The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER): This regulation defines work equipment as any machinery, appliance, apparatus, or tool used for work (excluding hand tools). PUWER requires that all work equipment is:
Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER): This regulation focuses specifically on lifting equipment. LOLER defines lifting equipment as any equipment used for lifting, lowering or suspending loads. LOLER requires that all lifting equipment undergoes thorough examinations at specified intervals by a competent person.
A competent person under LOLER is someone with:
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides guidance on what constitutes a competent person https://www.hse.gov.uk/work-equipment-machinery/thorough-examinations-lifting-equipment.htm.
PUWER doesn't specify a mandatory inspection frequency for all equipment. However, it requires employers to conduct risk assessments to determine the type and scope of inspections needed for their specific equipment. This risk assessment should consider:
Based on the risk assessment, employers should establish a program for:
LOLER has specific requirements for lifting equipment. All lifting equipment must undergo a thorough examination by a competent person at least every 12 months.
The HSE website provides further information on equipment inspection https://www.hse.gov.uk/.
Carl Stahl has decades of knowledge in the field of testing and repair. More than 120 highly trained mobile test technicians are on the road every day throughout Germany and carry out the testing and repair of equipment on site at the customer's premises.
The mobile test technicians are trained on innovations in technology and regulations in regular update events. Thus, they are up to date in all areas and can optimally accompany you in the implementation in practice. According to BetrSichV §2, the assessment of work equipment requires, above all, timely professional activity. This means that there must be experience in the assessment. The training period for Carl Stahl test technicians is several months and is a major key to success in order to guarantee the safety of the professional assessment. It is often very difficult for our own employees, who only carry out this activity once a year, to obtain this professional assessment.
Some manufacturers not only require the competent person to inspect work equipment according to BetrSichV §2, but explicit training for their equipment. So sometimes you can even find sentences like this in the operating instructions: "Irrespective of the regulations of the individual countries, the hoists must be checked for functional safety at least once a year by authorised HADEF technicians or by a person who has received qualified training from them".
Thus, there are several arguments in favour of awarding the audit to competent, external partners:
The diverse knowledge about
As well as the wealth of experience
To maintain these resources and the necessary know-how is often out of proportion to the scope of the inspection and therefore speaks in favour of external specialists. Test technicians from external companies are often already able to assess during the testing process whether a repair is still worthwhile.
At the Carl Stahl testing service, important spare parts can be found in the testing service vehicles as well as all kinds of equipment for testing. The heart of the testing process and the subsequent documentation is the Carl Stahl equipment portal.
For Carl Stahl, the testing service begins long before the actual testing process. As part of our expert advice, we accompany our customers and their equipment throughout the entire product life cycle. In other words, we do not sell you products, but offer you an all-round carefree package. The Carl Stahl testing service gives you the security of knowing that you are fulfilling the requirements of the legislator and guaranteeing the operational readiness of your equipment through the use of qualified service technicians.
We will be happy to advise you without obligation whether and how we can support you.
Confusion-free labelling: Equipment due for inspection must first be marked clearly and without confusion. In practice, this is usually done using type plates with serial numbers, barcodes or modern RFID transponder technology such as the Chipster from Carl Stahl. Products that you purchase from Carl Stahl can already be marked by us ex works and are thus directly inventoried in your future digital inspection directory. This saves you time when assessing the products and documenting the commissioning.
Clear identification: Use the clear and confusion-free identification with RFID, barcode or serial number. In this way, your equipment can be clearly identified through the use of mobile assistance devices such as the multifunctional reader from Carl Stahl. After identification, the Carl Stahl service technicians receive all relevant information about the equipment on their tablet.
Checklist-based audit: The basis of the manufacturer-independent checklist-based assembly testing by our service technicians are all manufacturer specifications and legal regulations as well as the integration of customer-specific test criteria. Customer-specific test criteria include the results of the risk assessment of the technical equipment by you as the operator. Point by point, our service technicians evaluate the respective checklist and finally make a recommendation for further operation. The checklists, which are always up to date, ensure a consistent inspection quality at the highest level and thus fulfil the requirements of the Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health.
Legally compliant documentation: At the end of the process, you will receive the corresponding test certificate from us for each piece of tested equipment for legally compliant documentation. You can view these test results directly and independently in the Carl Stahl Equipment portal- available at any time and downloadable 24/7. For all products already tested and newly purchased from Carl Stahl, you can identify equipment that is due for testing with just one click. This gives you more time to devote to other operational tasks. At the same time, the resulting inspection certificate lists all defects, damage patterns and results deviating from the target condition directly in the PDF.
Below you will find a selection of equipment that is covered by the Carl Stahl testing service. You are not sure whether your equipment can also be tested by us? Please feel free to contact us.
Lashing chains of grades 8, 10 and 12.
Aluminium jacks, Pumps, Cylinders, Hydraulic tools
Wire rope slings, Webbing slings, Roundslings, Chain Slings, Fibre rope slings, Lifting points, Shackles, Load hooks, Accessories
Travelling cranes, Overhead conveyor systems, Gantry cranes, Workshop cranes, Wall-mounted jib cranes, Pillar-mounted slewing cranes
Chain blocks, Lever hoists, Steel winches, Trolleys, Return pulleys, Wire rope piston, Wall cable winches, Multi-purpose hoists, Electric chain hoists, Pneumatic chain hoists, Drum winches
Lifting beams, Lifting forks, Tongs & Grabs, Lifting clamp, C-hook, Suction lifters with pump
Hand lifting magnet, Permanent lifting magnets, Electro lifting magnets
Carrying out the prescribed test at intervals of no more than 4 years on stationary equipment and at intervals of 12 months on mobile equipment and systems.
Hand-operated and power-operated scissor lift tables, spindle lifts, automotive lifts, working and assembly platforms, etc.
Sliding gates, roller shutters, hall doors, automatically controlled windows
Multi-purpose trains, accessories
Shelf racks, pallet racks, cantilever racks, drive-in racks, drive-through racks, multi-storey racks, flow racks, mezzanines
Safety harnesses, tethers, safety ropes, energy absorbers, lanyards, fall arresters, rescue systems, descenders
SStep ladders, rung ladders, fiberglass ladders, fire brigade ladders, mobile scaffolds, floor stairs, fixed ladders, two-spar ladders
Drive-over ramps, loading ramps, hydraulic ramps, drive-on ramps, stage ramps
Risk assessment, duplicates of crane books, calculations of remaining service life, load changes of trusses
