Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

Organization of lifting operations – 
Regulation 8
Every lifting operation, that is lifting or lowering of a load, 
shall be:
➤
properly planned by a competent person
➤
appropriately 
supervised
➤
carried out in a safe manner.
The person planning the operation should have adequate 
practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of 
planning lifting operations. The plan will need to address 
the risks identifi ed by the risk assessment and identify the 
resources, the procedures and the responsibilities required 
so that any lifting operation is carried out safely. For rou-
tine simple lifts a plan will normally be left to the people 
using the lifting equipment. For complex lifting operations, 
for example, where two cranes are used to lift one load, a 
written plan may need to be produced each time.
The planning should take account of, avoiding 
suspending loads over occupied areas, visibility, attach-
ing/detaching and securing loads, the environment, 
location, overturning, proximity to other objects, lifting 
of people and pre-use checks of the equipment.
17.21.9
Thorough examination and inspection – 
Regulation 9
Before using lifting equipment for the fi rst time by an 
employer, it must be thoroughly examined for any defect 
unless either:
➤
the lifting equipment has not been used before
➤
an EC declaration of conformity (where one should 
have been drawn up) has been received or made not 

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Introduction to Health and Safety at Work
364
more than 12 months before the lifting equipment is 
put into service
➤
if it is obtained from another undertaking, it is accom-
panied by physical evidence of an examination.
A copy of this thorough examination report shall be kept 
for as long as the lifting equipment is used (or, for a lift-
ing accessory, two years after the report is made) (Regu-
lation 11).
Where safety depends on the installation conditions, 
it shall be thoroughly examined:
➤
after installation and before being put into service
➤
after assembly and before being put into service at 
a new site or in new location
to ensure that it has been installed correctly and is safe 
to operate.
A copy of the thorough examination report shall be 
kept for as long as the lifting equipment is used at the 
place it was installed or assembled (Regulation 11).
Lifting equipment, which is exposed to conditions 
causing deterioration, which may result in dangerous 
situations, shall be:
➤
thoroughly examined at least every 6 months (for lift-
ing equipment for lifting persons, or a lifting acces-
sory); at least every 12 months (for other lifting 
equipment); or in accordance with an examination 
scheme; and each time that exceptional circum-
stances, liable to jeopardize the safety of the lifting 
equipment, have occurred and a copy of the report 
kept until the next report is made, or for two years 
(whichever is longer)
➤
inspected, if appropriate, by a competent person at 
suitable intervals between ‘thorough examinations’ 
(and a copy of the record kept until the next record 
is made).
All lifting equipment shall be accompanied by physical 
evidence that the last ‘thorough examination’ has been 
carried out before it leaves an employer’s undertaking 
(or before it is used after leaving another undertaking).
The user, owner, manufacturer or some other 
independent party may draw up examination schemes 
provided they have the necessary competence. Schemes 
should specify the intervals at which lifting equipment 
should be thoroughly examined and, where appropriate, 
those parts that need to be tested. The scheme should 
take account, for example, of its condition, the environ-
ment in which it is used, the number of lifting operations 
and the loads lifted.
The ‘competent person’ carrying out a thorough 
examination should have appropriate practical and 
theoretical knowledge and experience of the lifting 
equipment to be examined to enable them to detect 
defects or weaknesses and to assess their importance 
in relation to the safety and continued use of the lifting 
equipment. They should also determine whether a test is 
necessary and the most appropriate method for carrying 
it out.