Inspections
Identifying types of plant can often be difficult, so we have put together an extract from the Regulations to assist in the identification of plant and equipment covered under the legislation and periodicity of inspection.
Guide to the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007; Chapter 2 of Part 2: Use of Work Equipment
Regulation 52: Examination and testing of lifting equipment.
Regulation 52 specifies equipment which has a lifting function and must have thorough examinations carried out by a competent person at specified intervals per 12 monthly period include in the pre-described format;
- Passenger Lifts / Goods lifts / Dumbwaiters / Service Lifts / Scissors Lifts
- Disabled Access Lifts / Stair lifts / Patient Hoists
- Window Cleaning and Building Maintenance Equipment
- Teleporters / Excavators / Front Loaders including interchangeable accessories
- Fork lift truck including interchangeable accessories / Pallet Trucks
- MEWPS / Cherry Pickers
- Lifting accessories including chains, ropes, rings, hooks, shackles, clamps, swivels, spreader beams and spreader frames, vacuum lifting
- Lifting Appliances / Separate Lifting Accessories
- Tail Lifts / Lorry Mounted Cranes / Manual Cranes / Mobile Cranes
- 2 Post Motor Vehicle Lifting Tables / 4 Post Motor Vehicle Lifting Tables
Regulation 30: Inspection of work equipment
There are certain items that have a lifting function and are subject to Regulation 30 but not covered by Regulation 52. These items must have periodic inspections and include;
Dock Levellers
Escalators / Travalators / Passenger Conveyors
Bottle jack
Pallet truck / Fixed machinery for raising - lowering pallets
Tractor hitch
Height adjusting components of machine tools
Vehicle wheelchair hoist
Lifting equipment designed to lift wheelie bins / bottle bins of volume less than 360 litres
Platform lifts for level changes of 1.2 m or less
Regulation 53: Reports by competent persons.
Regulation 53 sets out a range of duties for the competent persons who conduct statutory examinations of lifting equipment. The competent person has to be in a position to be objective and exercise independent judgement. A copy of their report must be sent to the Health and Safety Authority within a specified period where immediate cessation of work has been advised. Work should cease if there are defects in safety related instrumentation or if the defect poses an immediate threat to the stability or strength of the equipment or its ability to control a load.
Such examinations are separate from maintenance examinations.