Hi,

The side shift is either manufactured as part of the FLT or fitted as an accessory, although it is not normally desgined to be easily moved from machine to machine.  As such it should be thoroughly examined every 12 months unless the FLT is used to lift people (in a man cage) when it is 6 months. INDG422 gives the following:

How often must lifting equipment and accessories be thoroughly examined?

■ before using it for the first time – unless the equipment has an EC Declaration of Conformity less than one year old and was not assembled on site. If it was assembled on site, it must be examined by a competent person to establish the assembly was correct and safe, eg a platform lift installed in a building;

■ after assembly and before use at each location for equipment that requires assembly or installation before use, eg tower cranes;

■ regularly in service if the equipment is exposed to conditions causing deterioration that is likely to result in dangerous situations. If this applies to your equipment you have a choice (see Table 2). You can arrange for the thorough examination to be carried out: -at regular intervals (either at least every 6 months or 12 months depending on

whether the lifting equipment is for lifting people or not); or -in accordance with an examination scheme drawn up by a competent person.

Accessories for lifting must be thoroughly examined either at least every 6 months or in accordance with an examination scheme. Type of equipment

6 months

12 months

Examination scheme

Accessory for lifting

✓

✓

Equipment used to lift people

✓

✓

All other lifting equipment

✓

✓

Edited by user 18 October 2017 08:43:02(UTC)  | Reason: spelling

Originally Posted by: BrianKane

Thanks, the sentence that says it is ....  "or -in accordance with an examination scheme drawn up by a competent person". Which probably means the supplier.

No, it will be drawn up by the engineer who does the thorough examination and inspection, not necessarily the supplier. Ours are done by an insurance company, but we do not have that type of FLT.  I would have thought others on here have come across these before, perhaps not.

I agree, I do not see why would side shift be classed as an attachment since this is a feature from the manufacturing stage. This would not be a reasonable justification for 6-monthly thorough examination. I think it is worth having a look at the ACOP for LOLER, Guidance 9 for this.

Secondly, it is worth assessing if the competent person used in your situation can really be considered independent?