Lifting equipment (LOLER)
LOLER inspection software for competent persons and duty-holders.
LOLER inspection software for thorough examinations, built for competent persons and the duty-holders who keep lifting equipment in service. Hovermarks turns paper Schedule 1 reports into structured digital records, with defect severity captured on every failed item, examiner sign-off on every record, and a tamper-evident audit trail behind every record. UK lifting equipment compliance, on a tablet, on every site.
The challenges we hear most often
- Tracking a lifting equipment and lifting gear register (slings, shackles, chain blocks, eyebolts) across multiple sites
- Producing Schedule 1 reports of thorough examination that HSE will accept
- Examiner name and signature on every thorough examination, under the Schedule 1 audit trail
- Routing defects that are or could become a danger to persons into corrective work orders without losing the audit chain
What LOLER requires
Regulations 9 to 11 of LOLER 1998 in brief. The duties and intervals are the regulations' own; Hovermarks changes where the record lives and whether it is tied to the item examined, not what the law requires. The guides under Further reading go into each one.
Before first use
Regulation 9(1). Before it is first put into service, unless it is new and its declaration of conformity was made in the last 12 months.
Report of thorough examination, kept until you stop using the equipment (2 years for an accessory).
After installation or assembly
Regulation 9(2). Where safety depends on how it is installed: after installation, and after assembly at each new site.
Report, kept until you stop using it at that place.
Equipment for lifting people, and lifting accessories
Regulation 9(3)(a)(i). Thorough examination at least every 6 months, or as an examination scheme sets.
Report with the Schedule 1 particulars, kept until the next report or for 2 years, whichever is later.
All other lifting equipment
Regulation 9(3)(a)(ii). Thorough examination at least every 12 months, or as an examination scheme sets.
Report with the Schedule 1 particulars, kept until the next report or for 2 years, whichever is later.
Exceptional circumstances
Regulation 9(3)(a)(iv). Each time something happens that is liable to jeopardise its safety, such as damage or failure.
Report of thorough examination.
Inspections between examinations
Regulation 9(3)(b). At suitable intervals where appropriate, by a competent person.
Record of each inspection, kept until the next one is made.
Defects
Regulation 10. The examiner tells the employer straight away of any defect that is or could become a danger, and sends a copy to the enforcing authority where there is an existing or imminent risk of serious personal injury.
The equipment is not used until the defect is put right, or, for a defect that could become a danger, after the date the report sets.
Equipment hired in or sent out
Regulation 9(4). It must be accompanied by physical evidence of its last thorough examination.
A copy of the current report travels with it.
What Hovermarks gives you
- LOLER thorough-examination checklists covering the Schedule 1 particulars, with defect severity captured on every failed item
- Examiner name and signature captured on every thorough examination
- Every defect carries its danger classification and remedy-by date, and on Professional, automation rules raise corrective work orders from failed examinations or open defects
- Per-asset examination schedules on any cycle, including the 6-month accessory and 12-month equipment intervals, with overdue alerts and email reminders
- Bulk QR-code tagging for slings, shackles, chains, eyebolts, lifting beams, plate clamps
- Tamper-evident audit log on every signed Schedule 1 record (cryptographically chained)
- Runs in the phone browser at remote sites and installs to the home screen: an in-progress submission survives a signal drop and sends when the connection returns, signed locally, nothing to install
- AuditorPack: bundle every thorough examination in a compliance period into one PDF
Use case
How a competent person would use Hovermarks
Tag each sling, shackle, and chain block with a QR code on day one. The competent person scans, taps Start inspection, and the asset's default checklist (LOLER Schedule 1) loads on the device. Complete the thorough examination on the spot. Any defect recorded at examination carries its Schedule 1 danger classification and remedy-by date, and the report cannot declare the equipment safe to operate while a defect is classed as an existing or imminent danger. The duty-holder can set the asset out of service until it is rectified and, where appropriate, re-examined. For background on intervals, exceptional-circumstances triggers, and the competent-person definition, the LOLER thorough examination 2026 guide on the blog covers the regulatory side.
Frequently asked questions
- What does LOLER inspection software do?
- It gives every lifting machine and accessory a QR-tagged identity carrying its examination history, next-due date, and defect record. Thorough-examination checklists covering the Schedule 1 particulars load on scan, hold a submission through a signal drop at remote sites, and produce signed records with examiner name and signature, on any examination cycle including the 6-month accessory and 12-month equipment intervals.
- How much does LOLER inspection software cost?
- From £15 per user per month on Starter and £39 on Professional, 30-day free trial, no card required, no per-examination fees.
Stop chasing paperwork.
Start proving compliance.
Tag your first asset, run your first inspection, and export an auditor pack, all on your free 30-day trial. No credit card required.