Working & Safety Ropes
Low-stretch kernmantel ropes checked along their full length for sheath damage, core damage, glazing, contamination and terminations.
Ropes, Descenders, Ascenders, Harnesses & Connectors
Rope Access Equipment Inspections in London
Independent six-monthly thorough examination of rope access and work-at-height rope equipment. The equipment raises, lowers and holds people, so LOLER treats it as lifting equipment for people and sets a six-month interval. Every item is identified, examined and recorded, with the report issued the same day and a reminder before the next one is due.
26+ Years Hands-On Engineering Experience
Independent of Maintenance Contracts
7 Days a Week, 6am to 6pm
Same-Day Reports, With Photos
Certificate expired or lift out of compliance? You're exposed to enforcement action, and your insurance may not respond, until it's resolved. What to do.
Written and reviewed by Mark Crowley, Director, Integrity Lift Compliance Ltd — 26+ years of hands-on lifting equipment engineering. NHS estates, commercial property and industrial lifting compliance.
Engineering Approach
What our rope access equipment inspection programme delivers
Independent, defensible statutory examination by an engineer with deep hands-on plant experience.
- Six-monthly LOLER thorough examination: the equipment lifts people
- Working and safety ropes, descenders, ascenders and back-up devices
- Sit harnesses, chest harnesses, connectors, slings and pulleys
- Each item identified and logged to the operative's kit or the store
- Same-day report with photographs, and reminders before the next round
- Independent: we sell no rope access equipment
Why rope access equipment is six-monthly
LOLER 1998 Regulation 9 requires equipment used for lifting people to be thoroughly examined at least every six months. Rope access equipment holds, raises and lowers people, so it falls in that group, along with the harnesses and connectors used with it. The technician's pre-use check and the interim inspections the work demands are still needed between examinations.
How the examination is done
Rope access kit is examined item by item and recorded against the kit it belongs to:
- Ropes: the full length handled and inspected, not sampled, with length and terminations recorded
- Devices: each descender, ascender and back-up device function-tested and checked for wear
- Software: harnesses, slings and lanyards checked for cuts, abrasion, heat and chemical damage
- Hardware: connectors and pulleys for gate action, locking, wear and distortion
- Records: every item logged with its ID, date of manufacture where marked, result and next-due date
Anything unsafe is withdrawn on the day and marked so it cannot go back into a kit bag.
Does LOLER apply to rope access equipment?What you get after the inspection
A Report of Thorough Examination with everything LOLER Schedule 1 requires — including the item identified, the date examined, its safe working load, any defect with what must be done and by when, and the date the next examination is due — with each defect graded by severity. On top of that:
- Same-day report: issued digitally on the day of the inspection, not weeks later
- Photographs: of what was inspected and of any defect, in every report as standard
- Records and reminders: we keep the record on file and remind you before the next one falls due
If anything is not safe to use, you are told in writing before we leave. Because we sell no repairs, a defect on the report is never a quotation in disguise.
Assets We Examine
Asset classes covered under our rope access equipment inspection programme.
Descenders
Function, braking, anti-panic action, wear on the cam and rope path, and housing condition.
Ascenders & Back-Up Devices
Cam teeth, spring action, locking and wear on rope grabs and fall-arrest back-up devices.
Harnesses
Sit and chest harnesses, attachment points, webbing, stitching and buckles.
Connectors & Pulleys
Karabiners, maillons and pulleys checked for gate action, wear and distortion.
Slings & Anchor Equipment
Rope and webbing slings, deviation anchors and rigging plates.
Trusted by Critical Estates
Independent. Defensible. Genuinely Endorsed.
SAFed-aligned defect classification, and the endorsement below is a genuine NHS Trust quote — not stock marketing copy.
NHS
NHS
Critical estate passenger lift compliance experience
SK
Skanska
Construction & engineering compliance support
A·B·C
SAFed-Aligned Defect Grading
Defects graded A, B or C to the published SAFed severity scale — a grading standard we follow, not a membership we hold
DBS
Enhanced DBS
Director Mark Crowley holds an enhanced DBS check
NHS Trust Endorsement
“Exceptional response times and thorough documentation. Managing compliance across multiple critical medical estates is complex, but their team makes statutory lift auditing seamless.”
Phillip Nai
Critical Healthcare Estates Manager
Barts Health NHS Trust
Areas We Cover
Independent rope access equipment inspections across London.
Common Questions
Rope Access Equipment Inspection FAQs
Does LOLER apply to rope access equipment?
Yes. Rope access equipment is used to lift, lower and hold people, so LOLER treats it as lifting equipment for people and requires a thorough examination at least every six months by a competent person.
Do the technicians still need to check their kit?
Yes. A pre-use check before every use, and more frequent interim inspections where the work is arduous, are still needed. The six-monthly thorough examination sits on top of those checks; it does not replace them.
Can you examine each operative's kit separately?
Yes. We log every item against the operative or kit bag it belongs to, so each technician's kit has its own record, and we remind you before the next six-monthly examination is due.
Do you also inspect fall arrest PPE?
Yes. Harnesses, lanyards, fall arrest blocks and rescue kits can be inspected on the same visit, each on its correct interval.
How long do rope access ropes last?
Until it reaches the manufacturer's limit or fails an examination, whichever comes first. Ropes are retired for sheath or core damage, contamination, glazing, or after a significant fall or shock load.
Do you examine the anchors?
Fixed anchors are usually tested separately, typically every twelve months, because they belong to the building. We can do both on the same visit.
How soon do I get the report?
The same day, with photographs of anything rejected.
Request a Survey
Tell us what needs inspecting and where. We'll reply within one business hour.
Already have an asset list or examination schedule? Email it to info@integrityliftcompliance.co.uk and we'll come back with a survey plan rather than ask you to retype it.
Survey Request Form
Further reading on rope access equipment inspections
Does LOLER Apply to Rope Access Equipment?
Yes. Rope access equipment is used to raise, lower and hold people at height, so LOLER treats it as lifting equipment for lifting persons and requires a thorough examination by a competent person at least every six months. That sits on top of the technician's pre-use check and any interim inspections the work demands.
How Often Do Harnesses and Lanyards Need Inspecting?
A fall arrest harness or lanyard needs three levels of checking: a pre-use check by the wearer every time, interim inspections where the work is hard on the kit, and a detailed inspection by a competent person at least every six months. HSE's guidance shortens that to three months for equipment used frequently in arduous conditions. LOLER is usually not the regulation that applies, which is why the intervals are often misunderstood.
Do Slings and Chains Need Examining as Often as the Lift?
Lifting accessories are examined every six months, not every twelve. That surprises people, because accessories do not lift persons and the six-monthly limb is usually explained as the one for passenger-carrying plant. Accessories are on it in their own right, and they are the items most often missed entirely.
Prefer to talk to an engineer?
07496 873972