School Lifting Equipment Thorough-Examination Competence Procedure

Use this procedure whenever the school arranges or commissions a LOLER thorough examination of lifting equipment or accessories, whether the examiner is an employee or an external organisation.

1. Define the examination scope

Identify the lifting equipment or accessories to be thoroughly examined and describe the equipment and examination scope to the proposed examiner. The examiner must have appropriate practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of the lifting equipment to be examined.

2. Assess competence

Before appointing or commissioning the examiner, assess whether their practical and theoretical knowledge and experience are appropriate for the equipment within the defined scope. The assessment should establish that the examiner can detect defects or weaknesses and assess their importance in relation to the safety and continued use of the lifting equipment.

Record the examiner's relevant qualifications, experience or other competence information, together with the equipment and examination scope covered by that competence.

3. Confirm independence and impartiality

Confirm that the proposed examiner is sufficiently independent and impartial to carry out the examination without fear or favour. An examiner may be employed by another organisation, but an external organisation is not required if the independence and impartiality arrangements are sufficient.

4. Prevent self-assessment of routine maintenance

Before the examination is arranged, establish who undertakes routine maintenance of the same equipment. Do not appoint or commission that person to carry out the thorough examination of that equipment, because the examiner should not be responsible for assessing their own routine maintenance work.

5. Appoint or commission the examiner

Appoint or commission the proposed examiner only after the equipment scope, competence, independence and impartiality have been considered and the conflict with routine maintenance has been excluded. State the agreed examination scope as [examination scope].

6. Reassess when circumstances change

Repeat the competence, independence and impartiality checks before arranging a further examination if the equipment, examination scope, examiner or routine maintenance arrangements change.