The spreadsheet works until the fleet moves
Almost every plant fleet starts on a spreadsheet, and for a single depot with twenty machines it is fine. It stops being fine when machines start moving between sites. A swap takes ten minutes in the yard; updating four tabs, a shared drive and someone's inbox takes considerably longer, and usually does not happen at all.
The failure is rarely the date itself. It is that the record and the machine drift apart — the row says one serial number and the compound holds another — and nobody finds out until an inspection, an audit or a main contractor asks for proof before a machine touches their site.
What the regulations actually ask of your records
LOLER 1998 requires lifting equipment to be thoroughly examined by a competent person at defined intervals — six months for lifting accessories and equipment used to lift people, twelve months otherwise, or as set out in a written examination scheme — and requires the resulting reports to be kept and available. PUWER 1998 sits alongside it for work equipment generally: suitable, maintained, inspected, and inspection records kept.
Neither regime tells you to buy software. Both assume you can produce the right report for the right machine on request, and that you knew the date was coming. That is the whole brief.
Eight things LOLER inspection software has to do
- 1
Thorough examination dates held per asset
Six months for lifting accessories and anything that lifts people, twelve for the rest, or whatever a written scheme says. A single blanket interval across the fleet is how a chain block ends up eighteen months out.
- 2
LOLER and PUWER on the same record
One asset, both regimes, plus insurance and operator cards where they apply. Splitting them across systems is what produces the machine that is current on one list and lapsed on another.
- 3
The report itself, not a date someone typed
The scanned or photographed report is the evidence. A date in a cell is a claim about evidence. Storage should keep the original document attached to the asset it belongs to.
- 4
Reminders that reach a person
Expiry has to arrive as an email or message before the date, to named people, not as a red cell nobody opened. Configurable lead times matter because ordering an examiner takes longer than ordering a filter.
- 5
Proof available at the machine
A QR code on the plate that shows the current certificate status beats a phone call to the office. It has to work with no signal — compounds and basements rarely have any.
- 6
An audit trail
Who changed a date, when, and against which document. Spreadsheets overwrite history silently; an audit trail is what turns records into something you can defend.
- 7
Sensible data entry
Typing plate details off a photo is slow and error-prone. Extraction from a photo of the data plate or the certificate removes the step where the serial number gets one digit wrong.
- 8
Access control by project
Subcontractors and main contractors need to see the machines on their site and nothing else. Per-project access is a requirement, not a nice-to-have, as soon as more than one company is involved.
Moving off the spreadsheet without losing a week
Import what you already have rather than retyping it — a CSV of names, serial numbers and expiry dates is enough to start. Then work through the fleet by exception: anything expired or due inside the next month first, everything else as the machines are next visited. Photograph the data plates and certificates as you go, so the evidence lands against the asset instead of in a folder.
The measure of whether it worked is simple. Someone standing next to a machine, with no signal, should be able to tell whether it is legal to use.
Frequently asked questions
Is software a legal requirement for LOLER?
No. LOLER 1998 requires thorough examination at the right intervals by a competent person, and that reports are kept and available. It does not say how you keep them. Software matters because it makes the records findable and the dates impossible to miss — the two places paper and spreadsheets fail.
How often is a thorough examination needed?
Every 6 months for lifting equipment used to lift people and for lifting accessories, and every 12 months for other lifting equipment — or in line with a written examination scheme. Software should let you set the interval per asset rather than assume one rule for the whole fleet.
What is the difference between LOLER and PUWER records?
LOLER covers lifting equipment and accessories and centres on thorough examination. PUWER covers all work equipment and centres on it being suitable, maintained and inspected. Most plant fleets need both, so tracking should hold them side by side on the same asset.
Can inspection records be checked without a signal?
They should be. Compounds and basements routinely have no coverage, so any system that only works online will be unusable at the moment someone asks for proof. Look for offline access to the current certificate for each machine.
This guide is general information about record keeping, not legal advice. Refer to the LOLER and PUWER regulations and HSE guidance for the requirements that apply to your equipment.
Conformiq does this out of the box
- LOLER, PUWER, insurance and operator cards on one asset record
- Email reminders before expiry, to the people you choose
- QR code on every machine, readable with no signal
- Photograph a data plate or certificate instead of typing it