Does farm machinery need a LOLER inspection?
Yes, most of it. Tractor foreloaders, telehandlers, forklifts, workshop hoists, jacks and cranes on lorries or fertiliser spreaders are all lifting equipment and need a LOLER thorough examination at least every 12 months. Slings, chains and anything lifting people need one every 6 months. A tractor’s three-point linkage is the main exception.
On a farm, lifting is everywhere! The foreloader on the tractor, the telehandler in the yard, the chain block in the workshop and the slings in the cab of the pick-up all lift loads, and a failure of any of them can drop a load on someone. That’s what LOLER, the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, is for.
HSE’s agriculture guidance says equipment that lifts loads needs a thorough examination by a competent person, and it gives telehandlers, fork-lift trucks and foreloaders as examples.
What counts as lifting equipment on a farm?
LOLER applies to lifting equipment you use at work, whether you employ people or you’re self-employed. Here’s how the usual farm kit works out.
Farm equipment | LOLER thorough examination? | At least every | Note |
Tractor foreloader | Yes | 12 months | HSE names foreloaders. Its attachments (buckets, grabs and bale spikes) are examined with it |
Telehandler | Yes | 12 months, or 6 with a work platform | |
Forklift | Yes | 12 months, or 6 if it lifts people | |
Crane on a lorry or machine, such as a fertiliser spreader | Yes | 12 months | HSE names cranes on machines. Safe working load should be marked |
Workshop hoist, rope hoist or chain block | Yes | 12 months | |
Workshop bottle jack, trolley jack or engine crane | Yes | 12 months | |
Slings, chains, shackles, eyebolts and lifting beams | Yes, as lifting accessories | 6 months | |
Person cage or work platform | Yes | 6 months | Only for use with a machine it’s designed for. See can you lift people with a forklift? |
Cherry picker or other MEWP | Yes | 6 months | |
Tail lift on a lorry or farm vehicle | Yes | 12 months, or 6 if people use it | |
Tractor three-point linkage lifting implements designed for it | No | n/a | HSE says it’s not lifting equipment when used that way |
HSE also says that tractor foreloaders used in agriculture won’t normally need their safe working load marked, though the operator still needs to know the limits of the machine they’re using.
What isn’t covered?
The tractor’s three-point linkage is the one HSE names. When it’s lifting an implement or machine designed to be operated that way, it isn’t lifting equipment under LOLER.
That doesn’t make it safe by default. A linkage used to lift a load it wasn’t designed for, such as hanging a big bag from it, is a different story, and the rest of the law on safe equipment still applies.
Who needs to arrange it?
If you employ people or you’re self-employed, you do. LOLER puts the duty on whoever has control of the equipment as an employer or a self-employed person. A farmer working for themselves is self-employed, so the rules apply with or without staff.
For hired or contractor kit, the hire company or contractor should supply a current report of thorough examination, and LOLER says you shouldn’t use lifting equipment brought in from another business without evidence of its last examination (Regulation 9(4)). More in who is responsible for hired lifting equipment.
What happens at an examination?
The examiner looks at the parts that matter for lifting: booms and arms, pins and bushes, hydraulics and hoses, chains, hooks, safety devices and load charts, the condition of slings and the markings on them. They check the machine does what it should, and report on it.
You get a written report of thorough examination for each item, with its identification, safe working load, whether it’s safe to use, defects with dates and the next due date (LOLER Regulation 10 and Schedule 1). If a defect is or could become a danger, the examiner has to send a copy of the report to the enforcing authority, which on a farm is HSE. Our post on whether an examiner will report you to the HSE explains how that works.
Keep the reports. They’re the record that the kit was examined, and they’re what an insurer or an HSE inspector will ask for. Between examinations, operators should check the equipment before use. See what’s the difference between a thorough examination and a pre-use check?
Who can examine farm lifting equipment?
HSE says the examiner will normally be an independent person, such as an engineer, who has the knowledge and experience to spot defects in that kind of equipment. And the person who looks over the kit shouldn’t be the person who services it.
That matters on farms, where the dealer often sells, services and offers to “do the LOLER”. A dealer can examine kit, but the examination is the check on the servicing, so it’s worth a different pair of eyes. Read why independent examination matters.
Check your farm in 5 minutes
Walk the yard and workshop and list everything that lifts. Foreloader, telehandler, forklift, hoists, jacks, cranes, slings and chains. Count the slings and chains too.
Find the last report for each. If there isn’t one, or it’s more than 12 months old (6 for slings, people-lifting kit and platforms), it’s due.
Look at the marks. Safe working loads, identification numbers and load charts should be readable.
Check no one is being lifted in a bucket, potato box or on forks. If they are, stop. HSE says no one should be.
Ask contractors and hirers for their reports.
Independent farm equipment examinations across the East Midlands
We carry out LOLER and PUWER thorough examinations on foreloaders, telehandlers, forklifts, hoists, jacks, slings and chains, in one visit, for farms and agricultural contractors across Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire, including Newark, Grantham, Melton Mowbray and Mansfield. We also travel anywhere in the UK.
Every examination is carried out and signed by me, Ryan Leavesley MSOE MBES, an engineer surveyor with 14 years’ experience. Reports are written on site before I leave, with photos of anything that needs fixing. We don’t sell, hire, service or repair equipment, and we contact you before each examination falls due. Once we’ve agreed a price, it stays fixed for all your ongoing examinations.
Tell us what’s on your farm and we’ll come back with a fixed quote.
FAQs
Does farm machinery need a LOLER inspection?
The lifting equipment on it does. Tractor foreloaders, telehandlers, fork-lift trucks, workshop hoists and cranes on machines all need a thorough examination by a competent person, at least every 12 months, or every 6 months if they lift people.
Do tractor foreloaders need a LOLER inspection?
Yes. HSE lists tractor foreloaders as lifting equipment in agriculture, alongside telehandlers and fork-lift trucks. A foreloader that lifts goods needs a thorough examination at least every 12 months.
Is a tractor’s three-point linkage covered by LOLER?
Not when it’s lifting an implement or machine designed to be operated that way. HSE says the three-point linkage isn’t lifting equipment in that case. Using it to lift loads it wasn’t designed for is different.
How often should farm lifting equipment be examined?
At least every 12 months for equipment that lifts goods, such as foreloaders, telehandlers and workshop hoists. Every 6 months for lifting accessories like slings and chains, and for any equipment used to lift people.
Do slings, chains and shackles on a farm need examining?
Yes. They’re lifting accessories, so each one needs a thorough examination at least every 6 months under LOLER Regulation 9(3)(a)(i). Each should have its own identification and record.
Does LOLER apply to a family farm with no employees?
LOLER applies to employers and to the self-employed using lifting equipment at work. A farmer working for themselves is self-employed, so it applies even without staff.
Can you lift a person in a telehandler bucket or a potato box?
No. HSE says no one should ever be lifted in a telehandler bucket, a potato box or on the forks of a fork-lift truck. People should only be raised on equipment designed for the purpose, such as a MEWP or a work platform made for the machine.
Who can carry out a LOLER examination on a farm?
A competent person with the knowledge and experience to find defects in the equipment. HSE says that’s normally an independent person, such as an engineer, and the examiner shouldn’t be the person who does the routine maintenance.
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