Lifting and work equipment
A thorough examination is not maintenance and it is not a service. It is a statutory examination on a statutory interval, and the report is what gets asked for.
What the law requires
The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 require work equipment to be suitable, maintained and inspected, and used only by people who have received adequate training. The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 add duties for lifting: equipment must be of adequate strength and stability, positioned to reduce risk, and subject to thorough examination by a competent person. Where equipment is used for lifting people, or is a lifting accessory, the usual interval is at least every six months; for other lifting equipment it is at least every twelve months, or in accordance with an examination scheme.
Legislation referred to on this page: Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 · Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. Named so you can read the source. Nothing on this page is legal advice, and whether a duty applies to your organisation is a question for you and your adviser.
Who it applies to
- Any employer providing work equipment — which includes a passenger lift, a hoist in a care home, a scissor lift, a vehicle tail lift and the theatre fly system.
- Lifting accessories — slings, shackles, eyebolts — are equipment in their own right and carry the six-month interval.
- Equipment provided for use by others, not only by your own employees, still falls to whoever provides it.
What you have to be able to show
The list an inspector, insurer or auditor actually works through.
- The current report of thorough examination for each item of lifting equipment.
- Defects reported on it, and what was done about them.
- Inspection records for other work equipment, at intervals matched to the risk.
- Training records for operators.
- An asset list that matches what is actually on site.
How DutyHub records it
DutyHub does not carry out any of the work below. It records who did, when, and what they found.
An asset register that drives the dates
Each item carries its own interval — six months or twelve — rather than a single schedule that quietly under-examines the accessories.
Reports as expiring certificates
The report is chased ahead of expiry, and a lapsed examination is red rather than amber, because the equipment should not be in use.
Defects routed to somebody
A defect on a report becomes an action with a priority, so an item flagged for repair is not still in service by inertia.
Start with what applies to you
Add your premises and answer a short set of questions about them. DutyHub works out which duties land on which building, and shows you the gaps before anybody else finds them.
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