August 2003 Lifting Safety Standards A survey completed by the Safety Assessment Federation (SAFed) has emphasised the need for all lifting equipment to be properly thoroughly examined by a competent person. SAFed's survey was undertaken over a 3 year period, during which time over 2.5 million items of lifting equipment were thoroughly examined. All types of lifting equipment were covered in the survey from mobile cranes and suspended access platforms, to forklift trucks and motor vehicle lifting tables. Less industrial items such as lifts in office blocks also fell within the survey's remit. The results were compiled from the thorough examination reports of SAFed members companies' field force of 2,200 engineer surveyors. It revealed that an alarming 100,000 serious defects in total were discovered which, had they not been identified, could have resulted in a significant number of potentially serious incidents. All employers need to be aware of their obligations under the Lifting Operation and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER). These require operators to ensure that all items of lifting equipment are thoroughly examined by a competent person either at prescribed intervals or in accordance with an examination scheme. Richard Morgan, the Technical Director of SAFed commented. "Between them our member companies have experience of thoroughly examining all types of lifting equipment, operating in a wide variety of industries and circumstances. This wealth of specialist knowledge and expertise means that the potential failure mechanisms are well know to SAFed's members. This allows serious defects to be readily identified, and the necessary preventative steps to be taken, before the defect can manifest itself into a potentially serious incident." SAFed is able to provide the best possible guidance to those responsible for operating lifting equipment, through publication of several authoritative guideline documents. The Health and Safety Executive's latest workplace accident figures indicate that employers should be especially vigilant when it comes to ensuring that their lifting equipment is safe to use. In total 204 employees were fatally injured last year, 37 of which were struck by a moving object, making it the second most common cause of death within the workplace. These 37 fatalities mainly involved objects falling or swinging from a building or whilst being lifted. In addition a further 20,000 employees were injured by moving objects, some 4,000 of them seriously. Given the HSE's findings, it is perhaps no surprise that the SAFed survey found that year on year the highest rate of serious defect detection was amongst mobile cranes. On average, serious defects are identified in just under 10% of thorough examinations undertaken on mobile cranes, making them by far the most potentially dangerous item of lifting equipment. Although not an item of lifting equipment as defined by LOLER, escalators formed part of the SAFed survey. Data taken from inspection reports of escalators revealed that serious defects were identified in over 10% of all inspections undertaken. Ends Back to Press Release Index