Will a LOLER examiner report me to the HSE?
Only if they find a serious risk. An examiner must tell you straight away about any defect that is or could become a danger. They only send a copy of the report to the enforcing authority, HSE or your local council, where there’s an existing or imminent risk of serious personal injury (LOLER Regulation 10). Anything less stays with you and, if the equipment was hired, the hire company.
It’s a fair worry - You’re paying someone to look at your equipment with a critical eye, and you’d like to know where what they find ends up. So here it is from an independent...
The examiner doesn’t work for HSE, and you’re not being “reported” for having a worn part. Where nothing serious is found, the report goes to you and no one else. What the regulations do is put a legal duty on the examiner, in the same way they put one on you, to deal properly with the cases where somebody could get badly hurt.
What does the examiner have to do, and what do you have to do?
It depends on what’s found:
What’s found | What the examiner must do | What you must do | Copy to the enforcing authority? |
No defects | Write the report and give it to you, and to the hire company if you hired or leased the equipment | Keep the report and note the next examination date | No |
A defect that isn’t dangerous | Write it in the report with a time period for putting it right | Fix it, or stop using the equipment, within that period | No |
A defect that is, or could become, a danger | Tell you straight away, then confirm it in writing in the report, even if it’s fixed on the spot | Don’t use the equipment until the defect is put right | Only if the examiner also judges there’s an existing or imminent risk of serious personal injury |
An existing or imminent risk of serious personal injury | Everything above, and send a copy of the report to the enforcing authority as soon as practicable | Stop using it, get it put right, and keep your records of what was done | Yes |
If you hired or leased the equipment, the examiner also has to give a copy of the report to the person you hired it from.
What’s an “existing or imminent risk of serious personal injury”?
That’s the wording in LOLER Regulation 10(1)(c), and it’s the examiner’s judgement. The regulation doesn’t give a list. It’s a step up from “a defect that could become a danger”, which already means you stop using the equipment.
Think of the difference between a hoist sling with some surface fraying, which needs replacing before the next patient is lifted, and a passenger lift whose brake isn’t holding with people in it. Both are dangerous defects. The second one is the kind where somebody could be seriously hurt the next time it’s used.
Who is the enforcing authority?
Regulation 10(4) answers that. If you hired or leased the defective equipment, it’s HSE. Otherwise it’s the authority that enforces health and safety at the premises where the equipment was examined, which is either HSE or your local council, depending on the type of premises. Your examiner will know which, and will tell you who they’ve sent it to.
What do you have to do when there’s a dangerous defect?
Stop using the equipment. LOLER Regulation 10(3) says that once you’ve been told about a dangerous defect, it mustn’t be used until the defect has been put right. HSE says you must then take effective action to manage the risk.
Put the repair in hand, keep the report, and ask the examiner whether the equipment needs checking again before it goes back into use. Replacing parts on lifting equipment can mean the new parts need examining before use too.
What if it’s fixed on the spot?
It still goes in the report. HSE says dangerous defects must be confirmed in writing, even if they’re remedied immediately. A report that says “found, and fixed during the visit” is a perfectly good report, and it’s evidence that you dealt with it.
What about defects that aren’t dangerous?
These get written into the report with a time period for putting them right. HSE says you must remedy the matter, or stop using the equipment, within the period specified on the report. They don’t go anywhere else. A worn castor or a faded safe working load marking with a date to fix it is a normal part of keeping equipment in order.
Can you ask the examiner to leave it out?
No, and I wouldn’t want to be the examiner who agreed. The duty to report is the examiner’s, set by Regulation 10, and an independent examiner has to give an honest picture. That’s one of the reasons examiners need to be independent. It’s the same idea as why independent examination matters: we don’t sell, hire, service or repair equipment, so I’ve got no reason to soften a finding or to make it sound bigger than it is.
How do you avoid getting to that point?
Mostly by doing the boring things well:
Carry out and record pre-use checks, and take faulty equipment out of use straight away. See what’s the difference between a thorough examination and a pre-use check?
Tell the examiner about anything you already know is wrong. Hiding a fault doesn’t make it safe, and it puts the operator at risk.
Don’t let the examination go overdue. If it’s already overdue, read what duty holders must do now.
Keep your reports, repairs and re-examinations together so you can show what was found and what was done.
What happens once an authority has a copy?
I can’t tell you, because it depends on the authority and the case, and I’m not going to guess. What’s in your hands is what happened before and after the examination: whether the checks were being done, how quickly the equipment was taken out of use, and whether the defect was put right and recorded. For what enforcement can look like, here’s what HSE action looks like in practice.
Independent LOLER examinations in Nottingham and the Midlands
We carry out LOLER thorough examinations on lifts, hoists, forklifts, telehandlers, MEWPs, vehicle lifts, cranes and lifting accessories. We cover Nottingham, Derby, and the Midlands, and 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. If I find something dangerous, I tell you on the spot, not weeks later in a report, so you can act on it that day. Reports are written on site before I leave, with photos of anything that needs fixing. We contact you before each examination falls due, and once we’ve agreed a price, it stays fixed for all your ongoing examinations.
Worried about what an examination might find? Tell us what you’ve got and we’ll come back with a fixed quote.
FAQs
Will a LOLER examiner report me to the HSE?
Only where they judge there’s an existing or imminent risk of serious personal injury. Then LOLER Regulation 10 requires them to send a copy of the report to the enforcing authority. Where nothing serious is found, the report goes to you and no one else.
What does a LOLER examiner have to report?
Any defect that is or could become a danger, which they must tell you about immediately and then confirm in writing. Defects that aren’t dangerous go in the report with a time period for fixing them. Only a serious risk also goes to the enforcing authority.
Who is the enforcing authority for LOLER?
If you hired or leased the equipment, it’s HSE. Otherwise it’s the authority that enforces health and safety at the premises where the equipment was examined, which is HSE or your local council depending on the type of premises. Your examiner can tell you which.
What is an “existing or imminent risk of serious personal injury”?
It’s the wording in LOLER Regulation 10, and it’s the examiner’s judgement of the risk. It’s more serious than a defect that could become dangerous, which already means you must stop using the equipment. The regulation doesn’t give a list of examples.
What happens if the examiner finds a defect that isn’t dangerous?
It’s written in the report with a time period for putting it right. HSE says you must fix it or stop using the equipment within that period. It isn’t sent to the enforcing authority, and you can usually carry on using the equipment until the date.
Can I keep using equipment after the examiner finds a dangerous defect?
No. LOLER Regulation 10 says that once you’ve been told about a dangerous defect, the equipment mustn’t be used until it’s been put right. Ask the examiner whether it needs checking again before it goes back into use.
Does a defect that’s fixed on the spot still go in the report?
Yes. HSE says dangerous defects must be confirmed in writing in the report, even if they’re remedied immediately. A report showing a defect found and fixed during the visit is evidence that you dealt with it.
Can I ask the examiner not to send the report to the HSE?
No. The duty to report a serious risk is the examiner’s, set by Regulation 10, and it isn’t something they can agree to leave out. An independent examiner has to give an honest picture of the equipment’s condition.
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