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A LOLER inspection is booked. The date is in the diary. But when was the last time someone actually went through the kit bag, checked the paperwork, or pulled out anything that looked questionable? For plenty of teams, preparation only starts the night before. That’s when problems get found at the worst possible moment.
Getting ready properly takes less time than most people think. Done well, it means the inspection runs smoothly, your records hold up to scrutiny, and your whole team starts the next job with complete confidence in the equipment they’re clipping into.
The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER, as it’s commonly known) place legal duties on anyone who owns, operates, or has control over lifting equipment. In arboriculture, that covers a wide range of kit: harnesses, karabiners, lanyards, strops, rigging ropes, pulleys, and any accessory used to support or suspend a load. Since a person counts as a load under the regulations, virtually every piece of equipment a climber uses on site falls within scope.
LOLER, as applied to arboriculture by the HSE, requires that all lifting operations are properly planned, that equipment is used safely, and that it undergoes thorough examination at suitable intervals by a competent person. A thorough examination is a formal, structured process. It’s distinct from a daily pre-use check, and it has to be recorded and reported by a qualified examiner.
Before you start gathering kit, it’s worth being clear on what needs inspecting and how often.
Climbing equipment – such as harnesses, helmets used in a lifting context, karabiners, lanyards, tool strops, and associated accessories – must be thoroughly examined every six months.
Rigging equipment follows a longer cycle: every twelve months, unless it’s been involved in exceptional circumstances. Any equipment that has been subjected to overloading, used in a rescue operation, or involved in an incident should be put forward for examination regardless of where it sits in the regular cycle.
If you’re unsure whether a piece of kit falls within scope, the general rule is straightforward: if it’s used to lift or lower a person or a load, LOLER applies.
This is where a lot of teams get caught out. A thorough examination is only as useful as the paper trail that goes with it. Before your inspection date, make sure you have:
If you can’t locate records for a piece of kit, set it aside and raise it with the examiner. Don’t present equipment as having a clean history when the paperwork doesn’t back it up.
Examiners assess equipment in the condition it arrives. Sending kit in caked with mud, bark, and sap doesn’t just make the examiner’s job harder: it can genuinely obscure defects that would otherwise be spotted and resolved.
Clean your equipment thoroughly before the inspection. Pay particular attention to the load-bearing components: harness webbing, rope cores, karabiner gates, and connector threads. Look for visible damage as you go: cuts, abrasion, heat damage, deformation, or anything that’s been modified from its original manufactured state. If you spot something that concerns you during cleaning, quarantine it immediately rather than adding it to the inspection pile.
Equipment should also be dry. Presenting wet or damp rope and textile components makes thorough examination more difficult and is simply avoidable with a little forward planning.
Under LOLER, all lifting equipment must be clearly marked to indicate its safe working load (SWL). Every item going into an inspection must have a unique, legible identifier so it can be matched to its record, tagged after examination, and tracked going forward.
Before your inspection, check that:
If identifiers have worn away or been damaged, speak to your examiner before the inspection so you can agree a consistent approach to re-marking.
Not everything should go forward for examination. Before the inspection, remove and set aside:
These items need to be managed separately. They shouldn’t be mixed with equipment you’re presenting as serviceable.
When an examiner identifies a defect, the equipment must come out of service immediately. This isn’t a recommendation; it’s a legal requirement. Defective equipment must not be used before the defect is rectified, and any rectification must happen within the timeframe set out in the examiner’s report.
In practice, this means having a clear quarantine process before inspection day. Failed items should be physically separated from serviceable kit, clearly labelled as out of use, and logged. Whether they go for repair, back to the manufacturer, or are retired from service altogether, the decision needs to be documented and the records updated.
A common mistake is allowing failed items to drift back into circulation because they “look fine” once the tag comes off. If equipment has failed a thorough examination, it stays out of use until a competent person has cleared it in writing.
An inspection is a point-in-time assessment. What keeps people safe between inspections is everything that happens on the ground every single day.
That means daily pre-use checks carried out by competent users before any climbing operation. It means equipment defects being reported promptly rather than quietly put back in the van. It means operators who understand not just how to use their kit, but how to recognise when something isn’t right.
For teams looking to strengthen that competence, arboriculture training plays a significant role. Operators who understand their equipment – how it works, what it’s designed to tolerate, and what warning signs to look for – are better placed to catch problems before an examiner does. That’s the point where LOLER compliance stops being a compliance exercise and starts being a genuine safety asset.
You can find out where our chainsaw courses are available to see whether we operate near you.
The regulations are clear: a thorough examination must be carried out by a competent person. That means someone with the appropriate practical and theoretical knowledge of arboricultural lifting equipment, not just a general health and safety professional or someone with a passing familiarity with the kit.
A good examiner will examine each item methodically, record their findings against the unique identifier, issue a clear pass or fail for each piece of equipment, and produce a formal report that you can retain as part of your compliance documentation. That report is your evidence. If your records are ever scrutinised (e.g., following an incident, during a procurement audit, or as part of a principal contractor’s supply chain checks) that documentation is what demonstrates your compliance.
Our LOLER inspections are carried out by qualified examiners with hands-on arboricultural experience. We inspect climbing kit and rigging equipment at our Preston base, or we can travel to you – whichever works best for your team.
Whether you’re due a routine thorough examination or need to get a backlog of kit assessed, we’re here to help. Great Oaks works with arboricultural teams across Lancashire and the North West, and we understand the equipment, the environment, and the standards that apply.
Take a look at our services or get in touch directly to book your inspection and keep your team working safely and compliantly.
07884 274693
office@greatoakstreeservices.co.uk
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Climbing, grounds maintenance and utility work.Climbing, grounds and utility work.
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Starts Monday 19 October 2026
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Entry requirements: Ground Based Chainsaw Operator and Tree Climbing and Aerial Rescue
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