I need to advise my employer on a particular issue regarding LOLER.

We have fresh water reservoirs that we pump for water usage where the pumps are submersed mid-quarry.

The pumps are attached to a float - mainly by chains. The float is fitted with a lifting eye for when we need to lift the pumps for maintenance etc which is very rare.

Question - do the pump chains to the float come under LOLER?

Inspection of the chains for LOLER (or PUWER) would require a high risk & high cost operation involving mobile crane to lift employees and examiner in a cage / boat into the quarry to attach the float to the crane to lift it in order to inspect the chains - whether six-monthly or a written scheme of examination. Either way, I'm questioning the proportionality of the introduced level risk of risk to inspect the chains against the benefit to comply with regulation.

Does anyone else have a similar issue and how do you manage it?

Thanks

I was a number of years ago involved in pump maintenance for water companies and the chains were treated as lifting accessories. We had a number of temporary pumps in similar situations and we replaced the chains with a strap/rope. The strap/rope was not used to lift the pumps but to attach the lifting chain when required.

I also know you can get submersible pump pontoons but for us this was not practicable.  

We also invested in stainless steel chains.