Aisle-Master Articulated Forklift

LOLER certificate

If you operate a fork lift truck or telehandler, you have a legal obligation to ensure that it holds a valid Report of Thorough Examination. This is akin to an MOT certificate and applies whether you own, lease or hire the truck. Failing to comply could lead to prosecution, invalidation of your insurance or, worst of all, a serious accident due to faulty equipment.

The responsibility for obtaining this Report of Thorough Examination lies with you, the user of the truck (whether you own, lease or hire). The only exception may be for a truck operating under a short-term hire of less than a year, in which case the hiring company should provide you with a copy of the current report of Thorough Examination.

You must be able to produce a Report of Thorough Examination when required to do so by an HSE enforcement officer to comply with the following legislation.

LOLER 98 (Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998) - covers the lifting components.

PUWER 98 (Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 - deals with all the other safety related items, such as brakes, steering and tyres.

Companies accredited by CFTS are obliged under their stringent procedural code of practice to provide:

• Report of Thorough Examination complying fully with LOLER 98
• Checklist specifying what has been checked and recording any comments made
• Certificate to keep with the truck’s documents
• Sticker, affixed to the truck, to show the month and year when the next Thorough Examination will be due

Is your lift truck up to the mark?

For peace of mind, insist on seeing the distinctive CFTS certification mark on documents and trucks themselves…

It’s your guarantee that the truck – and the examiner – are up to scratch.

Only companies that are officially accredited to CFTS are allowed to use the distinctive “Kitemark” on literature, certification and reports – and to place the famous CFTS stickers on the trucks they inspect.

You can rest assured that any Report of Thorough Examination bearing the official CFTS mark has been carried out by an experienced, accredited examiner in accordance with stringent standards and quality procedures.

Likewise, the CFTS sticker on a forklift truck shows that it has received a genuinely Thorough Examination, satisfying both LOLER 98 and PUWER 98 regulations.

Without this mark, a truck, company or examiner may or may not meet safe, legal standards – crucially, there’s no way to tell.

And with hundreds of CFTS accredited companies from Inverness to Cornwall and Great Yarmouth to Pembrokeshire – not to mention Donegal to Waterford – there’s really no reason to take that risk.