What Equipment Is LOLER Relevant To?
- info8894545
- Dec 5, 2025
- 4 min read
(A Practical Guide for UK & ROI Duty Holders)
If you’re scratching your head and searching things like ‘what equipment is LOLER relevant to?’ or ‘what equipment is covered by LOLER?’, you’re not alone. LOLER can feel broad, and Duty Holders often want a simple, practical way to know what sits inside the regulations — and what doesn’t.
Carn Engineering provides independent engineering inspection services across the UK and Republic of Ireland (ROI). In this guide we clarify some of the uncertainties around LOLER and give you the information you need to decide whether your equipment is in scope.
LOLER in the UK is essentially mirrored in the Republic of Ireland through the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 (often called the GAR). In practice, the GAR is the ROI’s LOLER-equivalent: it defines lifting equipment and lifting accessories in the same broad way, requires thorough examination and testing at comparable 6- and 12-month intervals, and mandates that this work is carried out by a competent person with formal reporting (GA1) in line with Schedule 1. So, while the legal name differs, the compliance duty for lifting equipment in ROI operates the same way as LOLER does in the UK.
Broadly Speaking, What Does LOLER Cover?
In short, LOLER covers lifting equipment and lifting accessories used at work. If equipment is used to raise, lower, suspend, or support a load, it likely falls under LOLER.
That means that when people ask ‘what equipment does LOLER cover?’, the answer is: anything used for lifting operations at work, plus the accessories that attach the load.
Specifically, What Does LOLER Apply to?
A clear way to think about what does LOLER apply to is:
1. Lifting equipment – the machine or device doing the lifting
2. Lifting accessories – the items that connect the load to the lifting equipment
If either part is used at work, LOLER duties apply.
Examples of What Equipment Comes Under LOLER
Below are the most common categories that answer what equipment comes under LOLER and what equipment is not covered by loler.
Examples include:
• Passenger lifts, goods lifts, platform lifts
• Cranes: tower cranes, mobile cranes, overhead/gantry cranes, jib cranes
• Forklifts and telehandlers (especially with lifting attachments)
• Hoists, chain blocks, electric hoists, winches
• MEWPs (boom lifts, cherry pickers, scissor lifts) when lifting people
• Vehicle lifts, tail lifts
• Suspended access equipment (BMUs, cradles)
• Mast climbing work platforms
So if you’re asking what equipment is LOLER is relevant to or what equipment is LOLER relevant to, think of any workplace equipment that lifts loads or people.
What Lifting Accessories are Covered by LOLER?
LOLER also applies to lifting accessories. These are often forgotten, but they are explicitly covered.
Examples include:
• Chains, wire ropes, fibre/webbing slings
• Shackles, hooks, eyebolts, swivels
• Lifting beams, spreader beams, frames
• Clamps, grabs, magnets, vacuum lifting devices
• Special attachments designed to lift specific loads
This directly answers what equipment is covered by LOLER and what equipment is covered under LOLER — accessories are always in scope when used for lifting at work.
What Equipment is Not Covered by LOLER?
Aside from asking what type of equipment is covered under LOLER legislation, people also ask what equipment is not covered by LOLER, and it’s a fair question. LOLER doesn’t apply to everything that “moves” or “supports” something.
LOLER generally does not cover:
• Non-lifting work equipment (covered by PUWER instead), e.g. conveyors that don’t lift a load within a lifting operation
• Equipment used purely in private/domestic settings (LOLER applies to work use)
• Simple load-bearing structures that are not part of a lifting operation
• Vehicles or machines that transport loads without lifting operations (unless used with lifting attachments)
However, many borderline cases do fall under LOLER — for example, excavators used as cranes, telehandlers with man baskets, or custom lifting attachments. If there’s doubt, treat it as in scope until confirmed by a competent person.
A Quick Summary of What is Covered by LOLER Regulations
To wrap up what is covered by LOLER regulations:
• All lifting equipment used at work
• All lifting accessories used at work
• Lifting operations (including planning and supervision)
• Equipment safety before use, during use, and after exceptional events
In practice, that means you need to:
• identify what lifting equipment you have,
• identify all lifting accessories,
• ensure they’re examined at legal intervals,
• and keep compliant written records.
How Carn Engineering Can Help
Carn Engineering supports Duty Holders across construction, FM/property management, public buildings, plant hire, manufacturing, education, healthcare, logistics, agriculture, retail, automotive, and more.
We provide:
• independent LOLER thorough examinations (UK) and ROI equivalent inspections
• clear reporting and certification
• support building or validating your lifting equipment register
• practical guidance when equipment sits in “grey areas”
• multi-discipline statutory inspection support through one trusted Engineer Surveyor
If you want certainty on what equipment is LOLER relevant to on your sites, we’ll help you map what’s in scope and keep you compliant with minimal disruption.
The Carn Engineering Advantage: One Surveyor, Multiple Compliance Duties
A key benefit of working with Carn Engineering is that our multi-disciplined Engineer Surveyors can help you stay compliant across more than LOLER alone. In many cases, the same Engineer Surveyor who inspects your lifting equipment can also inspect and advise on:
For businesses managing multiple sites or complex estates, this joined-up approach reduces disruption, avoids gaps between different inspection providers, and gives you one clear compliance trail across your critical safety systems.
You can download this report in PDF format below.
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