LOLER 1998 · Lifting equipment

Passenger lift and goods lift thorough examination

Independent thorough examination and certification of your lift as lifting equipment, by a competent person under LOLER.

A passenger lift spends its life out of sight, in a shaft, carrying people who never think about what holds the car up. The examination has to think about it for them: the ropes that suspend the car, and the safety gear that grips the guides and stops the car if those ropes ever let go.

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  • Independent and impartial
  • Competent engineer surveyors
  • Reports issued promptly
6 monthsThe interval for a passenger lift, or any lift that carries people
12 monthsA goods-only lift that never carries a person
Safety gearThe overspeed governor and gear that arrest a falling car
ReportA Report of Thorough Examination, your legal record
Lifting equipment we examine

Why your lift needs LOLER examination

A lift in a workplace or a public building is lifting equipment under LOLER, and a passenger lift carries the highest consequence of any lift we examine: if it fails, it fails with people inside. Because it carries people, LOLER requires a thorough examination at least every six months, by a competent person who is independent of the company that maintains it. A lift used only to move goods, a service lift or a dumbwaiter that never carries a person, falls to twelve months, but the moment a person can ride it the six month interval applies.

The examination is a full pass through the safety chain, not a service. A competent person proves the suspension ropes for broken wires, corrosion, stretch and the condition of the terminations, the traction sheave and gearing or the hydraulic ram, the brake, the buffers and the counterweight, and then the parts that exist purely to catch a failure: the overspeed governor and the safety gear, and the landing and car door interlocks. A defective interlock is the kind of fault that takes a lift out of service the same day, because it is what stops a door opening to an empty shaft.

Traction passenger lifts
Hydraulic passenger lifts
Goods and service lifts
Suspension ropes and terminations
Safety gear and overspeed governor
Landing and car door interlocks
Brake, buffers and counterweight
Machine room and pit equipment
How it works

How we examine your lift

A competent person examines the lift from the machine room or headgear to the pit, and runs its safety systems rather than just looking at them. We measure the suspension ropes against their discard criteria, prove the brake, the buffers and the door interlocks, and function test the overspeed governor and safety gear so far as it is safe to do so, then check the guide rails, the counterweight and the levelling, because a lift is only as safe as the gear that arrests it when something else has already gone wrong.

  • 1

    Get in touch

    Tell us the lifts you have, passenger or goods, traction or hydraulic, and how many floors they serve.

  • 2

    On-site examination

    A competent person examines each lift from machine room to pit, and tests its safety devices.

  • 3

    Your record

    You receive a Report of Thorough Examination for each lift, with any defect graded and the next date set.

Why businesses choose SEIS

  • Independent and impartial: we examine the lift, we do not maintain or service it
  • Competent persons who function test the safety gear and interlocks, not just the ride
  • Passenger and goods lifts, traction and hydraulic, examined to LOLER
  • Reports issued promptly, with defects graded and the next due date set out clearly
What we examine

Lift: what a thorough examination covers

Suspension ropes

Examined for broken wires, corrosion, stretch and the condition of the terminations, and measured against the discard criteria, because a frayed or over-stretched rope is condemned, not adjusted.

Safety gear and governor

The overspeed governor and the jaws that grip the guide rails, function tested so far as it is safe to do so, because they are what arrest the car if it ever descends too fast.

Door interlocks

Each landing and car door interlock proved, because a failed interlock can let a door open to an empty shaft and is the kind of defect that takes a lift out of service the same day.

Brake and buffers

The machine brake and the pit buffers examined, because the brake holds the car at each floor and the buffers are the last cushion at the bottom of the shaft.

Counterweight

The counterweight, its guides and fillers checked for security, because an insecure or unbalanced counterweight loads the ropes and the whole system unevenly.

Guide rails and drive

The guide rails for alignment and the traction sheave, gearing or hydraulic ram for wear, because a worn drive or a misaligned rail shows first as a rough ride and then as an unsafe one.

Intervals and certification

How often, and what you receive

A passenger lift, and any lift that can carry a person, is thoroughly examined at least every six months. A goods-only lift that never carries a person is examined at least every twelve months, though heavy use or a harsh environment can bring that in, and a competent person can set the interval in a written scheme. A combined goods and passenger lift is treated as a passenger lift: if a person can ever ride it, the six month interval applies. The examination is independent of the maintenance contract, and it always includes the safety gear, the governor and the door interlocks, because those are the parts that stand between a fault and a fall.

6 monthsEquipment that lifts people, and all lifting accessories
12 monthsOther lifting equipment, unless an examination scheme sets otherwise
Schedule 1A Report of Thorough Examination, your legal record
IndependentWe examine it, we do not sell or maintain it

You receive a Report of Thorough Examination, the record LOLER requires, with anything that needs attention set out clearly.

The price follows your equipment, not a rate card: see what drives a LOLER quote.

Full statutory cover

Part of our full LOLER inspection service

Lift is one of the many kinds of equipment we cover. We inspect the full range, across every sector, as an independent provider, one item or a whole site, anywhere in the UK.

See our full LOLER inspection service
Other services

Other statutory inspections we carry out

Many sites run more than one regime. We can examine all of it, under one independent provider.

PUWER inspectionInspection of work equipment against the five PUWER duties, with a written record. PSSR examinationWritten Schemes and certified examination of pressure systems. LEV testingLEV thorough examination and test of your extraction systems.
LOLER FAQs

Lift examination: common questions

Does a passenger lift need a LOLER thorough examination?
Yes. A lift in a workplace or public building lifts people, so it is lifting equipment and LOLER applies to it in full. You can read the duty in the HSE guidance on LOLER.
How often must a passenger lift be examined?
At least every six months, because it carries people. A lift used only for goods, with no person ever riding it, is examined at least every twelve months, but if anyone can ride it the six month interval applies.
Is it a certificate or a report?
You receive a Report of Thorough Examination, the record LOLER requires. People call it the LOLER certificate, which is fair shorthand, but the legal document is the report. Our guide to LOLER sets out what it must contain.
What is the safety gear and do you test it?
The safety gear is a set of jaws that grip the guide rails and arrest the car if the overspeed governor senses it descending too fast. We function test the governor and gear so far as it is safe to do so, because they are the lift's last line of defence.
Why do the door interlocks matter so much?
An interlock stops a landing door opening unless the car is there, and stops the car moving unless the doors are shut. A failed interlock can leave a door opening to an open shaft, which is why it is treated as a serious defect.
Does the examination replace our maintenance contract?
No. Maintenance keeps the lift running; the thorough examination is an independent check that it is safe. The two are separate, and the person who maintains the lift should not be the person who examines it.
Do you examine both traction and hydraulic lifts?
Yes. On a traction lift we prove the ropes, sheave, gearing and brake; on a hydraulic lift the ram, the seals and the safety valves. Both have their door interlocks and overspeed protection examined.
Do you examine lifts across the UK?
Yes. We work nationwide, with engineer surveyors who attend offices, retail, healthcare and industrial buildings wherever they are. Call 0330 043 8191 to arrange a visit that suits the building.

Is your lift due a thorough examination?

Talk to an engineer surveyor, get a quote and book your inspection anywhere in the UK.

0330 043 8191 Request a quote