LOLER thorough examination scheduling for inspection bodies
LOLER thorough examination scheduling for inspection bodies: the 6 and 12 month rules, examination schemes, due dates and how to plan engineer routes.
Under LOLER regulation 9(3), lifting equipment exposed to deterioration must be thoroughly examined at least every 6 months if it lifts people or is a lifting accessory, at least every 12 months for other lifting equipment, or at intervals set by an examination scheme. It must also be examined after exceptional circumstances. Each report must state the latest date for the next examination, which is the date planners schedule against.
Key takeaways
- The legal clock runs from the last thorough examination, so an early visit brings every later due date forward.
- Schedule against the latest date written on the last report, and treat anniversaries only as a fallback.
- Six monthly and twelve monthly items at one site can share visits if planners align them deliberately.
- Examination schemes and exceptional circumstances break the fixed pattern and need their own triggers in the plan.
What does LOLER thorough examination scheduling have to achieve?
LOLER thorough examination scheduling has one job: every item of lifting equipment on every client site is examined by a competent person before its legal due date, and the engineer arrives with the right competence, kit and access. For an inspection body that means planning thousands of items with different intervals, spread across hundreds of sites, while keeping travel and repeat visits under control.
The rules sit in the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER), regulation 9, with the report content in Schedule 1. The duty to arrange the examination belongs to the employer, but in practice clients expect their inspection body to know when every item is due and to book it. If a date is missed, the item cannot lawfully stay in use, and the client relationship suffers.
For how inspection planning differs from other field work, see inspection planning software for inspection bodies.
How often must lifting equipment be thoroughly examined?
Regulation 9(3) applies to lifting equipment exposed to conditions causing deterioration liable to result in dangerous situations, which covers most equipment your engineers see. It must be thoroughly examined at one of the frequencies below, and also each time exceptional circumstances liable to jeopardise its safety occur. Regulation 9 also requires examination before first use in some cases and after installation or assembly at a new site.
| Equipment or event | Interval or trigger | What it means for the plan |
|---|---|---|
| Lifting equipment for lifting persons | At least every 6 months | Two visits a year per item; passenger lifts, MEWPs and personnel baskets fall here |
| Lifting accessories (slings, shackles, eyebolts) | At least every 6 months | High item counts per site; plan time per accessory, not per visit |
| Other lifting equipment | At least every 12 months | Cranes, hoists and lift trucks can ride on alternate six monthly visits |
| Examination scheme | Intervals set by the scheme | Scheme dates override the default pattern; store them per item |
| Exceptional circumstances | Each time they occur (damage, failure, long disuse, major change of use) | Unplanned jobs; keep capacity free to respond |
| Installation or assembly at a new site | Before first use at that location | Driven by the client's project dates, often at short notice |
HSE guidance (INDG422) explains that an examination scheme is drawn up for a specific item and its operating conditions, and can be prepared by the user, owner, manufacturer or another competent person.
Which date should the plan use?
Schedule 1 of LOLER requires every report of a thorough examination to state the latest date by which the next thorough examination must be carried out. That printed date is the true deadline for the item. It may be earlier than the default interval if the engineer shortened it because of condition, and it may follow an examination scheme rather than the 6 or 12 month rule.
The interval is a maximum measured from the last examination. There is no grace period and no early window that keeps the old anniversary. If an engineer examines an item two months early, the next due date moves two months earlier too. Book too early, too often, and the client pays for extra visits over the life of the equipment.
- 1Month 2: too early, due date moves forward
- 2Planned visit
- 3Latest date: item must stop if not examined
A good rule is to aim for the last four to six weeks before the latest date, leaving a buffer for client cancellations and repairs. Record every due date per item, not per site, so a single forgotten sling does not fall through.
How can six and twelve month items share one visit?
A typical client site mixes both intervals: a stock of slings and shackles on a 6 month cycle, overhead cranes on 12 months, and perhaps a passenger lift on 6 months. Examining everything at every visit wastes time. Examining each item on its own anniversary multiplies trips. The practical answer is to align the site on a 6 month rhythm and bring the 12 month items in on alternate visits.
Alignment has a one-off cost. To pull a crane onto the site rhythm, you examine it early once, which resets its clock. After that, the site needs two visits a year instead of three or four.
Worked example
A client has 60 accessories due in March and September, two cranes due in June and a passenger lift due in January and July. Unaligned, that is up to six trips a year. Examining the cranes in March (three months early) and the lift in March (earlier than its July date, then again in September) collapses the site to two visits: March for everything, September for accessories and the lift. The cost is one early crane examination and one early lift examination in the first year.
What makes LOLER thorough examination scheduling go wrong?
Most missed dates come from data and process gaps, not from a lack of engineers. The same patterns appear across inspection bodies of every size.
MythEvery item on a site shares the same due date.
RealityItems join sites at different times, get repaired and get re-examined after incidents. Track the latest date per item from the last report.
MythA 12 month item can be examined up to a month late if the client asks.
RealityThe interval in regulation 9(3) is a maximum. Once the latest date passes, the equipment must not be used until examined.
MythAny available engineer can take the job.
RealityCompetence varies by equipment class. HSE guidance also says the competent person should be independent enough to judge objectively and should not examine work they maintained themselves.
MythExceptional circumstances are rare enough to ignore in capacity planning.
RealityDamage, failures and long periods of disuse arrive without notice. Keep a small reserve so reactive jobs do not push planned examinations past their dates.
The independence point matters most for bodies that also offer maintenance or repair. Your allocation rules should block an engineer from examining equipment they serviced; see conflict of interest checks in allocation.
How should an inspection body plan engineer capacity?
Start from the due dates, not from engineer diaries. Pull every item whose latest date falls in the next 8 to 12 weeks, group items by site, then group sites by area. Estimate time per site from item counts and equipment type, since 200 accessories take longer than one hoist.
Next, match competence. Lift engineers, crane engineers and accessory examiners are often different people. Then build routes that cluster nearby sites in the same week, which is where most of the travel saving sits. Finally, send clients proposed dates early and chase confirmations, because site access is the most common reason a visit slips.
- List items dueEvery item with a latest date in the planning horizon, with its equipment class.
- Group by siteMerge items at one site into one visit where the dates allow.
- Match competenceAssign engineers qualified for each equipment class, with no maintenance conflict.
- Cluster routesPut nearby sites in the same days to cut driving time.
- Confirm and trackSend dates, record confirmations and flag any item nearing its latest date.
More on route clustering: why travel optimisation belongs in scheduling. For deadline tracking across regimes, read statutory inspection scheduling.
What should happen after the examination?
Regulation 10 requires the competent person to notify the employer forthwith of any defect that is or could become a danger, and to send a written, authenticated report as soon as is practicable. Where a defect involves an existing or imminent risk of serious personal injury, a copy goes to the relevant enforcing authority as soon as is practicable.
For the schedule, the report is also the input for the next cycle. Capture the latest date for the next examination straight from the report into the planning system, including any shortened interval, and create follow-up jobs where a defect must be re-checked by a set date. A report that sits unprocessed is a due date nobody can see.
- ✓Latest next examination date captured per item
- ✓Shortened intervals flagged to the client
- ✓Repair deadlines entered as follow-up jobs
- ✓Serious defects reported to the enforcing authority where required
- ✓Items removed from the register when the client disposes of them
ScheduleAI is audit scheduling software built for testing, inspection and certification (TIC) organisations, with a planner approving every plan.
ScheduleAI plans LOLER examinations from each item's latest date, groups items into site visits, matches engineers by equipment competence and conflict rules, and clusters routes, while planners approve every booking.
Book a demo Estimate your savingsQuestions
How often does LOLER require a thorough examination?
At least every 6 months for equipment that lifts people and for lifting accessories, at least every 12 months for other lifting equipment, or at intervals set by an examination scheme. Exceptional circumstances also trigger an examination.
Is there a grace period after the LOLER due date?
No. The intervals are maxima, and once the latest date on the report passes the equipment should not be used until it has been examined.
Does examining early change the next due date?
Yes. The interval runs from the last thorough examination, so an early examination brings the next due date forward.
Who can draw up a LOLER examination scheme?
HSE guidance says the user, owner, manufacturer or another independent person can draw it up, provided they have the necessary competence.
Can the engineer who maintains the equipment also examine it?
HSE guidance says the competent person should not be the same person who performs routine maintenance, because they would be assessing their own work.
How do other statutory regimes compare?
Pressure systems follow a written scheme with different reporting rules; see PSSR examination scheduling.