What is LOLER?
Loler – A Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations places a duty on people and companies who own, operate or have control over lifting equipment, such as tree surgery, climbing centres and other arboricultural companies to have all of their equipment tested by a trained and certified LOLER inspector.
Here at Target Trees, Ian Flatters is a trained and certified Loler inspector who as well as keeping a thorough eye and paperwork up to date of our teams’ equipment assesses and monitors other peoples in the industries mentioned above.
This covers:
- Ropes access and work positioning systems including anchor points.
- Ropes.
- Karabiners.
- Harnesses.
- Strops and slings.
- Mechanical climbing aids.
- Pulleys.
- Rigging systems.
This LOLER inspection will be produced in the form of a report identifying Safe Working Loads (SWL), Minimum Breaking Strength, unique identification number, the identification between Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Rigging equipment as well as safe to use and conforming with manufacturers recommendations, industry compliant, CE and EN marks.
Why is Loler important?
Every tree surgeon will require this and if they do not have it, they could be in breach of their insurance cover, this means that any damage or injury caused when working on your site or home due to poor management of equipment could mean that you would be liable for any damage, repairs and compensation claims if anything was to go wrong.
The equipment we use on a daily basis if not properly cared for and inspected could significantly increase the risk of a catastrophic failure, causing a risk to life and property. This inspection is required every 6 months for climbing equipment and 12 months for rigging equipment and will identify the risks and remove from service items that fail to meet the safety criteria. This is also a good way to produce records for you in accordance with the Management of Health and Safety at Works Regulations (MHSWR), Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) and Working at Height Regulations (WAHR).
