Policy

Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Policy

Updated on 2 May 2024

How the university follows statutory regulations and manages the operation of lifting equipment.

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Purpose

To ensure that Schools and Directorates have appropriate arrangements in place for complying with the requirements of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998.

Objectives

To ensure that School and Directorate management are aware of their responsibilities and put in place appropriate measures regarding:

Duty holders
Information, instruction and training
Lifting equipment requirements
Organisation of lifting operations
Actions prior to first use of lifting equipment
Thorough examination and inspection of lifting equipment
Actions following adverse incidents

Policy Statement

Schools and Directorates are required to ensure that the health and safety risks associated with the operation of lifting equipment are managed in line with statutory regulation. To ensure the effective management of lifting equipment and operations, Schools and Directorates will implement the arrangements detailed below and will also comply with other University policies as appropriate to the activities undertaken.

Scope

This policy applies to all existing and proposed University on- and off-site activities that involve the use of or exposure to lifting equipment and/or lifting operations as defined below.

This policy will address the requirement to prevent or control hazards associated with the operation and use of lifting equipment as regards to its staff, students and where appropriate, members of the public and thereby comply with the provisions of The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER).

This policy applies not only to the use of any equipment, but also includes starting or stopping the equipment, repairing, modifying, maintaining, servicing, cleaning and transporting of the equipment.

Students for the purposes of the relevant legislation are deemed as “members of the public” and, as such, require to be protected from exposure to specific work lifting equipment and/or lifting operations presented by University activities.

All external agents, contractors and employers operating on University premises or engaged in or affected by University activities will be required to have suitable and sufficient lifting equipment and/or lifting operations related risk assessments, designed to cover their operation/ activities.

Definitions

Lifting Equipment: Work equipment used for lifting or lowering loads, including attachments used for supporting, anchoring or fixing the load. A wide range of equipment is classed as lifting equipment, including cranes, patient hoists, scissor lifts, passenger and goods lifts, mobile elevated work platforms, lifting trolleys. Manually operated and powered equipment are both within definition. See appendix 1 for more examples.

Lifting attachments: Attachments include chains, ropes, slings, pulleys, eyebolts, shackles, anchor points, karabiners, harnesses and straps.

Lifting Operations: Means any operation concerned with lifting or lowering of a load using lifting equipment (i.e. simple manual handling activities are not within scope). See also appendix 2.

Load: Any item being lifted or lowered by lifting equipment, including a person.

Provided for Use: Provided for use refers to the date that the equipment was first supplied/received into the University and not the date ‘first brought into use’. Such equipment will be deemed ‘new equipment’ when it is brought into use and must comply with the current new equipment standards.

Mobile work equipment: Any work equipment which carries out work while it is traveling or which travels between different locations to carry out work.

Hazard: Something, arising out of a work situation, which has the potential to cause harm to an individuals’ health and/or safety.

Risk: The term used to describe the likelihood that a hazard is realised, taking into account the severity of the outcome.

Adverse Incident: Any situation that occurs with lifting equipment and/or during a lifting activity that either resulted in or had the potential to result in injury of a person, failure of the lifting equipment or lifting attachments, or damage to the load, equipment or structures/vehicles.

LOLER Exempt equipment: Equipment that does not have as its principal function a use for lifting or lowering is generally excluded from LOLER (e.g. standard pallet truck, horizontal conveyors or horizontal winching operations). However, the safety of such equipment is subject to the requirements of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 2017 and must be ensured.

Equipment that has an element of lifting as part of its normal operation (e.g. variable height bed, variable height desk, patient assessment couch or dentist’s chair), but where the principal function is as a desk, bed or chair and not as a device for lifting/lowering would not normally be classed as lifting equipment. The feature of height adjustability would not normally be interpreted as lifting.

Arrangements

Duty Holders

Deans and Directors

Deans and Directors are responsible for ensuring safe operation of lifting equipment under their control and have a duty to:

Ensure that suitable and sufficient risk assessments are carried out on lifting equipment and safe systems of work are implemented so as to reduce the risks to health and safety of all those who could be affected so far as is reasonably practicable;
Ensure that all lifting equipment is registered with Deputy Director of Estates & Campus Services prior to use so that it is added to the database of equipment requiring regular thorough examination (also known as “insurance inspection”) and an initial inspection can be conducted, if required (see “Thorough Examination and Inspection” below);
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Ensure that all lifting equipment and attachments is appropriately serviced and maintained or repaired or replaced as necessary;
Ensure that all those involved in lifting equipment operation are suitably trained and are provided with appropriate information, instruction and supervision.
For the avoidance of doubt, passenger and goods lifts that are part of the fabric of the building are not the responsibility of individual Deans or Directors; these are the responsibility of the Deputy Director of Estates & Campus Services

Deputy Director of Estates & Campus Services

The Deputy Director of Estates & Campus Services has a duty to:

Appoint competent persons (usually an “Insurance Engineer”, and appointed in liaison with the University Insurance Manager) to undertake regular thorough examination of lifting equipment and ensure records of these examinations are retained for the period specified in the University’s Record Retention Schedule;
Ensure lifting equipment is thoroughly examined by a competent person (see above) before use, unless a current EC Declaration of Conformity is obtained;
Undertake (via the appointed competent person) suitable technical inspections between through examinations where these have been agreed as necessary following the local manager’s risk assessment, as advised by the “competent person” or following manufacturer's instructions.
Take appropriate action to rectify defects that have been identified in inspection reports (for lifting equipment that is centrally managed by Estates & Campus Services), or direct Deans or Directors to take such action for equipment owned by schools or directorates;
Retain any EC declaration of conformity obtained and initial thorough examination reports until the lifting equipment ceases to be used, retain exceptional circumstance/regular thorough examination reports for 2 years, and any inspection reports made under LOLER until the next report is made.

The Head of Health, Safety & Wellbeing

The Head of Health, Safety and Wellbeing has a duty to:

Maintain this policy;
Advise University managers on the safety requirements relating to lifting equipment and lifting operations;

Managers and Supervisors must:

Ensure that work under their supervision that involves lifting activities has been assessed and approved by the appropriate person as specified in this document before work commences;
Ensure that appropriate control measures are used, that procedures are followed, and that persons whom they are supervising are aware of the risks and procedure to follow in the event of an incident;
Provide appropriate supervision and monitor compliance with this policy in addition to local rules and procedures;
Assess the competence of persons under their control to work safely and, where appropriate, arrange for necessary training. An assessment of competence should be carried out on all persons new to the school or directorate and new to a type of work or risk category;
Ensure that appropriate training is available to persons under their supervision and that training is delivered by a competent person, and training records retained.

Staff and other individuals must:

Be conversant with this policy and the risk assessments that apply to their work;
Adopt safe practices (standard operating procedures) in activities involving lifting equipment and/or lifting operations, in particular to carry out work in designated and access-controlled areas and use appropriate protective equipment and clothing;
To operate lifting equipment only in compliance with risk assessments, only for the lifting activities for which the equipment is designed, only using appropriate lifting attachments and only within the stated Safe Working Load of the equipment;
Never use lifting equipment designed to lift loads for the lifting of people;
Report any incident or defect in equipment relating to any lifting equipment or lifting operation that they are involved in;
Cooperate with their manager and supervisor, Health, Safety and Wellbeing team members, and/or any other person appointed to monitor the safe use of lifting equipment and lifting operations within the school or directorate.

Information, instruction and training

Each area will nominate individuals to assist with the training of staff in the use of any lifting equipment. Where staff require specific training in the use or maintenance of lifting equipment, or managing or directing lifting operations (such as banksman training) this must be arranged with a suitable training provider by their line manager in consultation with the Health, Safety & Wellbeing team.

Written procedures and safe systems of work may be required for the safe use of lifting equipment and lifting operations. For more information and guidance, contact your local health and safety adviser. The Health, Safety & Wellbeing team (safety@dundee.ac.uk) can also be approached for guidance.

Students involved in lifting activities must be provided with information, instruction and training on the safe use of lifting equipment by their School. Students shall be made aware of the hazards associated with the particular work equipment they will be using, and adequately supervised at all times by a competent member of staff.

Lifting equipment requirements

This policy requires all managers, on behalf of the University to:

Ensure all existing hazardous lifting equipment is subject to a valid risk assessment, with suitable and sufficient preventive and protective measures identified and implemented;
Ensure all lifting equipment purchased for the first time is subject to a valid risk assessment prior to procurement and introduction to the University;
Ensure all new activities involving lifting equipment have suitable and sufficient preventive and protective measures at the outset to eliminate or reduce, so far as is reasonably practicable, the risk presented;
Implement the appropriate preventive and protective risk control measures, including the provision of information, instruction, training, testing, maintenance and personal protective equipment necessary to reduce the risk to health and/or safety to the lowest reasonably practicable level;
Review the assessments at least bi-annually, or sooner if deemed necessary, to ensure they remain suitable and sufficient.

All managers responsible for, and staff who use, lifting equipment must ensure lifting equipment is:

Suitable for the intended use, including being sufficiently strong and stable to support the load;
Safe for operation, maintained in a safe condition and examined/inspected as appropriate to ensure this remains the case.
Operated only by competent people who have received adequate information, instruction and training;
Accompanied by suitable safety measures (e.g. protective devices and warnings) to prevent persons or lifted objects falling and that any person who is trapped is not exposed to danger and a reliable means of rescue is available;
Suitably marked with their Safe Working Load (SWL);
Never modified, unless by a competent person, or operated without any supplied protective devices being employees (guards, limit switches, emergency stops, interlock devices, etc.);
If operated within teaching areas, the lifting equipment and/or lifting operations must be subject to an assessment that is either incorporated within schemes of work or at least referred to in the documentation. Students must be made aware of the assessments and the risk control measures relevant to their activities; where appropriate suitable and sufficient training must be provided as part of the course;
Where students are planning their own research, learning and /or academic activities where the operation of or exposure to lifting equipment may be an issue, their research supervisor or academic lecturer is responsible for ensuring the student undertakes a suitable and sufficient assessment as appropriate. The resulting assessment must be formally approved by the research supervisor/ lecturer prior to commencement of the activity, who must also ensure all identified risk control measures are in place.

All documentation relating to risk assessment and maintenance or testing, including those produced by the school/directorate and, where appropriate, contractors (who have been engaged by the school/directorate for activities such as maintenance / repair of lifting equipment); will be retained by the relevant school/directorate for the timescale specified within the relevant Record retention Schedule. Such documents will need to be made available to the insurance engineers when statutory inspection takes place.

Organisation of Lifting Operations

All staff who organise lifting operations must ensure that lifting operations are:

Properly planned by a competent person (i.e. a person that has adequate practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of the lifting operations being undertaken). The plan must address identified risks, resources required, procedures, responsibilities, etc.;
Appropriately supervised (proportionate to the risk – taking into account the personnel involved);
Carried out in a safe manner.

Thorough Examination and Inspection

Lifting equipment must be thoroughly examined and inspected by a competent person, who must be someone with appropriate practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of the lifting equipment and have an element of independence and impartiality (see “competent person” above).

The University has appointed a third party to advise on lifting equipment and complete statutory examinations of equipment. The risks arising from failure will determine how thorough statutory examinations needs to be and the frequency.

Prior to first use

Before any lifting equipment is used for the first time, a thorough examination must be carried out by a competent person (i.e. the University appointed insurance engineers) unless there is physical evidence available to show that it is safe to use. This would include if the equipment:

has not been used before and there is documentation drawn up within the 12 months prior to its first use, consisting of an initial test certificate in the form of an "EC Declaration of Conformity" or;
has been obtained from another organisation (e.g. hired or borrowed) and is accompanied by evidence that the necessary thorough examination has been carried out and is in date, (e.g. a copy of the latest test certificate is available and dated within the time interval for thorough examination of the equipment).

This evidence, or the competent person's examination report, must be kept until the University ceases to use the lifting equipment. For hired or borrowed equipment, the evidence is to be kept locally with the equipment. For purchased equipment, the evidence is to be provided to the University appointed insurance engineers when they are notified of the new equipment coming into the University. Additionally, a thorough examination is required after substantial or significant modification or repair. This covers installation in a new location or a reconfiguration.

Schools and directorates must consult with Deputy Director of Estate & Campus Services prior to the procurement of lifting equipment to arrange (if necessary) for the thorough examination of lifting equipment by the University appointed insurance engineers before it is put into use.

Periodic examinations once equipment is in service

Lifting equipment must also be thoroughly examined at intervals specified within LOLER, at shorter intervals if the competent person considers this appropriate, or in accordance with the intervals specified in the examination scheme for the equipment.

Lifting equipment in use must be thoroughly examined at least every 12 months;
Accessories (chains, slings, ropes, etc.) must be thoroughly examined at least every 6 months;
Equipment used for lifting people must be thoroughly examined at least every 6 months;
For the above, the examination is in accordance with a written examination scheme and is to identify any remedial action in good time before deterioration affects safety.

After adverse incidents

Lifting equipment must also be inspected by a competent person after any incident or circumstances that may have adversely affected the safety or integrity of the equipment (e.g. involvement in an incident or dangerous occurrence, or after significant periods of non-use).

Inspection of Lifting Equipment by a competent person

It is a requirement of LOLER that those schools and directorates within the University who own and operate lifting equipment make it available for regular inspection and implement any recommendations made by the competent person.

Reports and Defects

Once an examination has been completed the competent person will, in relation to dangerous defects identified:

Notify the University forthwith;
Report in writing to be made as soon as is practicable a) to the University and b) to any person from whom the equipment has been hired or leased;
Send a copy of the report as soon as practicable to the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) where a defect involves an existing or imminent risk of serious personal injury;

The school/directorate (or for centrally managed lifting equipment, Estates & Campus Services) must ensure that the lifting equipment is not used before the defect is remedied, or after a time specified in a report and before the defect is remedied. Defective equipment must be either locked off to prevent use, appropriate signage used and all users informed of prohibition, or removed from the workplace to a secure location to prevent use, appropriately signed and users informed.

Dangerous defects identified in lifting equipment must also be notified to the local health and safety adviser and the central Health, Safety and Wellbeing team immediately.

Actions following adverse incidents

In the event of any adverse incident (see definitions) involving lifting equipment or lifting activities, the following actions will be taken immediately:

The lifting activity will cease and be made safe;
Lifting equipment will be made inoperative;
The area of the incident will be cordoned off and left unchanged (except as necessary to deal with casualties and/or ensure further incident cannot occur);
The local health and safety adviser and the central Health, Safety and Wellbeing team will be made aware of incident details

Further Information

Related University policies

Related University guidance and resources

External resources

HSE LOLER website

From Health Safety and Wellbeing

Corporate information category Health and safety