How often
For this equipment family the inspection interval is one year unless the relevant standards set a different period. Where a standard sets a shorter interval, the shorter one applies; where the manufacturer's instruction requires more frequent checks, that is followed. The validity of an inspection depends less on its interval than on what the report contains.
What this guide covers
What is described here are lifting arrangements used as work equipment: goods lifts, service lifts, construction lifts, crane lifts, cranes and lifting gear, lifting tables, vehicle lifts, and accessories such as slings, clamps and vacuum lifters. A building's passenger lift has its own operating and maintenance regime and is not the subject of this guide.
What is examined
An inspection does not merely check that the equipment runs. The load capacity against its plate, the working of brakes and safety devices, wear on ropes and chains, the response of limit switches, and whether the emergency stop actually stops are each tested separately.
Accessories get forgotten
Slings, clamps and hooks are absent from most inventories; yet a sling that parts causes accidents more often than the crane it hangs from. An accessory is equipment too, and gets its own record.
In Optifora
The periodic inspection module records the equipment, sets its interval by family, reminds you as the date approaches, and attaches the report to the equipment's record. Equipment past its date appears separately in the list and counts as high risk in the assessment.