LOLER Explained — Lifting Equipment, Inspections and Thorough Examinations (2026)

What LOLER Covers — and How It Sits Alongside PUWER

LOLER and PUWER are two closely related sets of regulations that almost always apply together. PUWER — the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 — covers all work equipment, from a cordless drill to a digger. It requires equipment to be suitable, maintained, inspected and used by trained people. LOLER does not replace any of that; it adds extra duties specifically for lifting equipment on top of the general PUWER requirements.

In practice this means a telehandler is covered by PUWER as a piece of work equipment, and by LOLER as lifting equipment. The general duties — suitability, maintenance, operator training — come from PUWER. The lifting-specific duties — Safe Working Load marking, thorough examination at set intervals, and planned and supervised lifting operations — come from LOLER. Both apply to employers, the self-employed, and anyone who controls work equipment used at work.

What Counts as Lifting Equipment and Accessories

"Lifting equipment" is any work equipment for lifting or lowering loads, and that definition is broad. It catches the obvious heavy plant and a lot of smaller kit that operators often forget falls under LOLER. If it raises or lowers a load — including a person — it is almost certainly in scope.

• Plant and machinery: telehandlers, cranes (mobile, tower and lorry-loaders), MEWPs and cherry pickers, vehicle tail lifts, scissor lifts, vehicle hoists in a workshop
• Hoists and tackle: chain blocks, electric and manual hoists, gin wheels, winches used for lifting
• Lifting accessories: chains, slings (chain, wire rope, webbing, round), shackles, eyebolts, lifting beams and spreader bars, hooks and clamps
• People-lifting equipment: passenger lifts, platform lifts, MEWPs and any equipment used to raise or lower people

Lifting accessories — the slings, shackles and eyebolts that connect the load to the machine — are themselves lifting equipment under LOLER and carry their own duties, including their own thorough examination. A telehandler with a current examination but a frayed webbing sling that has never been examined is still non-compliant.

The Core LOLER Duties

LOLER sets out a short list of duties that apply to all lifting equipment. Get these right and you have the foundations of compliance in place.

• Strong and stable enough: the equipment must be of adequate strength and stability for each load, with an adequate safety margin, and so must every accessory in the chain.
• Positioned and installed correctly: lifting equipment must be positioned or installed to minimise the risk of the equipment or load striking a person, or the load drifting, falling or being released unintentionally.
• Clearly marked: equipment must be marked with its Safe Working Load (SWL), also referred to as Working Load Limit (WLL). Accessories must be marked so their safe working loads can be identified, and equipment designed for lifting people must be marked accordingly.
• Used by competent people: lifting equipment must be used only by people who are trained and competent for that specific equipment.
• Lifts must be planned and supervised: every lifting operation must be properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised, and carried out safely.

Safe Working Load and Marking

The Safe Working Load (SWL) — equivalent to the Working Load Limit (WLL) — is the maximum load the equipment or accessory is rated to lift safely. Under LOLER it must be clearly marked and never exceeded. For machinery the rated capacity is often shown on a load chart or plate; for slings and chains it is stamped or tagged on the accessory.

Where capacity depends on configuration — for example a telehandler whose safe load changes with boom reach and angle, or a crane working at different radii — the marking and the load chart must make those limits clear, and the operator must work within them. Any equipment used to lift people must be marked to show it is suitable for carrying people. If a load chart is missing or illegible, the equipment should be taken out of use until it can be confirmed.

Planning Lifting Operations

LOLER requires every lifting operation to be planned by a competent person, supervised and carried out safely. For routine, repetitive lifts — a labourer slinging a pallet onto a telehandler the same way each day — the plan can be a simple, generic method backed by training. The point is that someone competent has thought through how the lift will be done before it happens.

More complex or higher-risk lifts need more detailed planning, and for some — tandem lifts, lifting over occupied areas, unusual loads or lifting people — an appointed person takes responsibility for planning and overseeing the operation. The plan should address the weight and centre of gravity of the load, the equipment and accessories to be used, ground conditions and outrigger positions, exclusion zones, the people involved and the sequence of the lift. Document the plan in proportion to the risk.

Thorough Examination — the LOLER Inspection Regime

The part of LOLER that catches most trades out is the thorough examination. This is a detailed, systematic examination of lifting equipment by a competent person — usually an engineer surveyor from an inspection body or your insurer's engineering service — who is independent enough to give an objective assessment. It is not the same as the operator's daily checks.

A thorough examination is required at the intervals below, and in addition after installation or assembly at a new site, and after exceptional circumstances — such as damage, a major modification, or a long period out of use — that may have affected the equipment's safety.

• At least every 6 months for lifting equipment and accessories used to lift people, and for all lifting accessories (slings, chains, shackles, eyebolts and the like)
• At least every 12 months for other lifting equipment that lifts only loads
• In line with an examination scheme drawn up by a competent person, which can set different intervals based on the risk and use of the equipment
• After installation at a new location where safety depends on the installation conditions, and after exceptional events

The competent person must produce a written report of thorough examination. You must keep this report, act on any defects it identifies, and notify the relevant enforcing authority where a defect could cause a danger to people. Keep reports for the periods required by LOLER and have them available for inspection.

Thorough Examination vs Pre-Use Checks

It is worth being clear about the difference, because the two are often confused. The thorough examination is the formal LOLER examination by a competent person at 6 or 12-monthly intervals, resulting in a written report — broadly the lifting equivalent of an MOT. Pre-use checks are the quick visual and functional checks the operator carries out at the start of a shift or before a lift: looking over slings for cuts and wear, checking hooks and safety latches, testing controls, brakes and emergency stops, and confirming the SWL marking is present and legible.

Pre-use checks do not replace the thorough examination, and the thorough examination does not replace pre-use checks — both are required. A sling can pass a thorough examination one month and be damaged on a job the next week, which is exactly what the daily pre-use check is there to catch. Record your pre-use checks and keep the thorough examination reports together so the history of each piece of equipment is easy to find.

Records You Should Keep

Good record-keeping is what turns LOLER from a worry into a routine. For every piece of lifting equipment and every accessory you should be able to put your hands on:

• The current report of thorough examination and the date the next one is due
• The SWL / WLL and any load chart for the equipment
• A record of pre-use checks and any defects found and rectified
• Any examination scheme drawn up by the competent person
• Training and competence records for the operators

Tracking examination due dates is where many small firms slip — an expired thorough examination on a telehandler or a MEWP is a common finding, and it puts both safety and any insurance cover at risk. A simple asset register with due-date reminders keeps every machine and accessory in date without relying on memory.

Quick Reference: LOLER Thorough Examination Intervals

Use this as a guide, not a substitute for the examination scheme and advice from your competent person, who can set tailored intervals based on how hard each piece of equipment is worked.