long periods out of use.
- Competent person — thorough examination must be carried out by someone with the appropriate practical and theoretical knowledge and independence to make an objective judgement.
- Reports and records (Reg 11) — the competent person makes a written report of thorough examination; the duty holder keeps it and acts on defects.
- Defect reporting — a defect that is or could become a danger to people must be reported immediately and, where serious, notified to the enforcing authority.
Quick Reference Table
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Try squote free →| LOLER requirement | Regulation | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Adequate strength & stability | Reg 4 | For every load and every attachment point |
| Lifting persons safely | Reg 5 | No crush/trap/strike; carrier can't fall |
| Safe positioning | Reg 6 | Minimise load striking, drifting or free-falling |
| SWL marking | Reg 7 | Machinery and accessories marked; people-lifting marked |
| Planning & supervision | Reg 8 | Competent planner, supervised, safe execution |
| Thorough exam — people/accessories | Reg 9 | At least every 6 months (or scheme) |
| Thorough exam — other equipment | Reg 9 | At least every 12 months (or scheme) |
| Exam after installation | Reg 9 | Before first use at a new site/position |
| Exam after exceptional circumstances | Reg 9 | After damage, failure, long lay-up |
| Reports of examination | Reg 11 | Written report; kept; defects actioned |
| Inspection between exams | Reg 9 | Interim inspections where risk requires |
Detailed Guidance
What LOLER covers — and how it relates to PUWER
LOLER covers work equipment used to lift or lower a load and the accessories used with it. The line that catches people out is that a person is a load: a MEWP, a scissor lift, a passenger lift and a man-riding basket are all lifting equipment for lifting people and attract the stricter 6-monthly examination interval.
LOLER does not replace PUWER — it sits on top of it. A telehandler, for example, must meet PUWER's general duties (suitable, maintained, guarded, stable, controls, isolation) and LOLER's lifting-specific duties (SWL marked, lifts planned, thoroughly examined). When you hire lifting plant, the same dual obligation follows the equipment. See puwer work equipment regulations for the underlying general duties.
Strength, stability, positioning and marking
Lifting equipment and every accessory must be strong enough for the loads it will carry, with an adequate margin, and stable in use (Reg 4). A sling rated below the load, a tower crane on inadequate foundations, or an eyebolt loaded sideways instead of axially can all fail catastrophically. The equipment must also be positioned and installed (Reg 6) so that loads do not have to be carried over people, and so the load cannot drift, swing or fall freely onto someone.
Marking under Reg 7 is the visible front line of safe lifting. Machinery and accessories must show their safe working load. Where an item has different SWLs in different configurations (for example a crane whose capacity changes with radius), that information must be available. Equipment designed to lift people must be marked accordingly, and equipment not designed to lift people must be clearly marked so nobody is tempted to ride it. Treat the marked figure as an absolute ceiling: SWL is set for the actual conditions of use, while WLL is the manufacturer's rated limit — never plan a lift that exceeds either.
Planning and supervising lifting operations
Regulation 8 requires that every lifting operation is properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised and carried out in a safe manner. For routine, repetitive lifts the plan can be a generic safe system of work prepared once and reviewed; for complex, heavy or one-off lifts (a tandem crane lift, lifting near overhead lines, lifting people) a specific lift plan is needed each time.
A good lift plan considers the weight and centre of gravity of the load, the equipment and accessories selected and their SWL, the ground conditions and crane position, the slinging arrangement, exclusion zones, the people involved and their roles (appointed person, lift supervisor, crane operator, slinger/signaller), the weather, and what could go wrong. The competent person planning the lift is often an "appointed person" with recognised training. Lift planning frequently forms part of a wider risk assessment method statement rams for the works.
Thorough examination — the intervals that matter
Thorough examination is the formal, periodic check of lifting equipment by a competent person to detect deterioration that could cause failure. The statutory minimum intervals are:
- Lifting equipment used to lift people, and all lifting accessories — at least every 6 months.
- All other lifting equipment — at least every 12 months.
- Or in accordance with an examination scheme drawn up by a competent person, which may set different intervals based on use and risk.
In addition, equipment must be thoroughly examined before first use (unless it has a valid Declaration of Conformity less than 12 months old and was not assembled on site), after installation or assembly at a new location, and after exceptional circumstances such as damage, a major modification, failure, or a long period out of use. Between thorough examinations, interim inspections may be needed where the risk assessment shows deterioration could occur. The hired-in MEWP that lifts people is on the 6-monthly clock; the workshop vehicle lift, if it lifts the vehicle only, is on the 12-monthly clock.
Records, defects and the competent person
The person carrying out a thorough examination must be a competent person — someone with sufficient practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of the equipment to spot defects and assess their significance, and enough independence and authority to report honestly without commercial pressure. After each examination they produce a written report of thorough examination (Reg 11). The duty holder must keep these reports (typically until the next report, or for two years for accessories, and the report on installation until the equipment is no longer used) and, crucially, act on the findings.
If the competent person identifies a defect that is, or could become, a danger to people, they must notify the duty holder immediately and, where the defect could cause imminent danger, send a copy of the report to the relevant enforcing authority (HSE or the local authority). Equipment with a serious defect should be taken out of service until repaired. Failure to act on an examination report — leaving a flagged sling or hook in service — is a frequent factor in lifting fatalities.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often does lifting equipment need a thorough examination?
At least every 6 months for equipment used to lift people and for lifting accessories (slings, chains, eyebolts, shackles), and at least every 12 months for other lifting equipment — or at the intervals set in a written examination scheme drawn up by a competent person. Equipment must also be examined after installation at a new site and after exceptional circumstances such as damage or failure.
Is a forklift covered by LOLER?
Yes, when it is being used to lift loads. A forklift truck and its forks/attachments are lifting equipment and need thorough examination — typically every 12 months for the truck, and every 6 months for any attachment used to lift people. PUWER also applies to the truck's general safety and the driving operation.
What is the difference between SWL and WLL?
WLL (working load limit) is the maximum load the manufacturer has rated the equipment to carry. SWL (safe working load) is the maximum load that is safe in the actual conditions of use, which may be lower than the WLL once you account for the slinging angle, configuration or environment. The marked figure must never be exceeded.
Do slings and chains really need examining every six months?
Yes. Lifting accessories — slings, chains, eyebolts, shackles, hooks — are subject to thorough examination at least every 6 months because they wear, stretch and corrode and are easy to overload or mis-use. They should also be inspected before each use for obvious damage, and tagged so the examination status is identifiable.
Who can carry out a thorough examination?
A "competent person" — someone with the appropriate practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of the type of lifting equipment, and enough independence and authority to give an objective judgement free from commercial pressure. In practice this is usually a qualified examiner, often from an inspection body or insurer, not the operator who uses the equipment daily.
Regulations & Standards
Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/2307) — the principal regulations on strength, stability, marking, planning, supervision and thorough examination of lifting equipment.
HSE Approved Code of Practice and guidance L113, "Safe use of lifting equipment" — official guidance on complying with LOLER.
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/2306) — general work-equipment duties that apply to lifting equipment in parallel.
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 — the parent Act imposing the general duty of care.
BS 7121 series — British Standard code of practice for the safe use of cranes, often referenced when planning crane lifts.
HSE: Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) — HSE overview of LOLER duties and examination intervals.
HSE L113: Safe use of lifting equipment — ACOP and guidance — the Approved Code of Practice on LOLER.
Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (legislation.gov.uk) — full text of SI 1998/2307.
HSE: Thorough examination of lifting equipment — detail on examination intervals, schemes and reports.