Who Can Carry Out LOLER Inspections? Choosing the Right Person
- Nexus Examination
- Jun 23
- 3 min read
Updated: 7 days ago
A lot of businesses assume their service engineer can sign off a LOLER inspection, or that they can do it in-house to save a few quid. Sometimes that is fine, and sometimes it lands them in trouble. The law is specific about who is allowed to carry out the examination. Here is exactly who can do it, what the rules actually require, and the catch most people miss.
Who Can Carry Out LOLER Inspections?
LOLER inspections must be carried out by a competent person. That means someone with enough practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of the specific lifting equipment to spot defects and judge how serious they are. They also need to be independent enough to make an honest call, which usually rules out the person who maintains the kit.
It is not a job for just anyone with a clipboard. We carry out LOLER examinations across Berkshire and the surrounding counties, and the competence and independence of the examiner is the part businesses understand least.
What Does "Competent Person" Mean?
A competent person is someone with the right mix of practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of the lifting equipment in question. The HSE does not set a fixed qualification, but the person must be able to detect defects or weaknesses and assess how much they matter for safe use.
The key word is specific. Experience with one type of equipment does not automatically transfer to another. The HSE's LOLER guidance makes clear the competent person needs genuine knowledge of the kit they are examining, not a general engineering background.
Can You Carry Out Your Own LOLER Inspections?
In theory, if you genuinely have a competent person on staff, yes. In practice, it is rarely that simple.
The HSE is clear that the competent person should be sufficiently independent and impartial to make an objective decision. That usually rules out the person who maintains or repairs the equipment, because they would effectively be checking their own work.
This is also why a pre-use check by your operator is not a LOLER inspection. The daily walk-around is your team's responsibility and it matters, but it does not replace a thorough examination by a competent person. The two sit side by side.
Why Independence Matters
If the person examining the equipment is also the one who serviced it, there is a built-in conflict. Nobody likes flagging a fault they created or missed, and that pressure is exactly what the independence rule is designed to remove.
An independent competent person has no reason to overlook anything. Whether it is a vehicle lift inspection in a busy workshop or an excavator inspection out on a site, the examiner needs real experience of that exact equipment and the freedom to fail it if it needs failing.
In our experience, the cleanest setup for most businesses is an independent examiner who does nothing but examinations. There is no awkwardness, no conflict, and a report you can stand behind.
What to Look for in a LOLER Inspection Provider
If you are choosing someone to carry out your examinations, these are the things worth checking:
Demonstrable knowledge and experience of your specific equipment type
Independence from whoever maintains or repairs the kit
Proper insurance and recognised professional standing
Clear, written reports you can show an inspector or insurer
Sensible coverage of your area, so call-outs are quick and reliable
A track record across the range of equipment you actually run
Get those right and the examination becomes straightforward. Get them wrong and you can end up with a report that does not hold up when it matters.
The Bottom Line on Who Can Inspect
The short answer is a competent, independent person with real experience of your equipment. Whether that is someone in-house or an external examiner depends on your business, but the independence requirement pushes most companies towards an outside specialist.
What you cannot do is treat it as a formality and have whoever is nearest tick it off. The whole point of the examination is an honest, expert judgement on whether your equipment is safe, and that only works if the person making the call is genuinely qualified to make it.
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