Clear answers on LOLER, PUWER, PSSR and COSHH inspection, from the engineers who carry out the work. How often equipment must be examined, what the law requires, and what you receive when we are done.
Straight answers on LOLER, PUWER, PSSR and COSHH inspection: what the law asks of you, how often equipment must be examined, and what you receive afterwards. If your question is not here, call us on 0330 043 8191.
Statutory inspection is the independent examination of work equipment that health and safety law requires, separate from your own maintenance. If you operate lifting equipment, machinery, pressure systems or extraction, one or more of LOLER, PUWER, PSSR and COSHH is likely to apply. Our regulations guides set out each duty in plain terms.
Yes. We act as an independent competent person, with no interest in selling you parts, repairs or replacement equipment. That impartiality is what the regulations expect, and it is what gives a report its weight. There is more about SEIS on our company page.
We carry out inspections across 24 counties, covering the East and West Midlands, Yorkshire and the North East, the North West and the East of England. You can browse coverage by regime and county on our inspection services pages. We are usually on site within a few working days, sooner when equipment is due or out of use.
Lifting equipment used to lift people, and all lifting accessories, must be thoroughly examined at least every 6 months. Other lifting equipment that lifts loads only is examined at least every 12 months, or to the intervals in an examination scheme drawn up by a competent person. The HSE sets this out in its LOLER guidance.
If there is any chance a person is lifted, treat it as 6 months. Accessories such as slings, chains, shackles and eyebolts are also 6 months. Reserve the 12 month interval for equipment that only ever lifts loads, for example a goods hoist or a forklift in its lifting role. Our LOLER guide works through the distinction.
You receive a Report of Thorough Examination, the statutory record required under LOLER Regulation 10. It lists the equipment, any defects found and the date the next examination is due. Keep it for at least 2 years, or for the working life of the equipment where it is used to lift people.
Cranes, hoists, MEWPs, passenger and goods lifts, vehicle tail lifts and the lifting parts of a forklift truck are all lifting equipment. Accessories are the items that connect a load to the machine, such as slings, chains, hooks, shackles and eyebolts. Both are within LOLER.
No. PUWER produces a written record of inspection, not a certificate. Any provider offering a PUWER certificate is using a marketing term. The record must be kept at least until the next inspection and made available to an HSE inspector on request, as set out in the HSE PUWER guidance.
There is no fixed legal interval. PUWER Regulation 6 ties inspection to risk: after installation where safety depends on how it was fitted, at suitable intervals where the equipment is exposed to wear, and again after any event that could have made it unsafe. Our PUWER guide explains how to set an interval the risk genuinely justifies.
Power presses working cold metal are the one part of PUWER with a fixed cycle. A competent person must thoroughly examine and test the press and its safeguards at least every 6 months where it has automatic, interlocking or photo-electric guards, and at least every 12 months where it has fixed guards or enclosed tools.
On a forklift, the mast, chains, forks and carriage are lifting parts examined under LOLER, while the brakes, steering, hydraulics, tyres and lights are work equipment inspected under PUWER. A genuine inspection covers both sides of the machine, which is why we look at it as a whole.
PSSR applies to systems holding steam at any pressure, or other fluids at or above roughly 250 bar litres, which is the maximum pressure multiplied by the vessel volume. That brings in steam boilers, air receivers, compressors, autoclaves and many process vessels. Our PSSR guide helps you work out whether a system is in scope.
The Written Scheme of Examination is the legal document at the heart of PSSR, drawn up or certified by a competent person, setting out which parts of a pressure system are examined, how and how often. Under Regulation 8, a system in scope must not be operated without one. The HSE pressure systems guidance sets the minimum content.
There is no single interval fixed in law. The competent person sets the frequency for each item in the Written Scheme of Examination, judged on the system, its contents and its duty, with many items examined around every 12 months. The written report is issued within 28 days and carries the next due date.
No. A PSSR examination is a separate statutory duty focused on the integrity and failure risk of the pressure system. It does not replace routine maintenance, and a PUWER inspection does not cover it. The three sit alongside one another.
Under COSHH Regulation 9, a local exhaust ventilation system must have a thorough examination and test at least every 14 months. Some higher risk processes listed in COSHH Schedule 4 require shorter intervals, and a risk assessment can call for more frequent testing. See the HSE LEV guidance and our COSHH guide.
A thorough examination and test, often shortened to TExT, checks that the system still controls the contaminant it was designed for. We measure airflow and capture at each hood, check the ducts, filters and fan, and compare the results against the benchmarks in HSE guidance HSG258. The report records the measured values, any defects and a clear pass or fail, and should be kept for at least 5 years.
LEV testing must be carried out by a competent person. In practice that means an engineer with recognised training such as the BOHS P601 qualification, with genuine experience of the type of extraction installed, working to the HSG258 standard.
If it is there to control a substance hazardous to health, such as welding fume, wood dust, mist or vapour, then yes, it is LEV and falls under COSHH. Bench extraction, on-tool extraction, fume arms and ducted booth systems are all common examples.
Call us on 0330 043 8191 or send the details of your equipment and site through our contact page, and we will come back with a quote and a date. Tell us what you operate and roughly how many items, and we can scope it quickly.
We are usually on site within a few working days, and sooner when equipment is due for examination or has been taken out of use until it is checked. If you are working to a deadline, tell us and we will plan around it.
Yes. We cover LOLER, PUWER, PSSR and COSHH, so one provider can keep your lifting equipment, machinery, pressure systems and extraction on schedule. For larger or multi-site arrangements, see our consultancy services.
We do. We support brokers, insurers and other service providers who need dependable statutory inspection for their clients, with clear reporting and reliable scheduling. There is more on our brokers and service providers page.
If your equipment, your interval or your scope is not covered above, tell us what you operate and we will give you a straight answer and a quote.
Prefer to read first? Explore the regulations guides or browse inspection services by regime and county.
