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Integrity Lift Compliance
Knowledge Base

LOLER After an Accident, Damage or a Repair

The six- and twelve-month intervals are not the whole duty. LOLER also requires a thorough examination each time something happens that is liable to make lifting equipment unsafe: damage, an overload, a failure, a long spell out of use, or a major change or repair. This guide sets out what counts, who decides, what to do until the examiner arrives, and when a repair means the equipment must be examined again.

Written and reviewed by Mark Crowley, Director, Integrity Lift Compliance Ltd — 26+ years hands-on lifting equipment engineering — NHS, commercial and industrial estates

Events that call for a thorough examination, and what to do
What happenedFor exampleWhat to do
Damage or an impactA forklift striking racking, a MEWP boom hitting a structure, lift doors forced or vandalised, a sling cut or crushedKeep it out of use and have it examined
An overload or a dropped loadA load over the safe working load, a snatch or shock load, a load fallingKeep it out of use and have it examined
A failure in serviceA lift's safety gear operating or its car striking the buffers, a hydraulic hose bursting, a brake not holdingKeep it out of use; have it repaired, then examined
Collapse, overturning or a load-bearing part failingA crane or MEWP overturning, a rope or chain breaking on a lift or hoistReport it under RIDDOR, and have it examined before use
Water, fire or conditions it was not built forWater in a lift pit or machine room, fire or smoke damage, chemical exposure, wind above the maker's limitKeep it out of use and have it examined
A long spell out of useA lift in a building that has stood empty, plant back from storageHave it examined before it goes back into service
New critical parts fittedNew ropes, chains or forks, or a new brake, fitted during a service or repairHave it examined before use
A major modification or a change of useA lift modernised, a forklift fitted with a working platformHave it examined, and check whether its interval changes
Servicing, or a repair that fits no critical partLubrication and cleaning, or a new part with no load-bearing or safety roleNo examination for that alone; keep a record of the work

What does LOLER mean by exceptional circumstances?

Anything liable to jeopardise the safety of the equipment. On top of the six- and twelve-monthly examinations, Regulation 9 requires a thorough examination each time exceptional circumstances of that kind have occurred. The regulations give no list. HSE's examples are damage or failure, long periods out of use, and major changes likely to affect the equipment's integrity, such as modifications or the replacement or repair of critical parts, and it adds an accident or dangerous occurrence and a significant change in the conditions of use. Whether anyone was hurt makes no difference. The question is whether the equipment could have been made unsafe.

Who decides whether it needs examining?

You do, as the duty-holder: the employer, or whoever controls the equipment. Between visits the examiner only knows what you tell them, and the next periodic visit may be months away. The people who see these events are the operators, the site team and the maintenance company, so make sure they report damage, overloads and failures to you instead of carrying on. If you are not sure whether something was serious enough, ask a competent person before the equipment is used again, and keep it out of use while you wait for the answer.

Can the equipment be used until the examiner arrives?

Not if what happened could have made it unsafe. The examination is how you establish that it is safe to use, so until then it stays out of service: a lift taken out of service with a notice at each landing; a forklift, MEWP or crane isolated, with its key removed where it has one and a tag saying why; and a damaged sling, chain or shackle set aside where nobody can pick it up, rather than returned to the store.

Does a repair mean it must be examined again?

Not every repair. HSE's guidance is that where a service or repair fits new parts that the thorough examination covers, the equipment must be thoroughly examined before it is used. Those are parts such as ropes, chains, forks or a brake. A major repair or modification likely to affect its integrity is one of the exceptional circumstances in its own right. Routine servicing, and repairs that replace none of those parts, do not call for one by themselves. Either way, keep the repairer's record of what was done: it is your evidence that a defect on the last report was put right before the equipment went back into use.

Who should examine it after a repair?

A competent person independent of the work being judged. HSE says the person who maintains equipment should not also examine it, and after a repair the reason is plain: whoever carried out the repair would be checking their own work. An examiner with no stake in the repair gives you a finding that you, your insurer and an inspector can rely on.

Does an accident have to be reported?

Possibly, under RIDDOR, and that is separate from the examination. The collapse or overturning of lifting equipment, or the failure of any load-bearing part of it, is a dangerous occurrence that must be reported even if nobody was hurt. The failure of a lifting accessory, such as a sling or shackle, is not. Injuries that meet RIDDOR's thresholds must be reported too. The report is made by the employer or the person in control of the premises, not by the examiner. If the examination then finds a defect involving an existing or imminent risk of serious personal injury, the examiner must also send a copy of the report to the enforcing authority.

What should you tell the examiner?

Everything you know about what happened, so the examination goes where the damage could be:

  1. What happened and when, and who saw it.
  2. Whether the equipment has been used since.
  3. Any repair, with the repairer's record and the parts replaced.
  4. Photographs, if anyone took them.
  5. The last report, so the examiner can see what has changed.

What will the report say?

Like every report of thorough examination, it must contain what Schedule 1 of LOLER sets out. It states that the examination followed exceptional circumstances, whether the equipment is safe to operate, any defect with what is needed to put it right and by when, and the latest date for the next thorough examination. Go by that date rather than assuming the six- or twelve-month cycle has restarted.

How long out of use counts as a long period?

The regulations do not put a figure on it. Equipment deteriorates standing still: hydraulic seals harden, ropes and chains corrode where they sit, and brakes can bind. A lift in a building that has stood empty, plant back from storage and a machine laid up for a season are the usual cases, and the maker's instructions for returning it to service are the place to start. If its periodic examination fell due while it was standing, it needs examining before use in any case.

Sources & Further Reading

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Related Knowledge

How Often Are LOLER Inspections Required?
At least every six months for equipment that lifts people and for lifting accessories, at least every twelve months for everything else, or in line with a written examination scheme drawn up by a competent person. That is the whole rule. What catches duty-holders out is rarely the interval itself — it is when the clock starts, what resets it, and the examinations that fall outside the cycle altogether.
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Can My Lift Company Carry Out the LOLER Inspection?
It is one of the most common questions duty-holders ask, and the honest answer is not a flat no. LOLER does not name a prohibited person. What it requires is a competent person, and HSE expects that person to be sufficiently independent and impartial to make objective decisions — which is where a maintenance provider examining its own work runs into difficulty. This is about the structure of the arrangement, not about anyone's honesty.
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What Happens If LOLER Expires?
The plant is no longer legally usable, and the cost of a lapse is rarely the examination you did not book. Quarantine the equipment, arrange a thorough examination promptly, and document the steps taken — then resume once a competent person has examined the plant and signed it off.
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