According to LOLER (Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations), a lifting operation is defined as 'an operation concerned with the lifting or lowering of a load'. The load can be any item, including people, and the equipment used to undertake this operation is defined as 'lifting equipment'.

As a business, any kind of manual or heavy lifting equipment on your premises is subject to LOLER requirements. It is your responsibility to ensure that all your equipment is fit for purpose, appropriate to the task and suitably marked with their Safe Working Loads (SWL). This type of equipment is also required to have periodic maintenance, with any defects, repairs or issues recorded.

Sounds like a lot of hard work, right?

Well yes, it can be, but employee safety should be of paramount importance to any employer, so regular machinery maintenance is an essential part of good business practice. Keeping your heavy lifting and handling equipment safe and working well has obvious benefits to both your employees and your business, as lost production hours due to lack of maintenance or unsafe conditions can impact negatively on your operations.

So what can you do?

There are several ways to manage the use of manual and heavy lifting equipment in the workplace. Having a clear set of safe-use procedures, as well as appropriate employee supervision is a good place to start. Planning work and machine placement to provide optimum safety and productivity is another. It is up to you as a business to manage and control any potential risks. There are several occasions when it is imperative that lifting equipment be thoroughly examined, including but not limited to:

1. Before first use
2. If it is moved to another site
3. Where it is exposed to conditions that can cause deterioration

But what about the maintenance side of things?

This is where Action Handling can help. With over forty years experience across most sectors of the materials handling industry, we feel that our competitively priced servicing contract, which includes regular equipment checks and repairs when needed, is an easy way to keep up with your LOLER requirements under law. Any type of moving and handling equipment can be covered by this agreement, including bespoke items.

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