Lyhyesti
Where davits suspend a cleaning cradle or other equipment that lifts people, they are lifting equipment under LOLER 1998: thoroughly examined after installation, then at least every six months or to an examination scheme. LOLER's definition of lifting equipment "includes its attachments used for anchoring, fixing or supporting it". Whether the sockets are proof tested is for the competent person examining them to decide.
This page explains how anchors, eyebolts and anchor points are commonly tested, inspected and recorded. It does not replace the law, the standards it names, the manufacturer's instructions, or the decisions of the person responsible for the job or the system, who sets the tests, the loads and the inspection regime. A test records what happened on the day; it does not approve an anchor for use.
Key figures
| Lifting people | Thorough examination at least every 6 months, or to an examination scheme (LOLER regulation 9) |
|---|---|
| Lifting loads only | At least every 12 months, or to an examination scheme |
| Reports | Periodic reports until the next or two years, whichever is later; the report after installation while the equipment is used there |
| Staht adaptor | Davit testing adaptor kit 600-048, for Reid Lifting flush mount and top mount bases |
What are davits and davit sockets?
A davit is an arm that suspends a load, such as a cradle, from a roof or structure. Portable davits sit in sockets or bases fixed to the building, mounted flush with the surface or on top of it, and move between them. HSE names "a building cleaning cradle and its suspension equipment" as lifting equipment. BS 6037-1:2017 is the code of practice for permanently installed suspended access equipment, and BS EN 1808:2015 sets safety requirements for suspended access equipment, permanent or temporary.
When does LOLER apply?
| Use | Law | Thorough examination |
|---|---|---|
| Davits suspending a cradle or BMU that carries people | LOLER 1998 | After installation and before first use; then at least every 6 months, or to an examination scheme; and after exceptional circumstances |
| Davits lifting materials only | LOLER 1998 | After installation; then at least every 12 months, or to an examination scheme |
| A fixed anchor point used only to clip a harness to | Work at Height Regulations 2005 (outside LOLER, HSE says) | Inspected at suitable intervals, not thoroughly examined |
Is a proof test part of the thorough examination?
Only if the competent person decides it should be. LOLER's thorough examination includes whatever testing the competent person thinks appropriate. HSE says "Most lifting equipment does not need routine testing" and that "some overload tests can cause damage", so the need for a test and how it's done come from the competent person's assessment of risk. Where the examiner asks for socket proof tests, they set the load.
How is a socket proof tested with a Staht kit?
With the davit testing adaptor kit: an M16 sealed thrust nut, an M16 coarse drop rod and a clevis, 0.82 kg in all. It fits a t25 (to 25 kN) or a t60 (to 60 kN) for Reid Lifting davit installations with flush mount or top mount bases. You also need a 24 mm reversible ring spanner. The test is recorded in Staht Connect through the tester's load cell. For other makers' bases, ask us before testing.
What goes in a LOLER report?
LOLER's Schedule 1 lists what a thorough examination report contains, including: who the employer is and where the premises are; enough to identify the equipment; the safe working load; the date of the last examination and the latest date for the next; whether it's on a six-month, twelve-month or scheme basis; any defects and repairs; details of any test; and the examiner's name, address and qualifications. The examiner must tell you at once of any defect that is or could become a danger.
What do contractors need from you?
HSE says the building owner gives a contractor using a cradle or BMU copies of the LOLER thorough examination report and the inspection, maintenance and testing records, and that the contractor asks for them before starting.
Worked example: keeping the dates
A cradle and its davits were installed and thoroughly examined on 1 March 2027. They lift people, and there is no examination scheme.
- Next examinations due by: 1 September 2027, then 1 March 2028.
- Keeping reports: the 1 March 2027 report, made after installation, is kept for as long as the cradle and davits are used on this building. Each six-monthly report after it is kept until the next one or for two years, whichever is later, so in practice for two years: the September 2027 report until September 2029.
- After an event: a storm that damages the roof, or a strike on a davit, means another examination before use.
Related pages
- Facilities management: the whole roof
- Davit socket testing: the adaptor kit
- Window cleaning eyebolts
- Proof load test record: free template for socket tests
More questions
LOLER's definition of lifting equipment "includes its attachments used for anchoring, fixing or supporting it", and HSE names "a building cleaning cradle and its suspension equipment" as lifting equipment. The competent person examining the cradle installation says what their examination covers.
HSE advises against it: the person doing the thorough examination shouldn't be the one who does the routine maintenance.
Reid Lifting davit installations, with flush mount or top mount bases. Ask us about other makers' bases.
A scheme drawn up by a competent person that sets the thorough examination intervals for that equipment, instead of the fixed six or twelve months.
Lähteet
- The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, regulation 9: Thorough examination and inspection, legislation.gov.uk
- The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, regulation 2: Interpretation, legislation.gov.uk
- The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, regulation 11: Keeping of information, legislation.gov.uk
- The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, Schedule 1: Information to be contained in a report of a thorough examination, legislation.gov.uk
- The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, regulation 10: Reports and defects, legislation.gov.uk
- Safe lifting by machine: LOLER, HSE
- Thorough examinations and inspections of lifting equipment, HSE
- Specialist access equipment (window cleaning), HSE
- BS 6037-1:2017 Planning, design, installation and use of permanently installed access equipment. Code of practice. Suspended access equipment, BSI
- BS EN 1808:2015 Safety requirements for suspended access equipment. Design calculations, stability criteria, construction. Examinations and tests, BSI
- Staht Davit Testing Adaptor Kit, Technical Datasheet No 124, Staht
Proof test davit sockets
The davit testing adaptor kit fits a t25 or t60.