Which regulation covers my equipment?

Lifting equipment and lifting accessories fall under LOLER 1998, with PUWER 1998 also applying as the general work-equipment regime. Work equipment that does not lift falls under PUWER, whose Regulation 6 inspection duty is expressly disapplied for lifting equipment. Pressure systems fall under PSSR 2000. Equipment can sit under more than one regime at once, which is why a single site often needs all three record types.

Does every regime prescribe what the report must contain?

No. LOLER Schedule 1 enumerates eleven particulars, and PSSR Regulation 9(5) specifies four things the report must state or specify. PUWER Regulation 6 prescribes no report contents at all: it requires that the result of the inspection is recorded and kept, without saying what the record must contain.

How often must equipment be inspected under PUWER?

The regulation does not say. Regulation 6(2) requires inspection at suitable intervals, and after exceptional circumstances liable to jeopardise safety. Any specific figure comes from the manufacturer's instructions or from your own risk assessment, never from the regulation itself. Treating a number as statutory when it is not is a common error and a poor position to defend.

Does a maintenance or service log satisfy PUWER Regulation 6?

Not on its own. HSE guidance is that a combined maintenance or service record does not discharge the Regulation 6 duty: the safety inspection is a distinct activity and its result must be recorded as such. A service sheet that happens to mention a safety check is not the same as a recorded inspection.

How long must inspection records be kept?

Under PUWER Regulation 6(3) the result of an inspection is kept until the next inspection under that regulation is recorded. That retention rule only works if each item carries a next-due date, because otherwise there is no way to know whether the record you hold is still the current one. LOLER retention runs by record type under Regulation 11, and PSSR retention follows the written scheme and the next examination date.

§ Statutory Resources

Which regime covers your equipment, and what you must hold.

LOLER, PUWER and PSSR are three different shapes of duty, not three versions of the same one. This is what each requires, where they overlap, and what a defensible record looks like under each.

A single site usually runs equipment under all three regimes at once. The overhead crane is lifting equipment under LOLER. The pillar drill beneath it is work equipment under PUWER. The air receiver feeding the line is a pressure system under PSSR. They carry different duties, different record contents, and different answers to the question “how often”, and the differences are not cosmetic.

Which regime covers this equipment?

Lifting equipment and lifting accessories: LOLER 1998. Cranes, hoists, MEWPs, telehandlers used to lift, slings, shackles, chains, eyebolts, lifting beams. PUWER also applies to this equipment as the general work-equipment regime, but PUWER’s Regulation 6 inspection duty is expressly disapplied for it: the LOLER thorough examination is the inspection duty here.
Work equipment that does not lift: PUWER 1998, Regulation 6. Machine tools, woodworking machinery, conveyors, ladders and access equipment, fixed plant. The duty bites where safety depends on the installation conditions, or where the equipment is exposed to conditions causing deterioration liable to result in dangerous situations.
Pressure systems: PSSR 2000. Air receivers, steam boilers, autoclaves, pressurised process plant. Everything turns on the written scheme of examination: it decides which parts are examined and at what intervals, and the report is written against it.

The three regimes side by side

	LOLER 1998	PUWER 1998 Reg 6	PSSR 2000
Report contents prescribed?	Yes. Schedule 1, eleven particulars. Ten unconditional; date of manufacture is qualified “where known”.	No. The result must be recorded; the regulation does not say what the record contains.	Yes. Regulation 9(5): four items the report must state or specify.
Interval set by the regulation?	Yes. 6 months for equipment used to lift persons and for accessories, 12 months for other lifting equipment, or in accordance with an examination scheme.	No. “Suitable intervals”, plus after exceptional circumstances. Any figure comes from manufacturer instructions or risk assessment, not the regulation.	By the written scheme of examination, which sets the intervals for the parts it covers.
Record retention	By record type under Regulation 11.	Until the next inspection under the regulation is recorded, which is why each item needs a next-due date: without one there is no way to tell whether the record you hold is still current.	Follows the scheme and the next-examination date the report specifies.
Delivery deadline	No fixed period, but not silent: “forthwith” to notify the employer of a defect which is or could become a danger to persons (Reg 10(1)(a)); “as soon as is practicable” for the written report (10(1)(b)) and for the enforcing-authority copy where there is existing or imminent risk of serious personal injury (10(1)(c)).	None specified.	Regulation 9(3): to arrive within 28 days of completion, or before the date specified under 9(5)(b), whichever is sooner.
Who carries it out	Competent person.	Competent person.	Competent person, against the written scheme.

One row rewards reading twice. All three regimes have an enforcing-authority route and only PSSR attaches a number to it: LOLER asks for the copy “as soon as is practicable” where there is existing or imminent risk of serious personal injury, PSSR Regulation 10 gives 14 days. A period expressed in words is not a looser duty than one expressed in days. “Forthwith” under LOLER 10(1)(a) is tighter than PSSR’s 28-day delivery window; the difference is that LOLER declines to put a number on it.

What you must hold, per regime

LOLER: A report of thorough examination per item carrying all eleven Schedule 1 particulars, retained per Regulation 11 by record type, plus the examination scheme where the equipment runs on one instead of the default intervals. The eleven are set out in the Schedule 1 guide.
PUWER: A recorded result of inspection per item, kept until the next one is recorded, and recorded as a safety inspection in its own right rather than folded into a maintenance or service log. Because the regulation names no interval, the interval you chose and the basis for choosing it are worth recording alongside it.
PSSR: The written scheme of examination itself, and a report of examination against it carrying the Regulation 9(5) items: the parts examined with their condition and results; any repairs or modifications necessary to prevent danger with the date by which they must be completed; the date after which the system may not be operated without further examination; and whether the competent person considers the scheme suitable or in need of modification.

Complete is not the same as competent

Every regime above draws the same line, and it is worth stating plainly because software can only stand on one side of it. A record can be complete: every particular the statute enumerates present, attributed to the person who made it, internally consistent, retained for as long as the regulation asks. Whether the examination behind it was adequate, and whether the person who carried it out was competent to do so, is a professional judgement the regulations place on the competent person and the duty holder. No tool discharges that, and no tool should be sold as though it does.

Frequently asked questions

Which regulation covers my equipment?: Lifting equipment and lifting accessories fall under LOLER 1998, with PUWER 1998 also applying as the general work-equipment regime. Work equipment that does not lift falls under PUWER, whose Regulation 6 inspection duty is expressly disapplied for lifting equipment. Pressure systems fall under PSSR 2000. Equipment can sit under more than one regime at once, which is why a single site often needs all three record types.
Does every regime prescribe what the report must contain?: No. LOLER Schedule 1 enumerates eleven particulars, and PSSR Regulation 9(5) specifies four things the report must state or specify. PUWER Regulation 6 prescribes no report contents at all: it requires that the result of the inspection is recorded and kept, without saying what the record must contain.
How often must equipment be inspected under PUWER?: The regulation does not say. Regulation 6(2) requires inspection at suitable intervals, and after exceptional circumstances liable to jeopardise safety. Any specific figure comes from the manufacturer's instructions or from your own risk assessment, never from the regulation itself. Treating a number as statutory when it is not is a common error and a poor position to defend.
Does a maintenance or service log satisfy PUWER Regulation 6?: Not on its own. HSE guidance is that a combined maintenance or service record does not discharge the Regulation 6 duty: the safety inspection is a distinct activity and its result must be recorded as such. A service sheet that happens to mention a safety check is not the same as a recorded inspection.
How long must inspection records be kept?: Under PUWER Regulation 6(3) the result of an inspection is kept until the next inspection under that regulation is recorded. That retention rule only works if each item carries a next-due date, because otherwise there is no way to know whether the record you hold is still the current one. LOLER retention runs by record type under Regulation 11, and PSSR retention follows the written scheme and the next examination date.

In this guide: the eleven Schedule 1 particulars. Product: how the report validator behaves.

§ 99 Action

Stop chasing paperwork.
Start proving compliance.

Tag your first asset, run your first inspection, and pull a signed evidence pack, all on your free 14-day trial. No credit card required.

Start free trial →Talk to sales

Need EU ESPR readiness for textile products? See Filovera →

FORM HVK-CTA-01 · v05 · signed: hovermarks · uk