Carrying out Thorough Examination and Testing of Lifting and Pressure Equipment during the coronavirus outbreak

The HSE has produced guidance to help industry during this period which can be found here and includes:

  • Maintaining thorough examination and testing schemes
  • HSE’s enforcement approach during the period of the outbreak

The law for Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) and Pressure Systems Safety Regulations (PSSR) remain in place and businesses must continue to ensure that equipment is safe to use.

If duty holders, having worked with their inspection body, are unable to arrange a periodic inspection within the specified time period, they must take competent advice (e.g. from their inspection body) and apply a robust, risk based approach to decision-making about the continued operation of plant and machinery outside of the statutory regime, ensuring that the decision making process is documented.

Considerations may include:

  • Assessing which plant and equipment require statutory inspections and examinations and when these are due.
  • Make an assessment to determine if any plant or equipment is essential for safety or operation of the premises – if plant or equipment is not required, it could be taken out of use.
  • Liaise with the relevant contractors who carry out statutory inspections and examinations to deter­mine what level of service they can provide (for hospitals, care homes or infrastructure essential to the running of the country, it would be prudent to draw your contractors attention to this).
  • Review with the relevant Competent Person whether lifting equipment can be examined against a written scheme of examination to allow more leeway than the normal six- or 12-month frequency.
  • Have the relevant Competent Person review the written scheme of examination for pressure vessels to see if any scheduled examinations can be extended.
  • Inform your insurance company of statutory inspections and examinations or maintenance and testing of plant and equipment, which will not be undertaken.
  • Carry out pre-use inspections of plant and equipment.
  • Carry out visual inspections of portable appliances.