PUWER vs LOLER: Which Applies to Your Equipment?

PUWER covers keeping equipment working safely. LOLER covers proving that lifting equipment still is. Most workshop equipment falls under PUWER alone. Anything that lifts a load falls under both, and the LOLER part is the one garages most often get wrong.

Here is how the two divide, and what each one actually asks of you.

The short version

	PUWER 1998	LOLER 1998
Applies to	All work equipment	Lifting equipment only
Purpose	Suitable, maintained, safely used	Strong enough, marked, examined
Key activity	Maintenance and inspection	Thorough examination
Who does it	Your service engineer	An independent competent person
Interval	Manufacturer's schedule	6 months for vehicle lifts
Repairs?	Yes — that is the point	No — assessment and report only

What PUWER asks of you

PUWER applies to essentially everything in the workshop: lifts, tyre changers, balancers, compressors, presses, jacks, hand and power tools.

• Suitable for the job and for the conditions it is used in.
• Maintained in efficient working order, with a maintenance log.
• Used only by people who have been trained on it.
• Protected — guarding, emergency stops, isolation.
• Inspected where safety depends on installation or deterioration.

PUWER is where your daily and weekly user checks live, along with the manufacturer's service schedule. Our guide to lift care and maintenance covers the routine in detail.

What LOLER adds on top

For anything that lifts a load, LOLER adds duties PUWER does not cover:

• Strength and stability adequate for the load, including the anchoring and the floor beneath it.
• Safe working load clearly marked and legible.
• Lifting operations planned, supervised and carried out safely.
• Thorough examination by a competent person at defined intervals — every six months for vehicle lifts, as covered in our guide to how often a lift needs examining.
• Reports kept and producible on request.

What falls under which

PUWER only: tyre changers, wheel balancers, alignment equipment, air compressors, brake testers, presses, benches, hand and power tools.

PUWER and LOLER: two-post, four-post and scissor lifts; mobile column lifts; motorcycle lift tables; jacking beams; trolley jacks; engine cranes; transmission jacks; slings, chains and eyebolts.

Two of those surprise people. Trolley jacks and axle stands are lifting equipment, so they fall within LOLER's examination regime. And a jacking beam is lifting equipment in its own right, not an accessory of the lift it sits on — it needs its own examination and its own record.

The mistake that matters

The common failure is treating a service visit as discharging the LOLER duty. It does not, however thorough it was.

Servicing keeps the lift working. Thorough examination establishes whether it is still safe — and it must be done by someone independent of the maintenance, because nobody should be marking their own work. That independence is the entire point, and it is why one visit cannot satisfy both.

If your servicing and examination come from the same supplier, ask directly how they separate the two. Our guide to what a good servicing contract covers sets out the questions worth asking.

Getting both right

1. List every item of work equipment and mark which are lifting equipment.
2. Put the lifting ones on a six-month examination cycle, booked ahead.
3. Put everything on a maintenance schedule to the manufacturer's intervals.
4. Keep daily and weekly user checks, and record them.
5. Keep one file per item: conformity, installation, examinations, service, repairs.
6. Use different people, or clearly separated teams, for servicing and examination.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between PUWER and LOLER?

PUWER covers all work equipment and is about suitability, maintenance and safe use. LOLER applies only to lifting equipment and adds duties on strength, marking, planning and thorough examination by an independent competent person.

Does a tyre changer fall under LOLER?

No. A tyre changer does not lift a load, so it is PUWER only — maintained to the manufacturer's schedule, used by trained staff.

Are trolley jacks covered by LOLER?

Yes. Trolley jacks, engine cranes, transmission jacks and jacking beams are all lifting equipment and need thorough examination.

Does a service visit satisfy LOLER?

No. Servicing is PUWER. Thorough examination is LOLER, must be carried out by someone independent of the maintenance, and involves no repair work.

Do I need separate records for each?

You need maintenance records under PUWER and reports of thorough examination under LOLER. Keeping one file per item covering both is the simplest approach.

Equipment and support

We supply and install vehicle lifts and wheel equipment across the UK, to the manufacturer's instructions and BS 7980, with the documentation you need to open your records correctly. Request a quote or get in touch and we will reply within one working day.

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This guide is general information about PUWER and LOLER duties, and is not legal advice. Responsibility for compliance rests with the business operating the equipment. Current guidance is published by the Health and Safety Executive at hse.gov.uk.