Don't accept half measures...

Thorough Examination is a vital safety inspection. So why do most only check half the truck. Under UK law, every Forklift Truck must have a valid Report of Thorough Examination.

What is a Thorough Examination?

Thorough Examination for Forklift Trucks is roughly the equivalent to an MOT for your car – a mandatory check to ensure that the mechanical parts of your Forklift are in safe working order.

It is not the same as regular maintenance – so you need one, whether or not you’ve just had the truck serviced.

Thorough Examination is required by law , and must take place at regular intervals that depend on the type of truck you’re running... but it will certainly be at least once a year … often more.

However, NOT all Thorough Examinations are created equal. It is crucial to ensure that your Thorough Examinations comprehensively cover both the lifting and the driving mechanisms of the truck: amazingly, not all of them do, every Forklift Truck must have a valid Report of Thorough Examination.

PUWER and LOLER regulations legally require all Forklift Trucks to have a valid Report of Thorough Examination.

Fork Lift Legislation: LOLER & PUWER?

A true Thorough Examination takes account of two different sets of Health and Safety regulations, commonly known as LOLER 98 and PUWER 98.

The formal legal requirement for Thorough Examination of Forklift Trucks is set out in the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (known as LOLER 98), regulation 9.

However, these rules only apply to the truck’s lifting mechanism – and under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (known as PUWER 98), regulation 6, an employer also has a duty to perform regular “inspections”, and ensure work equipment remains safe to use.

In practice, an examination that only covers LOLER could therefore leave the Forklift Truck’s owner liable to HSE enforcement under PUWER 98 rules.

Besides, the Health and Safety at Work act 1974 gives every employer a duty of care… and a truck that has not had its brakes, steering or structural integrity checked can hardly be said to be safe.

For further information of Thorough Examination contact:

Don’t be caught out…. Thorough Examination is law!