Following the release of the fourth edition of The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) in 2014, concerns were raised in the industry about the interpretation of paragraph 28(c) and whether this meant that uual pallet trucks would now fall under the provisions of LOLER.
We examine the background to the question posed by many, the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) stance on the issue of whether manual trucks are now covered by LOLER and what practical steps those responsible for the safety of work equipment should take following the HSE’s clarification.
The original Fourth Edition of the Safe Use of Lifting Equipment ACOP (L113) stated:
This understandably led to many questioning whether hand pallet trucks (also known as manual pallet trucks) would now fall under the scope of LOLER or continue to be subject to the provisions of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER).28 The following examples illustrate the type of equipment which can raise or lower loads and the broad range of lifting operations, which should be assessed for the application of LOLER. These are examples and the Regulations may be relevant to other equipment used for similar activities or where the equipment listed is used for different lifting operations:
(c) hand pallet trucks, specifically those that have the ability to raise the forks;
The HSE have therefore sort to clarify the issues when considering …”which should be assessed for the application of LOLER” under paragraph 28.
Dutyholders are advised to bear in mind the decision tree provided at Figure 1 of ACoP guidance (found on page 12) and specifically whether the main purpose of the equipment is to lift and lower a load.
When considering hand pallets, the main purpose is to transport pallets around workplaces. Whilst this does involve lifting and lowering a load, the HSE believe that it is not to such a degree that they would be subject to LOLER.
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However, models now exist that enables loads to be lifted above the traditional height limit of 200mm. The HSE have clarified that it is the increasing prevalence of the use of such hand pallets that led to the change of the ACoP.
However, the HSE have changed their stance so that hand pallets lifting to heights of 300mm or less now remain under PUWER, whilst those lifting above that height would be considered under LOLER.
In any event, the HSE has confirmed that it is always for the duty holder and competent person to carry out a risk assessment of work equipment to determine whether it should be examined in accordance with LOLER or PUWER.
When assessing such risks, we would reiterate that an arbitrary cut off of 200mm should not be used. Instead, organisations should always consider how and where the equipment is to be used, by whom and the nature of the loads. For example, poor ground conditions or a hand pallet carrying a load consisting of chemicals will of course present a much higher risk.
In situations where the level of risk is higher, we believe that it is always best to err on the side of caution and treat the pallet as falling under the more stringent examination provisions of LOLER.
If you have any questions concerning the examination inspection and testing requirements of pallet trucks or any other work equipment, get in touch with one of our experts who can offer you specialist advice?
In the meantime, you can find out more about your examination and inspection duties in The Complete LOLER Regulations Manual:
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