Inspection Questions, Answered

A systematic and detailed examination of equipment and its safety-critical parts by a competent person, carried out at statutory intervals and recorded in a written report. It is separate from, and additional to, routine maintenance — maintenance keeps a machine working, a thorough examination establishes whether it is safe to keep using.

Every 6 months for equipment used to lift people and for lifting accessories, and every 12 months for all other lifting equipment — or at the intervals set out in an examination scheme drawn up by a competent person.

No. Servicing keeps equipment working; a thorough examination establishes whether it is safe to continue using, and must be carried out by a competent person who is independent of that maintenance. A forklift on a service contract still needs its statutory examination.

Yes. Lifting equipment requires examination after installation or assembly at a new site, and after exceptional circumstances — damage, modification, or a long period out of use — before it goes back into service.

PUWER sets no fixed interval. Frequency is based on risk, how intensively the equipment is used and the manufacturer’s guidance. Annual is common for general workshop machinery; high-risk or heavily used plant is inspected more often. What matters is that your interval is documented and defensible.

PUWER covers all work equipment in the workplace. LOLER adds specific duties for equipment that lifts loads or people. Lifting equipment has to satisfy both, which is why using one competent person for both saves a second visit and a second set of paperwork.

Yes, and it is one of the most common reasons for a PUWER inspection. Second-hand and imported machines frequently arrive with guards missing, interlocks defeated or non-compliant controls, and the duty to put that right sits with you as the user.

A detailed inspection by a competent person at least every 6 months, or every 3 months where use is arduous, in addition to a pre-use check by the user before every use.

Immediately after it has arrested a fall, if a fall indicator has deployed, or where webbing, stitching or metalwork shows cuts, chemical damage, heat damage or distortion. Equipment past the manufacturer’s stated lifespan also comes out of service.

Yes. Under the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000 a pressure system must have a Written Scheme of Examination in place and must have been examined in accordance with it before it is operated.

A document drawn up or certified by a competent person that identifies which parts of a pressure system are examined, the nature of each examination, the intervals between them, and the measures needed to prepare the system for safe examination.

The Written Scheme sets the interval. For a typical workshop receiver in sound condition it commonly falls between 24 and 26 months; a system in poor condition or on a critical duty is examined more often.

You are told on site, and the written report records the defect and whether it presents an existing or imminent danger. Equipment with a serious defect is taken out of service until it has been repaired and re-examined.

Reports of thorough examination should be kept until the next report is issued, and for at least two years. Records relating to equipment first put into service, and declarations of conformity, should be kept for the life of the equipment.

Yes — and it is usually the sensible thing to do. LOLER, PUWER, height safety equipment and air receivers can all be covered in one attendance, which reduces downtime and gives you one consistent set of paperwork with aligned renewal dates.

Nottingham, Derby, Leicester, Mansfield, Lincoln, Chesterfield, Loughborough, Newark, Worksop and the wider East Midlands. Sites outside that area are considered — call and ask.

Quote requests are answered within one working day. Same-week attendance is normally available, and emergency attendance where equipment is out of service or an examination is overdue.

Yes. Central Safety Inspections Ltd holds public liability and professional indemnity insurance and is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Certificates are available on request before we attend.