Beware: not every Examination is truly "Thorough". CFTS is a national standard guaranteed to fulfil your obligations under LOLER 98 and PUWER 98.

 

CLICK HERE to book your test.

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Thorough Examination for fork lift trucks/telehandler's is roughly equivalent to the MOT for cars – a mandatory check to ensure that the mechanical parts of your fork lift/telehandler 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.

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Here is how the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) defines Thorough Examination:

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"Thorough examination of industrial lift trucks is required under health and safety law: LOLER 1998, which covers lifting equipment, and PUWER 1998, which deals with all other safety-related items, such as brakes, steering and tyres. Your regular inspections as part of a preventive maintenance scheme or scheduled service are not a thorough examination."

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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

For peace of mind, it makes sense to get your Thorough Examination from a CFTS-accredited Competent Person. The CFTS seal is your guarantee that your truck will actually be examined carefully, and that key components such as brakes and steering will be checked along with the lifting mechanism.

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Our CFTS Inspections aim to ensure that your lifting equipment complies with all PUWER and LOLER HSE standards, which have been mandatory since 1998

You will receive a comprehensive report detailing any preventative measures that could be carried out to reduce not only the risk of serious injury, but also potentially costly repairs.

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If the HSE is notified of any accident on the farm they will check to see what certificates are in place regardless, even if the loader/handler was not involved. It is becoming more common that farmers are being asked to produce a valid inspection certificate by the HSE even when the visit doesn’t relate to the equipment.

Unwise risk taking is an underlying problem within the agricultural industry and it can have devastating effects for those involved and their families.

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However much experience you have had with lifting equipment, accidents can still happen, especially those involving machinery failures.

A thorough examination of your lifting machinery needs to be carried out every 12months, but please note any item of machinery that lifts people, such as a man platform attachment, should be inspected every 6 months along with the machine it is used on.

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Our inspections are carried out by an engineer with experience in agriculture and construction plant. He is a qualified CFTS examiner and will provide an unbiased and detailed report.
We work with you to comply with legislation.

 

If you are an employer or self-employed person providing lifting equipment for use at work, or you have control of the use of lifting equipment, then the Regulations WILL apply to you.

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The formal legal requirement for Thorough Examination of fork lift trucks/telehandlers 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 fork lift 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.

Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, regulation 9, states:

Every employer shall ensure that lifting equipment which is exposed to conditions causing deterioration which is liable to result in dangerous situations is—

(a) thoroughly examined—
(i) in the case of lifting equipment for lifting persons or an accessory for lifting, at least every 6 months;
(ii) in the case of other lifting equipment, at least every 12 months; or
(iii) in either case, in accordance with an examination scheme; and
(iv) each time that exceptional circumstances which are liable to jeopardise the safety of the lifting equipment have occurred; and
 

(b) if appropriate for the purpose, is inspected by a competent person at suitable intervals between thorough examinations,
to ensure that health and safety conditions are maintained and that any deterioration can be detected and remedied in good time.
 

Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, regulation 6, states:

Every employer shall ensure that work equipment exposed to conditions causing deterioration which is liable to result in dangerous situations is inspected—

(a)at suitable intervals; and
(b)each time that exceptional circumstances which are liable to jeopardise the safety of the work equipment have occurred,
to ensure that health and safety conditions are maintained and that any deterioration can be detected and remedied in good time.

 

Every employer shall ensure that the result of an inspection made under this regulation is recorded and kept until the next inspection under this regulation is recorded.

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