Service Overview
Keep your automotive workshop compliant and protect your technicians with independent inspections for vehicle lifts and compressors.
Garage equipment inspections are a legal requirement for automotive workshops and mechanic bays. Under the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) and Pressure Systems Safety Regulations (PSSR), duty holders must ensure equipment is safe, correctly maintained, and subject to regular independent Thorough Examinations.
Responsibility for compliance sits with the duty holder. This typically includes garage owners, workshop managers, and employers. Inspections must be carried out by a competent and independent person at defined intervals.
Failure to meet these obligations can result in enforcement action by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), invalidated insurance policies, and increased risk of equipment failure. Regular inspection ensures both legal compliance and the continued safety of technicians.
We provide garage equipment inspections across Kent, London, Essex and throughout the UK through our network of qualified Engineer Surveyors.
This page forms part of our wider inspection services covering lifting equipment, cranes, access equipment and plant machinery. Explore related inspection services and compliance guidance throughout our site.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) requires that Thorough Examinations are carried out by a competent person with the necessary technical knowledge and experience to identify defects and assess their significance.
The competent person must also be independent and impartial. In practice, this means inspection should be carried out separately from routine maintenance to avoid conflicts of interest.
Our inspections are delivered by qualified Engineer Surveyors operating independently of maintenance providers, ensuring objective reporting and clear compliance outcomes.
This category largely encompasses heavy duty 2-post and 4-post vehicle lifts, scissor lifts, engine hoists, and trolley jacks. It also extends extensively into compressed air systems spanning standard air receivers through to major workshop pressure distribution grids.
Because technicians frequently work directly underneath tons of elevated mechanical load, vehicle lifts are subject to the same strict 6-monthly lift compliance regimes as equipment transporting personnel.
The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 governs the structural integrity of vehicle lifts and hoists, ensuring that lifting operations handling tons of automotive mass are completely secure and independently audited.
The Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000 specifically regulates compressed air networks. A failure in a pressurised air receiver can be catastrophic, hence PSSR demands strict written schemes of examination mapping safe operational limits.
Statutory intervals strongly depend on the specific garage hazard:
Garage owners are required to maintain an up-to-date registry of all these intervals mapped against active certification correctly.
A Thorough Examination is a systematic, detailed inspection of equipment and safety-critical parts. It is far more rigorous than routine maintenance checks.
While maintenance prevents operational breakdown, a Thorough Examination specifically targets hidden structural degradation and safety mechanism functionality. Because it acts as an audit of the equipment's primary safety, it must be conducted entirely independently from routine servicing providers.
Following the examination, it is a legal requirement that a detailed statutory report is generated and retained by the duty holder.
We carry out Thorough Examinations across a wide range of commercial equipment. Explore our specific inspection services below:
We deliver inspection services across the UK. View availability in your area:
Regular independent inspections support compliance with UK legislation, reduce the risk of equipment failure, and help duty holders meet their legal responsibilities. They also form an essential part of insurance and audit requirements, ensuring that equipment remains safe for continued use.
Following inspection, a detailed digital report is issued outlining the condition of the equipment, any defects identified, and the next due inspection date. Where serious defects are found, guidance is provided on necessary corrective actions in line with statutory requirements.
Yes. Under LOLER 1998, a 2-post or 4-post lift used at work must undergo regular Thorough Examination.
Because technicians are working immediately beneath suspended physical loads (treated with akin gravity to suspending personnel), vehicle lifts strictly require a Thorough Examination every 6 months.
Yes. Under PSSR regulations, air compressors and their pressure receivers require detailed, independent examination to map vessel integrity and safety valve functions against documented Written Schemes.
Non-compliance is fiercely prosecuted by the HSE due to the inherent risk of fatal mechanic crushing, resulting in immediate bay shutdowns, fines, and nullified insurance.
No. A Thorough Examination is an independent statutory safety inspection. HSE guidelines emphasise that examinations must be carried out independently from the company servicing the lifts to prevent conflicts of interest.
We deliver garage equipment inspections across Kent, London and Essex, supporting commercial and public sector clients with fully compliant, independent statutory inspection services.
Securing compliance requirements and statutory reporting for duty holders throughout the major Home Counties.
Ensure strict adherence to the latest structural and safety standards. Our fully certified examinations directly satisfy compliance mandates for LOLER 1998 and PSSR 2000.
Detailed reviews verify all critical safety and mechanical elements flawlessly.
Operation of mechanical and hydraulic safety locks
Condition of structural columns, load pads, and lifting arms
Integrity of wire ropes and synchronization cables
Effectiveness of emergency stop controls
Integrity of pressure vessels and safety valves (PSSR)
Speak with our certified surveying specialists today and lock in your statutory examinations.
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