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LOLER & PUWER Guides

Expert guidance on lifting equipment compliance, inspections, and UK regulations

Plain-English guides covering LOLER, PUWER, PSSR and related compliance regimes — written for duty holders, facilities managers, care home operators, and safety professionals who need practical answers.

Every guide is grounded in current HSE guidance, British Standards, and LOLER/PUWER regulatory text. How we produce this guidance, including what we will and will not publish, and how to report an error.

Regulation Fundamentals

Start here if you're new to LOLER and PUWER, or need to understand which regulation applies to your equipment.

  • LOLER vs PUWER: When Each Regulation Applies

    PUWER covers all work equipment and its general safety, suitability and maintenance. LOLER adds further duties for equipment that lifts or lowers loads, including thorough examination by a competent person at fixed intervals. The two run concurrently, so a forklift is covered by both at once and meeting one does not discharge the other.

  • What Is a Thorough Examination Under LOLER?

    A LOLER thorough examination is the statutory safety inspection of lifting equipment required by Regulation 9, carried out by a competent person. Equipment that lifts people is examined every 6 months, other lifting equipment every 12. It is a legal duty in its own right and a service or maintenance visit does not discharge it.

  • What Is Lifting Equipment Under LOLER?

    LOLER Regulation 2(1) defines lifting equipment as work equipment for lifting or lowering loads, including the attachments used to anchor, fix or support it. A load includes a person. That definition pulls in cranes, hoists, lifts, MEWPs, forklifts, slings and eyebolts, and it pulls in an excavator the moment it is used to lift rather than dig.

Equipment & Inspection Practice

How thorough examinations work, what competent persons look for, and how often specific equipment types need inspecting.

  • LOLER Inspection Checklist

    A LOLER thorough examination covers seven areas: structural integrity, mechanical components, safety devices, controls, markings and identification, lifting accessories, and the supporting records. The competent person examines each in turn and records what is found, whether or not it affects the outcome. This checklist sets out what is looked at in each area.

  • How Often Do MEWPs Need LOLER Inspection?

    Every MEWP needs a LOLER thorough examination at least every 6 months, because a MEWP exists to lift people and that is what sets the interval. Cherry pickers, scissor lifts, boom lifts and spider lifts are all on the same 6-month cycle regardless of size or how lightly they are used. Harnesses and lanyards used with them are lifting accessories on their own 6-month cycle.

Sector Guides

Compliance guidance tailored to specific industries and roles — property, care, facilities, and beyond.

  • LOLER for Care Homes

    Every hoist and every sling in a care home must be thoroughly examined at least every 6 months, because both are used to lift people. Slings are lifting accessories in their own right and are examined individually, separately from the hoist they attach to. The duty sits with the registered provider and cannot be passed to the maintenance contractor.

  • LOLER for Property and Facilities Managers

    LOLER compliance for property managers & managing agents: who is the duty holder, lift inspection intervals, and the evidence you must keep.

Need a thorough examination?

Speak with a qualified engineer surveyor about your equipment and site requirements.

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