This must be done by a competent person at regular intervals and a record kept of the examination. If you are notified of any serious or significant defects, you should immediately take the lift out of service and report it to the appropriate persons and, where necessary, the relevant enforcing authority.
The term ‘competent person’ required to carry out the planning means the person must have the skills, knowledge and experience to make the relevant assessment of the requirements of the lifting equipment being used and the type of task being carried out.
More information on LOLER can be found on the HSE's website.
Insurance
Some insurance providers are able to offer an engineering inspection service under the terms of your policy, an additional fee for this type of service would normally apply.
LOLER Regulation 9 puts in place requirements for all lifting equipment to be subject to ‘thorough examination’ at various points. Regulation 9(3) requires periodic thorough examination where equipment is subject to deterioration due to use and where this deterioration could lead to a dangerous situation.
The frequency depends on the type of equipment and the purposes for which it is used, e.g equipment used for lifting people requires more frequent examination.
The periods stated are the maximum periods between each examination unless there is an examination scheme produced by a competent person in place, which can specify longer or shorter periods depending on the risk of defects arising.