LOLER Inspections in Derby
Lifting Equipment Inspections
If your LOLER thorough examination has lapsed or is about to, or someone has asked you to produce current reports and you cannot find them, you are in the right place. We carry out LOLER thorough examinations for businesses across Derby that need their lifting equipment examined properly and certified without delay.
That covers everything you lift with, not a narrow list: overhead and gantry cranes, hoists, vehicle lifts, telehandlers, MEWPs, forklift attachments, passenger and goods lifts, and the slings, chains and shackles that go with them. Your enquiry reaches senior staff straight away. No broker, no call centre, no being passed between departments while a certificate sits expired.
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LOLER Inspections in Derby
Lifting Equipment Inspections
If your LOLER thorough examination has lapsed, or someone has asked you to produce current reports and you cannot find them, you are in the right place. We carry out LOLER thorough examinations for businesses across Derby that need their lifting equipment examined properly and certified without delay.
That covers everything you lift with, not a narrow list: overhead and gantry cranes, hoists, vehicle lifts, telehandlers, MEWPs, forklift attachments, passenger and goods lifts, and the slings, chains and shackles that go with them. Your enquiry reaches senior staff straight away. No broker, no call centre, no being passed between departments while a certificate sits expired.
When a Lifting Examination Is Overdue, the Clock Is Already Running
Most people who contact us about lifting equipment in Derby are not reading up on the law for interest. A report has run past its date, an insurer has asked to see current paperwork, an auditor has flagged a gap, or a new machine has arrived on site and nobody is certain whether it can be put to work yet. The common thread is a deadline that has already passed or is about to.
The exposure in that gap is real. Lifting equipment without a valid Report of Thorough Examination should not be in use, and continuing to run it puts the duty holder, not the engineer who signed the last report, on the wrong side of the law. If the Health and Safety Executive inspects and finds examinations out of date, the consequences land on the business operating the equipment. Insurance cover can also be affected when equipment is operated outside its examination regime.
None of that needs to become a crisis. What an overdue examination needs is someone who can get to you quickly, examine what you actually have, and put valid certification back in place. That is the whole job, and it is the part we make straightforward.
We Examine All Your Lifting Equipment, Not Just the Lifts
A lot of the firms that appear when you search for lifting examinations are really lift companies, and the equipment they talk about is the equipment they install and maintain. That leaves the rest of your lifting assets in a blind spot. We are independent examiners, so the brief is simpler: if it lifts or lowers a load, or holds a load while it is lifted, we examine it.
On a typical Derby site that means:
- Overhead, gantry and EOT cranes – common in engineering, fabrication and the rail supply chain, where workshops and rail-connected units often carry travelling cranes and runway beams.
- Hoists of every kind – electric and manual chain hoists, engine and component hoists in vehicle and machine work, and patient and ceiling-track hoists in care settings.
- Vehicle lifts and associated gear – two-post, four-post and scissor lifts in the automotive trade, tyre bays and servicing workshops.
- MEWPs, telehandlers and forklift attachments – scissor lifts, boom lifts, cherry pickers, and the forks, jibs, clamps and tipping skips that count as lifting accessories in their own right.
- Passenger and goods lifts – in offices, production buildings, care homes and public premises.
- Lifting accessories – slings, chains, shackles, eyebolts, lifting beams and the loose gear that is easy to overlook and quick to fail.
If you run a mixed fleet of lifting equipment, you do not want it split across several providers with different report formats and different renewal dates. We examine the whole asset base and give you one consistent set of records to manage.
Lifting Equipment Across Derby's Workshops, Depots and Plants
Derby is one of the most engineering-heavy cities in the country, and that shapes the lifting equipment we see here. Manufacturing accounts for around a fifth of the city’s economic output, roughly double the national average, and Derby sits at the centre of the largest rail cluster in Europe. Where there is heavy engineering, there is lifting equipment doing demanding work, and demanding work is exactly what brings examination dates forward.
The pattern follows the city’s industrial geography. Pride Park, and the logistics developments around it, carry the lifting and handling equipment you would expect of a distribution hub. Infinity Park Derby, on the southern edge by the A50, is an advanced-manufacturing and logistics location now inside the East Midlands Investment Zone. The former Railway Technical Centre at RTC Business Park still has rail-connected units fitted with cranage and pits, which is precisely the sort of fixed lifting plant that needs examining on schedule. Out towards Sinfin and Raynesway, the aerospace and nuclear engineering base brings its own specialist handling equipment.
That industrial mix also determines who enforces the law on your site, which catches some duty holders out. The Health and Safety Executive is the enforcing authority for factories, manufacturing and engineering premises, which is most of Derby’s heavier base. For offices, retail, warehousing and many care settings, enforcement sits with the local authority instead. Either way the LOLER duty is identical, and either way a valid Report of Thorough Examination is what an inspector expects to see.
We work across manufacturing, the rail and automotive supply chains, logistics, waste and environmental services, and care providers in and around Derby, alongside many other regulated sectors. The equipment changes from site to site. The need for current certification does not.
What the Regulations Require, in Plain Terms
- We carry out LOLER thorough examinations for businesses across Derby and the surrounding area.
LOLER is shorthand for the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. It applies to all work equipment used to lift or lower a load, and to the accessories used to attach, anchor or support that load.
The duty falls on the employer, or whoever controls the equipment in use, which means it stays with you even when the equipment is hired in. You can see how we cover the wider Derbyshire area beyond the city if you operate across more than one site.
The core requirement sits in Regulation 9: lifting equipment must be thoroughly examined by a competent person at set points in its life. That is the “thorough examination” you will see referred to, and “LOLER inspection” is simply the everyday name for the same statutory check. The standard intervals are:
- Every 6 months for equipment used to lift people, and for all lifting accessories.
- Every 12 months for other lifting equipment.
- Before first use where there is no valid Declaration of Conformity, and after exceptional circumstances such as a significant modification, damage, or a long period out of use.
There is a fourth option many duty holders never use. Regulation 9 lets a competent person draw up an examination scheme that sets intervals tailored to how the equipment is actually used and the risks it carries. A scheme can lengthen an interval where the default is more cautious than the risk warrants, or shorten it where heavy or harsh use justifies more frequent checks. Used properly, an examination scheme is one of the few parts of LOLER that can save a business money rather than cost it, and it is one of the first things we will talk through with you if your equipment profile suits it.
A competent person, in LOLER terms, is someone with the knowledge, experience and independence to find defects and judge them honestly. Independence matters: a genuine thorough examination is not the same as a service or a maintenance visit, and the person doing it should have no interest in selling you parts or repairs off the back of it.
What Actually Happens When Our Engineer Arrives
A thorough examination is a methodical look at the safety-critical condition of each item, not a glance and a sticker. Here is what a visit involves.
1
On site.
The engineer works through the equipment and its accessories looking for wear, fatigue, damage, corrosion, and anything that is, or could become, a danger in service. Depending on the item, that can mean examining load-bearing structure, chains and ropes, hooks and attachments, brakes and limit devices, and the controls and safety mechanisms that stop a lift becoming dangerous.
2
Defects.
Where a defect turns up, it is categorised by how serious it is and how soon it needs attention. A defect that makes equipment a danger to people means it should be taken out of service. You are told if this is the case before we leave, not weeks later in a report you have to chase.
3
Reporting.
You receive a Report of Thorough Examination for each item, setting out what was examined, the date, any defects and their severity, whether the equipment is safe to continue in use, and the date the next examination is due.
4
Records.
Reports are delivered to you electronically and in a consistent format across your whole fleet, so renewal dates are easy to track rather than scattered across providers.
Because we sell examinations and nothing else, what you get is an honest verdict on condition. We are not quoting you for repairs at the same time, so there is no incentive to find work that is not there, and none to overlook work that is.
Independent, Direct, and Built Around Getting You Compliant
When you call about a LOLER examination in Derby, you reach the people who run the work, not a switchboard. Enquiries are handled by senior staff. That flatness is the difference when you are working to a deadline. Any questions you have around your equipment can be answered immediately on the call or email.
A few things set the service apart:
- We are independent. We sell inspections, not equipment, maintenance contracts or parts. Our verdict on your lifting equipment has nothing riding on it except being right.
- No broker chain. Many lifting examinations are sold through intermediaries who subcontract the actual work. You deal with us directly, from first enquiry to certificate.
- Competent persons you can rely on. Our engineers examine as competent persons under Regulation 9 of LOLER, and are professionally registered, or working towards registration, with the Engineering Council.
- A 5.0 Google rating. The feedback we hold is from businesses that needed the job done properly and on time.
- UK-wide coverage. Derby sits comfortably within the area we cover, and so do your other sites if you operate beyond the city. You can reach us on 01782 855481 or info@gsbinspections.co.uk.
Our Commitment To Your Safety
We Are A Proud Associate Member Of The Safety Assessment Federation (SAFed)
As an associate member of the Safety Assessment Federation (SAFed), GSB Inspections demonstrates our commitment to complying with industry competency standards and the code of practice set by SAFed. This affiliation emphasises our dedication to maintaining the highest levels of professionalism, ensuring your safety and peace of mind.
What Your Report of Thorough Examination Gives You
After the examination you receive a Report of Thorough Examination, the document that proves the equipment has been examined and records its condition. It sets out what was examined, the date, any defects found and how serious they are, whether the equipment is safe to continue in use, and the date by which the next examination is due.
That report is what an insurer, an auditor or an HSE inspector will ask to see, so it needs to be clear, complete and on time. We turn reports around promptly and keep the format consistent across your whole fleet, which makes managing renewal dates across mixed equipment far less of a headache than juggling several providers and several layouts.
Useful Lifting and Compliance Resources for Derby
If you want to read the source material rather than take our word for it, the Health and Safety Executive publishes the LOLER Approved Code of Practice and guidance, and the Safety Assessment Federation sets the standards we examine to as an associate member.
Many Derby sites that run lifting equipment also operate pressure systems such as compressors and air receivers; if that applies to you, our pressure system examinations in Derby cover that regime, including the written scheme of examination it requires. Fleet operators who want their trucks handled specifically can see our forklift thorough examinations too. And if you also operate in Nottingham, we cover the wider East Midlands from the same team.
The authoritative source for LOLER intervals, the competent person definition, and Schedule 1 reporting requirements.
GSB Inspections Reviews
Client Satisfaction
Well what a great service Gary provides, always does a very thorough job, can't recommend enough, we always Gary really great guy.
Daz Griffiths
Service, communication, support and advice has been excellent, Garry has gone out of his way to support our school with issues arisen from council maintenance, he has gone out of... read more
Miss H Morrey
My first contact was with Gary and he dealt with my query and questions brilliantly. He explained the process, it was easy to sort and it went smoothly. Expected contact... read more
Mrs B
Excellent service & communications
Gary Jackson
Great bloke, reliable, informative, pleasure to deal with.
Gary Jackson
Been using GSB for a year, great service keeping all our plant and machinery in certification
James Plant
Gary has been doing our certifications for the last few years. Very professional and very reliable. A**
Rob Scanlan
Excellent service, very thorough and practical
Kerry Callear
Excellent service very competent knowledgeable and professional staff Would highly recommend
Carl Eades
Prompt and professional friendly service.
Apples & Pears Nursery
Gary has been doing MPi ltd's lifting certifications, air compressor tank and roller shutter door inspections for a number of years now. I have always found him a pleasure to... read more
matt page
Great service. Would highly recommend and will use again.
Jade Furey
Inspected transferable winch units with, greatly appreciated, additional guidance covering separate requirements for accompanying D shackles and inspection schedule. Very diligent service and great value.
Andrew Piekarczyk
LOLER Inspections in Derby | Your Questions Answered
It depends on what the equipment does. Equipment used to lift people, and all lifting accessories such as slings and chains, must be thoroughly examined at least every 6 months. Other lifting equipment must be examined at least every 12 months. Equipment also needs examining before first use where there is no Declaration of Conformity, and after any exceptional event such as damage or a major modification. A competent person can set different intervals through an examination scheme where the risk justifies it.
Yes. “LOLER inspection” is the everyday term people search for, and “thorough examination” is the formal wording in the regulations. They describe the same statutory check carried out by a competent person. It is more than a routine service or maintenance visit, and it results in a Report of Thorough Examination.
The duty sits with the employer, or whoever is in control of the equipment while it is in use. That means the responsibility is yours even when you have hired the equipment in. Some hire agreements include examination, but you should confirm that rather than assume it, because if the paperwork is not valid, the liability is still yours.
Someone with the knowledge, practical experience and independence to examine lifting equipment, find defects and judge how serious they are. Independence is part of it, which is why many businesses use an external examiner rather than relying on whoever services the equipment. Our engineers examine as competent persons under Regulation 9 of LOLER.
It is categorised by severity. Minor issues are recorded as advisories for you to plan around. A defect that makes the equipment dangerous means it should be withdrawn from use, and a serious defect is also reported to the relevant enforcing authority. You will know what we have found before we leave site, so you can act on it straight away.
LOLER covers lifting equipment specifically. PUWER, the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, covers all work equipment more broadly, including maintenance and general safe use. Lifting equipment has to satisfy both. They overlap but are not the same, and a single machine can need attention under each.
Book a LOLER Inspection in Derby
No middle person, direct contact, fast turnaround.
Tell us what lifting equipment you need examined and where it is. We will come back quickly with availability and a price, and if your certification is already overdue we will treat it as the priority it is. Your enquiry goes straight to senior staff, not a broker or a call centre.
info@gsbinspections.co.uk
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