What Is a Thorough Examination Under LOLER?

Last updated: 2026-03-18

What a LOLER thorough examination involves, how it differs from maintenance, who carries it out, and why it is a legal requirement.

The thorough examination is the absolute cornerstone of LOLER compliance. It is a mandatory statutory inspection prescribed by UK law and remains entirely distinct from routine maintenance, pre-use checks, or a manufacturer’s recommended service schedule.

Understanding precisely what a thorough examination is—and crucially, what it is not—is vital for dutyholders responsible for lifting equipment across commercial, residential, and industrial environments.

The Legal Basis for Thorough Examinations

Under Regulation 9(1) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER), lifting equipment must be thoroughly examined ‘by a competent person’ at specified intervals.

While the regulation uses the phrase ‘thorough examination’ without fully defining the mechanical criteria, the Health and Safety Executive’s Approved Code of Practice (ACOP L113) provides the technical detail. It specifies that this is an examination of all parts of the equipment and accessories liable to cause danger or injury to anyone in proximity.

It is not a performance test, and it is firmly not the same as routine maintenance.

What Does a LOLER Thorough Examination Involve?

The exact scope of a thorough examination is determined by the nature of the equipment and its risk profile. However, a standard statutory inspection typically encompasses:

• Visual Inspection: Assessment of all structural components for cracks, deformation, corrosion, and excessive wear.
• Component Assessment: Checking safety-critical mechanical elements such as brakes, pawls, ratchets, safety gears, and buffers.
• Suspension Means: Detailed examination of ropes, chains, and suspension equipment for wear, broken wires, kinking, or environmental corrosion.
• Safety & Control Systems: Full testing of control systems, safety devices, and interlocks (including overspeed governors and slack-rope devices).

Equipment-Specific Inspection Scopes

• For Passenger Lifts: Inspection of the lift car, landing doors, guide rails, machine room, pit, and overrun spaces.
• For MEWPs (Cherry Pickers & Scissor Lifts): Assessment of the platform, guardrails, hydraulics, stabilisers, outriggers, and emergency descent systems.
• For Patient Hoists: Inspection of the track system, trolley, hoist unit, sling attachment points, and rated Safe Working Load (SWL) markings.

The competent person may also conduct physical function testing of safety systems under load (or simulated conditions) and will always review previous thorough examination reports to ensure historical defects have been rectified.

Who Is Classified as a “Competent Person”?

LOLER does not define a ‘competent person’ by pointing to a single specific qualification. Rather, the HSE ACOP explains that a competent person must possess the practical and theoretical knowledge, alongside the experience, required to detect defects and critically assess their importance to the equipment’s continued safety.

In practice, a thorough examination is normally carried out by a qualified Engineer Surveyor. The most critical requirement is independence. The competent person must be sufficiently independent from the daily maintenance activity to make an impartial, objective judgement on safety. An engineer who routinely services the equipment they are inspecting is not considered truly independent.

The Written Report and Record Retention

Following the inspection, Regulation 10 requires the competent person to issue a written report containing:

• Premises address and equipment description
• The Safe Working Load (SWL)
• The date of the current and prior examinations
• A clear statement on whether the equipment is safe to continue in use
• The date the next examination is due

Under Regulation 11, dutyholders must retain these reports safely. For lifting equipment, reports must be kept until the next inspection is logged or for two years (whichever is later).

Understanding Defect Classifications

Any defects identified during a thorough examination are legally categorised under Regulation 10:

Category 1 (Imminent Danger)

If the competent person believes a defect is, or could quickly become, a danger to persons, they are legally obligated to send a copy of the report to the enforcing authority (the HSE or local authority) forthwith. The equipment must be taken out of service immediately.

Category 2 (Defect Requiring Repair)

For defects that are not an imminent danger but still require necessary repair, the report will specify a timeframe within which the repair must be completed. The dutyholder cannot legally continue to use the equipment beyond this specified deadline unless the defect is remedied.