Health & Safety

PUWER, LOLER & THOROUGH EXAMINATIONS

What is a PUWER inspection?

PUWER or The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations was created in 1998 to ensure that companies were held responsible for their employees when operating work equipment whether it’s being hired or whether owned by the company. The company also needs to manage the risks associated with this.

How does that affect you, the employer?

It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that the equipment being used by their employees…

• Is suitable and safe for the application.
• Is serviced, maintained and inspected to ensure it is correctly installed and doesn’t wear or deteriorate over time.
• Comes with the appropriate safety measures such as emergency stop buttons and a way to isolate the equipment from the power source and is marked up with the appropriate and compliant safety and warning labels.
• Is used correctly and the operator has been sufficiently trained in how to use it for the specific requirements of the company.
• That it is compliant with every health & safety regulation required for that piece of equipment and not just PUWER. An example of this is some equipment requires compliance with LOLER in addition to PUWER.

For more information on PUWER?

For more information on PUWER, please contact the team at [email protected].

Please note the above is guidance and not legal information about PUWER. For legal information, visit http://www.hse.gov.uk/work-equipment-machinery/puwer.htm.

What is LOLER?

LOLER stands for Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations. The law was established in 1998 and focuses on lifting equipment (an operation concerned with the lifting and lowering of a load) as opposed to PUWER which focuses on work equipment. Like PUWER, it was created to hold the company responsible for the equipment, the operator and all risks associated with the piece of equipment.

What do you as an employer have to do?

It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure the lifting equipment is…

• Fit for the application.
• Marked up with the health and safety warnings and information.
• Compliant with all other required regulations such as PUWER.
• Inspected, maintained and serviced as required by law to ensure it is always safe to use and doesn’t deteriorate over time. In this case, most equipment is subject to an obligatory ‘Thorough Examination’ whereby the equipment is thoroughly examined, and all faults and defects recorded and reported to be fixed to ensure the equipment is always safe to use.
• Operated by someone who is trained as appropriate, supervised if required and used as per the manufacturer’s instructions for a task that is appropriate in a safe manner.

For more information:

For more information on LOLER, please contact the team at [email protected].

Please note the above is guidance and not legal information about LOLER. For legal information, visit http://www.hse.gov.uk/work-equipment-machinery/loler.htm

What is a Thorough Examination?

A Thorough Examination is a methodical and in-depth inspection of lifting equipment carried out at regular intervals to assess, record, report, and as a result repair any defects or deteriorating parts of the equipment.

Why do you need to carry out a Thorough Examination?

An official Thorough Examination ensures that your company’s lifting equipment and accessories are always safe to use. Failure to carry out Thorough Examinations when required not only means your equipment won’t comply with regulations but will dramatically increase the risk of operator injury.

When do you need to carry out a Thorough Examination?

• Before using for the first time.
• After it has been broken down and then reassembled.
• Whilst being serviced.
• If the equipment was used in a ‘different’ way than usual e.g. was used more often within a short time frame or was used in a way in which it hadn’t been used before.
• After any maintenance.

Overall, LOLER specifies carrying out Thorough Examinations every 6 to 12 months minimum depending on the equipment. Visit the HSE website – hse.gov.uk – to find out which time frame your equipment falls into.

Who can carry out a LOLER Thorough Examination test?

It is essential that the Thorough Examination is carried out by a competent person defined as someone who has

“Appropriate practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of the lifting equipment to be thoroughly examined as will enable them to detect defects or weaknesses and to assess their importance in relation to the safety and continued use of the lifting equipment.”

It is important that the person carrying out the Thorough Examination isn’t the one who carries out the regular checks as this could hinder them from observing any defects.

What does a Thorough Examination cover?

What a Thorough Examination needs to cover very much depends on the equipment being examined however here are a few areas the examiner might need to look at as part of the test on their lifting equipment.

• Functionality – can the equipment carry out everything it is meant to safely?
• Measurement of wear and tear
• Internal examination of parts
• Inspection regimes
• Compliance

If a fault or defect is found as part of the Thorough Examination, it has to be recorded and reported back to the duty holder whilst the being followed up with a written report to send out to the duty holder and the enforcing authority.

This report should then be kept along with all inspection information and the EC Declaration of Conformity for all the lifting equipment in your company, so it is easy to produce full records if requested by relevant authorities or if you decide to sell or hire the equipment.

For more information on LOLER, please contact the team at [email protected].

Please note the above is guidance and not legal information about Thorough Examinations. For legal information, visit http://www.hse.gov.uk/work-equipment-machinery/thorough-examinations-lifting-equipment.htm

How we can help you with PUWER, LOLER & Thorough Examinations:

When you buy an Advanced Handling solution, it is CE marked and delivered with a Declaration of Conformity so you have peace of mind that your lifting equipment is safe, reliable and compliant.

To help keep your lifting equipment safe, compliant and working efficiently, Advanced Handling has a team of service engineers qualified to conduct Thorough Examinations for all lifting equipment including other leading manufacturers of Scissor Lifts, Goods Lifts, Pronomic Lifting Trolleys and Stackers.

Click for more information about our Service Packages or contact the team about your service and maintenance needs.