Safety of lifting plant: thorough examination reports and planned preventative maintenance

22 January 2026

​​Lifting equipment is required to have a thorough examination and test by a competent engineer either: 

• ​at least every 12 months
• every 6 months where plant is used to lift people, or for lifting accessories such as chains, ropes, fork-mounted jibs
  
• every 3 months for rope slings

Commonly, where thorough examinations are scheduled by dutyholders’ insurers, this is undertaken every 6 months for plant or qualifying accessories and the shorter timeframe for rope slings where they are still used.

Under Regulation 5(3)(b) of the Safeguarding of Workers (Cranes and Lifting Appliances) (Jersey) Regulations 1978 the Health and Safety Inspectorate (HSI) receives copies of thorough examination reports directly from test engineers where Category A defects, that is those that pose an immediate risk to the safety of users or others, are identified.  

Following an increase in reports containing Category A defects, dutyholders owning or operating lifting equipment and accessories have recently been contacted by HSI inspectors to provide copies of reports covering the previous one to two years to ascertain why these dangerous defects have arisen.

HSI’s analysis has found is that in all cases defects of a Category C or B type, that is defects that indicate maintenance issues which do not pose an immediate risk to safety, have been allowed to deteriorate to the point where lifting equipment is at a point of failing.  

This indicates that those dutyholders’ systems of planned preventative maintenance of their lifting equipment are inadequate. 

Both thorough examinations and systems of planned preventative maintenance are required in the overall system of risk management for lifting equipment and accessories. The former is both a lagging indicator of contemporary problems and an indicator of future failures. Therefore, it is vital that dutyholders heed the details of thorough examination reports and incorporate findings into their systems of planned preventative maintenance to prevent equipment and accessories failing. 

It is unacceptable to allow lifting equipment to fall into a dangerous condition, particularly where this is due to a failure to heed prior warnings. 

Further gu​​id​​​ance  

Cranes and Lifting Appliances Regulations​

Chains, Ropes and Lifting Gear Regulations

 Plant and equipment: reports of thorough examination which identify serious defects 

Working Safely with Machinery (ACoP 10)

​Maintenance of work equipment on Health and Safety Executive (HSE)​