The LEEA (Lifting Equipment Engineers Association) has
responded to the UK Government’s review of health and
safety legislation by voicing support for retaining LOLER
(Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations) in
its present form. Geoff Holden of the LEEA, explains

The LEEA believes that watering down
LOLER, or merging it with PUWER
(Provision and Use of Work
Equipment Regulations), is unlikely to reap
any significant cost savings for industry, but
could undermine standards of safety in
overhead lifting.

Commenting on the Government
initiative to reduce the burden of health and
safety legislation, Geoff Holden said: “We
recognise the potential to streamline the
overall health and safety framework in the
UK. However, the LEEA believes that
LOLER represents a sensible and flexible
approach to overhead lifting and should be
maintained.”
The LEEA has made its views known via
the consultation and review process that was
led for the Government by Professor
Löfstedt. Holden comments: “When it was
introduced in 1998, LOLER made life much
more straightforward for duty holders.

Instead of a patchwork of different rules and
regulations, it provided a single piece of
legislation that applied to all lifting
equipment and lifting operations, across
every industry. As well as being well accepted
in the UK, an increasing number of
companies operating in the developing world
have chosen to adopt LOLER as best
practice. This would tend to support the idea
that it is both a reasonable and effective basis
for safe overhead lifting.”
Holden believes that the findings of the
Löfstedt Report are encouraging. “The report
recognises the value of risk-based legislation
such as LOLER, and acknowledges that
problems are often the result of
misunderstanding or over-zealous
interpretation of the rules, rather than the
rules themselves. And while it raises the
possibility of merging LOLER and PUWER,
it confirms that it is hard to make an
economic case for doing so.”
Despite the positive findings of the
Löfstedt Report, the LEEA remains
concerned that the Government’s drive to
reduce the amount of health and safety
legislation could come at a price. Holden
concludes: “We must not forget that
overhead lifting-related accidents remain a
significant cause of deaths and serious
injuries in the workplace. In addition to the
human cost, even relatively minor incidents
can have serious economic consequences for
the businesses concerned. It is therefore vital
that key requirements of LOLER, such as the
need to have lifting equipment thoroughly
examined on a regular basis, are not watered
down. We would urge any companies or
organisations with an interest in safe lifting
to make their views on LOLER known via
their local MP.”