Government looks to simplify Lifting Regulations

The government is planning to review the rules around the use of cranes and lifting machinery, believing them to be unnecessarily onerous.

As part of its attempts to reduce the regulatory burden on UK business, the government has announced a review of older prescriptive health & safety legislation, specifically the Lifting Operations & Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) 1998 and the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000.

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) plans a consultation process to identify and remove what might be considered to be unnecessary regulatory burdens and identify potential changes to legislation to reflect technological advances and reliability of work equipment.

LOLER requires that all lifting operations involving lifting equipment must be properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised and carried out in a safe manner. Lifting equipment must be fit for purpose and subject to statutory periodic thorough examinations – with records kept and defects reported.

This review is at a very early stage and further updates will be provided when details of the consultation process has been announced.