Act 1974 which came into force in Great Britain on 5 December 1998 [1] and replaced a number of other pieces of legislation which previously covered the use of lifting equipment.

[5] The regulations stated that all lifts provided for use with work activities should be thoroughly examined by a 'competent person' at regular intervals.

In practice, an insurance company may provide a competent person or request a third party independent inspector.

All lifting equipment is normally put through an independent type testing process to establish that it will safely perform the tasks required to one of the below standards.

Regulation 9 of LOLER also outlines specific requirements for the formal inspection of lifting equipment at mandatory intervals.

In Europe today, this document would normally be an EC Declaration of conformity plus a manufacturers certificate if called for by the standard worked to.

[10] To gain an understanding of the your Health and Safety requirements in the motor vehicle repair industry in full read document HSG261.

[11] On 17 January 2011, a Liverpool nursing home was fined £18,000 after Frances Shannon, an 81-year-old woman fell to the ground whilst being lifted out of bed.

The Christopher Grange nursing home, run by the Catholic Blind Institute, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for failing to carry out regular checks of the sling equipment which was used to lift Mrs Shannon, who suffered a broken shoulder and injuries to her back and elbow.

Speaking of the prosecution Sarah Wadham, the HSE's inspecting officer, said that the incident could have been prevented, saying to the press "There should have been regular checks of the sling and it should have been thoroughly examined at least once every six months.