Posted By jimmy andrews I understand that all lifting equipment needs to be inspectected on a regulatory basis but am unclear on this regarding FLT's and their chains, again I know they must be done pending usage and the relevant timescales but do they need to be " Certificated independantly " This has arisen as we have a FLT company on our site (Food Manufacturer)and they carry out their normal inspection regime, we also have an independant body that comes on site twice every year "Certificates" each individual FLT. Am I duplicating or does this have to be done and Certified independantly. We have some 115 FLT's on site.

Posted By Innes Gray What tend to happen is that your insurance company will send in some one to check the lifting gear. At one time 10 years back the only part that was mandatory was the lift chain (came under the dock Act) they still tend to send in inspector to check your truck Now what is required is a Through inspection As a worker in the fork lift Ind. I look at the Statuary inspection a like a mot exam done at 6 month not yearly as on car HSE in my area will not take a service report as a 6 monthly statuary exam what the want is a report headed Though Exam Those who were aware of the existence of Thorough Examination gave different but plausible answers for how often it should be carried out: every 12 months, 6 months or more frequently – each of which may have been true for their particular trucks. A few noted, correctly, that the legally required frequency depended on the truck and its use. Only 13% knew that a truck needed its first Thorough Examination by the age of 12 months. More worrying was the widespread – and erroneous – belief that Thorough Examination was a normal part of routine maintenance. Just 13% of those interviewed knew that it was not normally covered within those processes. In the case of long-term hire, a disappointingly low proportion (31%) knew it was the operating company – rather than the company supplying the truck – that was responsible for Thorough Examination. When it came to short-term hire, there was further cause for concern. Amazingly, only 3% of the sample volunteered the correct answer that both the operating company and the hire company had a responsibility for ensuring that the truck had a current Report of Thorough Examination. A further 20% saw it as the operating company’s responsibility alone. That left 77% unaware that the operator was in any way responsible. As the FLTA points out, it is in fact the employer of the driver/operator who has ultimate responsibility for his or her safety at work. Finally, when asked if they were sure that each of their trucks had a current Report of Thorough Examination, less than half (49%) could do so. Here is a link that may help explain what is required and why

Posted By Stephen Clark Jimmy, inspections to verify the condition of equipment e.g. thorough examinations "should" always be done independantly to avoid charges of "fear or favour" coming into play. However, i do not recollect any legal requirement on this point, i may be wrong. Steve