Tail lifts, passenger lifts and shutters — Bristol’s largest independent dealer since 1981 0117 9770810  · info@hydralifts.co.uk
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LOLER inspections

Thorough examination by a competent person, with the report you are required to keep. On your yard, and in the same visit as the service if you want the vehicle off the road once.

0117 9770810

Thank you — that is with the workshop.

Compliance

The lift is lifting equipment

LOLER 1998 applies to a tail lift the moment it is on the vehicle. It has to be thoroughly examined by a competent person at set intervals, and you have to keep the report. The duty sits with whoever has control of the equipment, which is normally the operator rather than the owner — so if the vehicle is on your fleet and your people use the lift, the examination and the records are yours.

LOLER inspections
  • 6 monthsWhere the lift raises or lowers people
  • 12 monthsWhere it carries goods only
  • Written schemeSets the interval instead, where a competent person has drawn one up

A thorough examination is not a service. A service keeps the lift working; an examination is a judgement about whether it is safe to keep using, made by a competent person, and it produces a document you are required to hold.

People conflate the two and then find out at the worst moment — an insurance claim, an accident, or an enforcement visit — that they had maintenance records and no examination reports.

We do both, and we would rather do them in one visit. The vehicle comes off the road once and goes back out with the paperwork in the cab.

Side by side

Which action does what

The same six questions asked of all three, so you can see where they actually differ rather than reading three descriptions and holding them in your head.

Thorough examinationService
What it is forDeciding whether the lift is safe to keep usingKeeping the lift working and reliable
Who can do itA competent person, independent of the pressure to pass itA trained engineer
How often6 months for people, 12 for goods, or the written schemeTo the manufacturer’s schedule
What you getA report you are legally required to keepA service record
Required by lawYes — LOLER 1998No

Capacities and platform sizes vary by manufacturer and by vehicle. Tell us the vehicle and what it has to lift and we will specify it properly.

How a job runs

Off the road once, and back out working

  1. 1

    Book it against the fleet

    Tell us the vehicles and the dates last done. We will tell you what is due and when.

  2. 2

    We come to the yard

    Examination and weight test on site, so the vehicle is not travelling to us to stand still.

  3. 3

    Findings, straight away

    Anything that fails, you hear about on the day rather than in a report a fortnight later.

  4. 4

    The report

    The document you are required to hold, plus the test certificate where we have weight tested.

Common questions

Tail lifts, asked and answered

What is a competent person?
Someone with the practical and theoretical knowledge and the experience to spot defects and judge how serious they are, and who is independent enough to say so without commercial pressure. It is a role, not a certificate.
What if the lift fails?
You are told on the day. Depending on what it is, that may mean taking it out of use until it is repaired. We carry genuine parts and can often put it right in the same visit.
Is a written scheme of examination worth it?
It can be, on a large or unusual fleet, because a competent person can set intervals that suit how the equipment is actually used rather than the default six or twelve months. For most operators the standard intervals are simpler.
Do you examine lifts you do not service?
Yes. Plenty of operators have us examine equipment somebody else maintains.
How long does it take?
It depends on the lift and what we find. It is not a long job on a well-maintained vehicle, which is why doing it alongside the service usually makes sense.
Who keeps the report?
You do. It is your record and you have to be able to produce it. We keep our own copy so you can ask us for it if yours goes astray.
6Months, lifting people
12Months, goods only
50miCovered from Bristol
1981Doing this since

Need a lift looked at?

Tell us the vehicle and what it is doing. We will tell you whether it is a service, a repair or an examination that is due.

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