wind turbine construction

Lifts and Lifting Equipment
Inspection Services

For more information on our range of services,
or to book an inspection, please get in touch.

Lifts, lifting and work equipment are pivotal in every industry, from passenger lifts in office blocks and shopping centres, to warehouse forklifts and construction site cranes. To ensure your equipment is fit for purpose, operating safely and fully compliant with the regulatory requirements of LOLER and PUWER, they must be thoroughly examined or inspected often.


Get complete peace of mind over your regulatory requirements with our comprehensive suite of compliance inspections and LOLER thorough examination options. Our experienced, nationwide team of engineer surveyors assist your company to comply with your relevant legislation and statutory requirements.

Our expert, professionally qualified and fully accredited engineer surveyors can carry out full inspections of your
lifting equipment as a regular service, or on an ad hoc basis.

  • Vertical transportation and lift consultancy services
  • Tagcheck for lifting equipment
  • Lifting equipment and plant examination
  • End of Defect Liability inspections for new or refurbished lifts
  • Full Condition Surveys of Lifts
  • Inspection and consultancy services for Installed Access Equipment
  • Lift maintenance audits
  • Lift renewal and lift refurbishment project management
  • Personal Fall Protection System inspections
  • Pre-handover inspections of new refurbished lifts

Not sure which service is right for you?
Learn more about our service options or contact one of our experts.

Lifts and Lifting Equipment Inspection Services FAQs

Primarily it is a legal requirement, and of course, safety is the number one priority for the continued safe use of all work or lifting equipment.

All machinery, equipment and components are liable to deteriorate during use. Equipment can become highly dangerous if mismanaged or left unchecked, allowing problems to go unrecognised. In addition to being legally compliant, regular inspections by a competent person help you minimise potential risks, such as:

  • deterioration of the equipment, introducing dangers to persons.
  • failure of equipment leading to falls from height or loss of loads.
  • faults or failures in safety components or protective devices.
  • reduction of unplanned downtime and inconvenience due to breakdowns.

Our inspections identify any risk areas before they can threaten your employees, customers or goods, allowing you to resolve these for maximum safety at work. We can also locate issues affecting the performance and efficiency of your machinery.

The main purpose of our examinations is to identify existing or potential dangers presenting risks to employees, customers or goods, allowing appropriate action to be taken to enhance safety at work. Additionally through our examinations we may be able to assist in improvements in the performance and efficiency of your equipment.

Non-compliance with the requirements of PUWER and the LOLER is a criminal offence under UK law, which may result in heavy penalties, including substantial fines and even imprisonment. Six-figure fines can be issued to companies in breach of these regulations (there is no upper limit for fines), especially if they result in injury to persons.

A prison sentence is another potential outcome, where as the result of an accident, the death of a person has taken place.

We assess all components and safety-critical parts in our thorough examinations of lifting equipment. We then compile a written report of our findings and recommendations in line with the requirements of the legislation.

We can also offer you a range of special, bespoke services, including:

  • tagging of lifting equipment to show users that it has been inspected
  • vertical transportation and lift consultancy services
  • lifting equipment and plant examinations
  • full condition surveys of lifts and lift maintenance audits
  • incident investigations
  • non-destructive testing.

Under the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER), all lifting equipment and accessories must have an in-date thorough examination, completed by a competent person, every six or 12 months (depending on the equipment type and utilisation). LOLER applies to all businesses that utilise work equipment for the lifting of goods, people or other materials.

In addition, all machinery and equipment falls under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER). This regards the safety and functionality of any work equipment used by your employees, irrespective of ownership.

The terms ‘thorough examination’ and ‘inspection’ are legally defined, but are sometimes misunderstood. Thankfully within the engineering inspection industry these terms are interchangeable and generally cover the process of site activity and legal reporting for compliance purposes.

Within the legal framework of LOLER, ‘thorough examinations’ must be performed by a competent person, with the appropriate experience, knowledge and qualifications, who ensures your equipment complies with the fundamental legal requirements for safe continued use. As the largest independent inspection provider in the UK, with nationwide coverage and recognised accreditations, we are perfectly placed to complete this work on your behalf.

LOLER examinations are an essential legal requirement for a wide range of lifting equipment and accessories, including (but not limited to):

  • lifts, platform lifts and stair-lifts
  • cranes, blocks and jibs
  • mechanical handling equipment - forklifts, handlers and loaders
  • excavators and loading shovels (where utilised for lifting duties)
  • vehicle lifting tables
  • access equipment, cherry pickers and scissor lifts.

This also includes lifting accessories and items used for anchoring, fixing or supporting lifting equipment.

There are alternative legal requirements for inspection of other non-lifting equipment, such as (but not limited to):

  • escalators
  • construction equipment
  • pallet trucks and dock levellers
  • ladders and fall arrest equipment
  • refuse handling equipment.

If you use any of this equipment, Allianz Engineering will assist you with your regulatory compliance, including LOLER, PUWER and other relevant regulations, and to help you ensure workplace operations are carried out in a safe manner.

A lifting accessory is a piece of equipment used to attach loads to lifting equipment, and it may also be utilised for anchoring, fixing or supporting the equipment. These types of accessories include:
 

  • fibre or rope slings
  • chains
  • shackles
  • hooks
  • eyebolts
  • spreader beams
  • magnetic devices
  • vacuum devices.

A lift examination is a systematic and detailed examination of the equipment and safety-critical parts. This may include (but is not limited to) checking the door interlocks, the safety arrangements, the suspension/support arrangement, and even down to the basic components of the lift car alarm. 

This identifies any potential issues to prevent accidents, and is required in addition to any maintenance arrangements that are already in place.

According to LOLER, lifts and lifting equipment should be inspected at least every six months or every 12 months, depending on the type of equipment and how it is used. Alternatively under specific scenarios a prescribed examination scheme may be utilised.

Different requirements are in place for PUWER and other regulatory obligations.

Scroll down for our complete list of lift lifting and work equipment inspection frequencies.

Swipe to view more

Plant/Equipment Type Applicable Legislation Periodicity of Inspection
Crane PUWER / LOLER 6 or 12 months (depending on usage)
Dock Leveller PUWER 12 months
Escalators Workplace (Health, Safety and
Welfare) Regulations 1999
6 months (per industry guidance)
Excavators and Loading Shovels PUWER / LOLER (when used for
lifting operations)
6 or 12 months (depending on usage)
Forklift Trucks PUWER / LOLER 6 or 12 months (depending on usage)
Goods Lifts PUWER / LOLER 12 months
Lifting Appliance PUWER / LOLER 12 months
Lifting Machines PUWER / LOLER 6 or 12 months (depending on usage)
Lorry Loading Cranes PUWER / LOLER 12 months
Mobile Cranes PUWER / LOLER 6 or 12 months (depending on usage)
Motor Vehicles Lifting Tables PUWER / LOLER 6 months (depending on usage)
Pallet Trucks PUWER / LOLER 12 months (depending on height of lift)
Passenger Lifts PUWER / LOLER 6 months
Seperate Lifting Accessories PUWER / LOLER 6 months
Window Cleaning and Building
Maintenance Equipment
PUWER / LOLER / WAHR 6 months
     
     

It can be hard to keep track of whether your equipment has been inspected within required timeframes, or for users to know that a piece of equipment or machine is safe to use.

Tagging equipment after an inspection gives you a visual record that it has been inspected and is invaluable to assist with legal requirements.

Our popular tagging system, Tagcheck, enables you and your team to verify that any equipment has been inspected and examined.

Lifting equipment must be inspected by a ‘competent person’, a term defined within law:

‘The person carrying out a thorough examination has such appropriate practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of the lifting equipment to be thoroughly examined as will enable them to detect defects or weaknesses and to assess their importance in relation to the safety and continued use of the lifting equipment.’

Furthermore, a competent person should not be the same person who performs routine maintenance on your equipment – ideally it should be an independent, impartial source.

As a fully independent ‘type A’ inspection body, the extensive experience and comprehensive knowledge of Allianz Engineering’s engineer surveyors means we can inspect your equipment without compromise.

A ‘thorough examination’ is defined by LOLER as a systematic and detailed examination of equipment and its safety-critical parts, carried out by a competent person and compiled in a written report. This report will include:

  • the examination date
  • the date of the next examination
  • any defects found that could pose a danger to people.

A ‘thorough examination’ is defined by LOLER as a systematic and detailed examination of equipment and its safety-critical parts, carried out by a competent person and compiled in a written report. The requirement and content for these reports are legally defined and will include detail such as:

  • duty holder detail
  • particulars sufficient to uniquely identify the item
  • the examination date, the date of the next examination
  • any defects found that could pose a danger to people
  • details of defects that require remedial action from a maintenance perspective
  • specific contact details and qualification of the engineer surveyor.
Allianz is the largest independent provider of lifting equipment inspections in the UK. With more coverage, more engineer
surveyors and more capacity than anyone else, you can rely on our team to assess the performance and safety of
your machinery, and help you achieve compliance with LOLER and PUWER.
Our engineer surveyors are experts in all forms of pressure system inspections, offering the highest level of technical competence. 
A Loyalty Leader for over 13 years, we monitor customer feedback to improve our service and ensure our 31,000+ customers are fairly treated.
We inspect plant and machinery anywhere in the UK and Republic of Ireland, examining over 3.6 million items and visiting over 125,000 locations in 2022. 
To make our customers’ lives easier, our engineering inspection and insurance services can be arranged together.
Our accreditations reassure our customers that we complete tasks safely and with absolute attention to detail.
 
We can provide both one-off inspections and consultancy services, tailored to your specific needs.
Our inspection reports can be compiled on-site, meaning our customers receive our recommendations as soon as possible. 
All our engineer surveyors hold a SAFed passport, certifying that the holder is competent to work safely in all industry sectors.