To ensure the use of lifting gear within workplace environments is as safe as possible, one must make sure that correct testing, inspection and certification is carried out on a regular basis. Lifting products are used extensively within the industrial sphere, because of their ability to lift loads that are much heavier than a human could handle alone. However, because lifting products are often tasked with lifting these heavy loads, the products can be hazardous to employees if proper precautions are not taken.

Defined as ‘work equipment for lifting and lowering loads’, lifting equipment can include overhead cranes, patient hoists, motor vehicle lifts, vehicle tail lifts and telehandlers and fork lifts. Lifting accessories also fall under the category of lifting products, with such accessories including eyebolts, hooks, chains and rope slings, to name a few.

The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) are a set of regulations that cover the lifting of goods and people at work. The team over at Lifting Gear Direct has complied their expert knowledge into one handy infographic. It teaches you everything you need to know about the safe and proper lifting of equipment as set out under LOLER, as well as other pieces of important information.

The infographic covers just exactly what LOLER is, stating that, in combination with the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER), these are a set of guidelines for the safe use of lifting gear in industrial environments. There are various topics associated with LOLER that are explained in detail in the infographic, including Organisational obligations, relating to the obligations required of employers using lifting gear under LOLER. These obligations relate to the correct training of employees, and include inspections, ensuring employees are “competent” and making sure those involved are aware of the manufacturer’s instructions.

Details on the correct areas of inspection, as set out under LOLER, are summarised in the section Lifting equipment inspection. It states that all lifting products must be maintained in a safe condition and must be suitable for purpose. To ensure that the equipment is safe for purpose, there are procedures that must be carried out when installing and positioning the equipment, and workers must abide by the safe working load (SWL) of the equipment in which they are using. If you wish to find out more about LOLER and lifting equipment inspection, testing and certification, then please get in touch with the Lifting Gear Direct team here.