OB/14/05b

University of Salford Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Code of Practice V1.0
Status and reason for development
Status: New document.
Reason for
development:
This document details the arrangements for ensuring lifting operations and lifting equipment are compliant with LOLER legislation and are safe to use.
Revision History
Date Date
1/5/14
Author
Dave Lamb
Summary of changes
Document developed
Version No.
V1.0
Code of Practice Management and Responsibilities
Owner: Associate Director of Health, Safety & Wellbeing
Author:
Others with responsibilities
(please specify):
The owner has delegated responsibility for day to day management of the
Code to the Safety/Fire Safety Officer
All subjects of the Code will be responsible for engaging with and adhering to this policy.
Assessment
Equality Analysis
Legal
Information Governance
Academic Governance
Cross relevant assessments x
Consultation
Staff Trades Unions via H&S Committee
Students via USSU
Any relevant external bodies
(please specify) …………………………………..
Cross if not applicable x x x
Cross relevant consultations
Authorised by: Associate Director of Health, Safety & Wellbeing
Date authorised:
Effective from:
1 May 2014
1 May 2014
Review due:
Document location:
2 years from date authorised www.salford.ac.uk/hr www.salford.ac.uk/university/governance/policies-and-procedures
Document dissemination and communications plan
The Safety/Fire Safety Officer will circulate to the Health and Safety Coordinators for the Colleges and Professional
Services to enable promotion throughout their area of responsibility.
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University of Salford Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Code of Practice V1.0
1.0
Purpose
To ensure compliance with the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER)
2.0
Scope
This CoP applies to all staff responsible for the safe use, management and maintenance of equipment regulated by
LOLER.
3.0
Code of Practice Statements
The regulations deal with the two aspects of lifting; the equipment used and the operation itself. This CoP outlines what the University expects its staff to do to comply with the legislation.
Definitions
Lifting operation – ‘an operation concerned with the lifting or lowering of a load'. A 'load' is the item or items being lifted, which includes a person or people’.
[1]
Lifting equipment - ' work equipment for lifting and lowering loads. This includes lifting accessories and attachments used for anchoring, fixing or supporting the equipment’.
[2]
Competent Person - is someone who ‘has such appropriate practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of the lifting equipment to be thoroughly examined as will enable them to detect defects or weaknesses and to assess
their importance in relation to the safety and continued use of the lifting equipment’ [3]
Thorough Examination – ‘... is a systematic and detailed examination of the equipment and safety-critical parts,
carried out at specified intervals by a competent person’ [4]
Training
Any staff wishing to work with lifting equipment including work positioning equipment must be adequately trained.
Your Safety Coordinator can provide information on what is deemed adequate.
LIFTING OPERATIONS
It is important to properly plan lifting operations and allocate adequate resources. The potential consequences from a lifting operation going wrong could be serious so every lifting operation must be subject to a risk assessment. As required by LOLER, the more complex the lifting operation the more planning is required.
For routine lifting activities (such as fork lift trucks working in the same area carrying similar loads) this could be done in an initial general risk assessment and Safe System of Work (SSW). Routine but more complex lifting operations may need an individual lifting plan to be created for each lift.
For activities which do not fall within this description then the College Safety Coordinator or Estates Safety Officer should be consulted. It may be the case that appointing a specialist contractor is more appropriate for complex or higher risk lifting operations.
EQUIPMENT
Purchasing Equipment
When purchasing lifting equipment, the purchaser must ensure that it is fit for purpose and will be suitable for the task. Equipment should be capable of lifting the loads planned with a suitable safety margin. For lifting equipment used for lifting persons this safety margin is often greater.
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University of Salford Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Code of Practice V1.0
To ensure compliance with LOLER the University only uses and purchases lifting equipment which is supplied with a
CE mark.
Hiring equipment
If hired equipment is to be used then this should be CE marked and come with the relevant records of inspection. A thorough inspection (see below) of hired equipment should be made if it will be used to support people at any point and a visual examination carried out and recorded of all other equipment prior to use.
Examination and record keeping
LOLER requires the examination of equipment at certain times throughout its life. It is the responsibility of the purchaser of lifting equipment to ensure that the lifting equipment and necessary details are added to the corporate inspection register of lifting equipment. Further information regarding this is available from your Health and Safety Coordinator. The University’s competent inspector is Allianz and reports from these examinations are circulated via Estates.
The person conducting the examination must provide a written report detailing;
 the date of examination
 when the next thorough examination is due
 any defects found which are (or could potentially become) a danger to people
Although not a requirement of LOLER the University requires that equipment is also clearly identifiable and this should be shown on the report as well.
The thorough examination should include checks of all parts of the equipment which if worn or damaged could affect the safety of it. It is the ‘competent person’ who makes the decision of what this includes.
Thorough examinations should typically be carried out as follows;
6 monthly for lifting equipment and any associated accessories used to lift people
6 monthly for all lifting accessories
12 monthly for all other lifting equipment
As well as thorough examinations regular checks of the condition and safety of lifting equipment should be conducted. The general schedule of checks can be summarised as follows;
Before use for the first time - unless the equipment has an EC Declaration of Conformity less than one year old and the equipment was not assembled on site. If it was assembled on site, it must be examined by a competent person to ensure that the assembly (eg a platform lift installed in a building) was completed correctly and safely.
After assembly and before use at each location - for equipment that requires assembly or installation before use.
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University of Salford Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Code of Practice V1.0
Regularly, while in service - This will depend on the nature of the environment in which the work is carried out but should be often enough to capture excessive wear or damage which may be caused by extremes of use or environment.
Following exceptional circumstances, which may include:
 damage or failure,
 being out of use for long periods,
 major changes, which are likely to affect the equipment's integrity (eg modifications, or replacement / repair of critical parts).
Daily check before use - A visual inspection of the equipment should be made before each use to ensure no damage has occurred.
Defective equipment
Any defective equipment whether identified by visual or thorough examinations should be quarantined and/or clearly marked as defective until either repair or disposal is possible. Defective equipment must not be used under any circumstances (even for unrelated non-lifting tasks) to ensure it does not be inadvertently used for lifting operations.
Defects and the date of disposal should be recorded on the equipment’s inspection record.
4.0
Code of Practice Monitoring and Performance
The Head of School, College Registrar or Director of Professional Service is responsible for the implementation of this CoP. Monitoring of compliance will be through regular workplace inspections and these will form part of the health and safety management systems audit.
5.0
Related Documentation
Provision and Use of Work Equipment (PUWER) code of Practice www.salford.ac.uk/hr
Working at Height Code of Practice www.salford.ac.uk/hr
6.0
Training and Support
Training should be identified as part of planning the work and through the risk assessment. Training needs can be recorded on the individuals PDR.
7.0
Appendices
N/A
References
[1] http://www.hse.gov.uk/work-equipment-machinery/loler.htm
(9/4/14)
[2] http://www.hse.gov.uk/work-equipment-machinery/loler.htm
(9/4/14)
[3] http://www.hse.gov.uk/work-equipment-machinery/thorough-examinations-lifting-equipment.htm
(9/4/14)
[4] http://www.hse.gov.uk/work-equipment-machinery/thorough-examinations-lifting-equipment.htm
(9/4/14)
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