LOLER Inspections & Thorough Examinations – West Midlands

Q: How often does lifting equipment need a LOLER inspection?

Equipment used to lift people and all lifting accessories need a thorough examination at least every 6 months. Other lifting equipment needs one at least every 12 months, or in line with a written scheme of examination.

Q: What happens if our equipment fails a LOLER inspection?

We tell you straight away and explain the defect. Defects that could cause serious personal injury are also reported to the enforcing authority. We can repair failed equipment in our own workshop or on site, or you can use any repairer you choose.

Q: How much does a LOLER inspection cost?

Our LOLER inspections start from £90 + VAT per machine, plus travel, for equipment such as grab lorries, lorry loaders, excavators, skip loaders, telehandlers and forklifts. Additional machines on the same visit are charged on a sliding scale, lifting accessories are priced per item, and you get a fixed price before we book in.

Need equipment inspected? Call 07747 682451 or WhatsApp us with your equipment list for a quick quote.

LOLER Inspections With Repairs In-House

Simply Welding carries out LOLER inspections and thorough examinations of lifting equipment across the West Midlands, from our base in the heart of the Black Country. As we're also a welding and engineering business, if anything needs attention we can repair it too, getting you back to work quickly.

We inspect excavators, quick hitches, telehandlers, forklifts, lorry loaders (HIABs), grab lorries, skip and hook loaders, grab buckets and the lifting accessories used with them, under the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER). Inspections are normally booked within 7 days, and your certificate is emailed to you the same day.

Our LOLER Services

Thorough examination of lifting equipment and attachments.

Detailed report of thorough examination for every item.

Certificates emailed to you the same day.

Why Choose Us for LOLER Inspections?

An inspector with years of heavy lifting, hydraulics and plant repair experience.

Inspections normally booked within 7 days.

Repairs carried out in-house if anything needs attention.

Failed a LOLER Inspection? We Can Repair It

Here are a few examples of the repairs we carry out:

Leaking Hydraulic Cylinders

Worn Pivot Joints, Pins and Bushes

Failed Welds and Cracked Structures

Recent example: Kinshofer brick grab failed by an independent inspector
A Walsall builders merchant's Kinshofer brick grab failed its LOLER inspection with micro cracking on the vertical legs. The inspector, not one of ours, specified a repair by a coded welder. We had it in and repaired the day after the enquiry, and it passed its re-inspection. Read the case study.

Want to see more real repairs we've carried out? Case Studies | Gallery

Whether you run grab lorries, lorry loaders, forklifts, excavators, telehandlers, JCB backhoe loaders or skip and hook loaders, our LOLER inspections keep your equipment safe, legal and working. If something fails, we can fix it too.

Contact us today to book your LOLER inspection.

Meet Your LOLER Inspector

Our LOLER inspections are led by Joe, who brings a rare mix of heavy lifting, hydraulics and engineering experience to every examination.

Heavy lifting on major projects. Joe spent 7 years with Hevilifts, part of the Hydratight and Enerpac group. As a site technician he fitted and operated bridge jacking and bridge sliding equipment on some of the largest jobs on the East Coast Main Line, and fitted the jacking equipment and jacked Thelwall Viaduct on the M6 when it was closed after its bearings failed.
Nuclear, oil and gas. He has worked on lifting and jacking projects at the Sellafield and Chapelcross nuclear sites, including pushing a new building over an existing one, and on oil, petrol and gas refineries carrying out hydraulic bolt tensioning and flange face machining.
Hydraulics, inside and out. Joe has tested, repaired and fully refurbished hydraulic jacks, rams and systems, so he understands how hydraulic lifting equipment wears and fails.
Heavy plant repair. He has years of experience repairing excavators, attachments, lorry loaders, grab lorries, skip lorries and hydraulic rams, so he knows where lifting equipment cracks, wears and fails.
Coded welder and engineer. Joe holds BS EN ISO 9606-1 welder approval, so he can judge the condition of welds and structures, not just tick a checklist.
Knows the consequences. Understanding how serious a defect is, and what happens if it is missed, is what makes a thorough examination genuinely thorough.

LOLER Inspection FAQs

Where do you carry out LOLER inspections?

We are based in the heart of the Black Country and carry out LOLER inspections within around 20–30 miles of our workshop. That covers Dudley, Stourbridge, Halesowen, Brierley Hill, Oldbury, Tipton, West Bromwich, Sandwell, Wolverhampton, Walsall, Birmingham, Solihull, Sutton Coldfield, Kidderminster, Bromsgrove, Redditch, Worcester, Cannock, Lichfield, Tamworth, Stafford, Telford and Bridgnorth.

We also work with a couple of service partners who can carry out LOLER inspections on our behalf across much of middle England, from Manchester in the north to Oxford in the south, and from mid-Wales across to Cambridge.

Find your local LOLER inspection page:

How often does lifting equipment need a LOLER inspection?

Under LOLER, equipment used to lift people and all lifting accessories (such as chains, slings and shackles) need a thorough examination at least every 6 months. Other lifting equipment needs one at least every 12 months, or in line with a written scheme of examination.

How quickly can you carry out a LOLER inspection, and when do I get my certificate?

Inspections are normally booked within 7 days, and your LOLER certificate is emailed to you on the same day as the inspection.

Do you LOLER inspect all types of lifting equipment?

No. We focus on the equipment we know inside out and can also repair: excavators and quick hitches, telehandlers, forklifts and their attachments, lorry loaders (HIABs), grab lorries, skip and hook loaders, clamshell and grab buckets, and vehicle column lifts, along with the lifting accessories used with them.

We mainly work with the construction, plant hire, recycling, waste management, transport, manufacturing and warehousing industries.

We don't inspect passenger lifts, MEWPs or small items of lifting equipment on their own, only alongside the larger equipment listed above.

What happens if our equipment fails a LOLER inspection?

We tell you straight away and explain the defect. If a defect could cause serious personal injury, the law requires us to send a copy of the report to the enforcing authority (usually the HSE) as well as to you.

Small, superficial issues can often be put right during the inspection, such as replacing a fuse or fitting anti-tamper tags and warning labels.

Larger repairs, such as failed welds, leaking hydraulic cylinders, worn pivot joints, pins and bushes, can be booked into our workshop or carried out on site with our mobile repair service. You are also free to use any repairer you choose.

Can the same company repair the equipment and then re-inspect it?

Yes, as long as the examination is independent and impartial. After we repair a piece of equipment, it is re-examined by a different inspector from the one who carried out the repair, so the person signing it off is never checking their own work.

What lifting equipment do you inspect?

Here is a list of the equipment we LOLER inspect, grouped by industry. If you can't see your equipment, give us a call.

Waste Management & Recycling

Lorry loaders (HIABs) - Grab lorries - Skip loaders - Hook loaders - Grab attachments - Orange peel grabs

Construction & Plant Hire

Excavators - JCB backhoe loaders - Quick hitches and tilt rotators - Telehandlers - Rough-terrain forklifts - Clamshell and grab buckets

Warehousing & Manufacturing

Counterbalance forklift trucks - Forklift attachments (such as bale clamps) - Vehicle column lifts

Transport & Logistics

Lorry-mounted cranes (HIABs) - Grab lorries - Skip and hook loader arms - Hydraulic cylinders on lifting equipment

Lifting Accessories (inspected alongside your machines)

Chains and slings - Shackles - Lifting hooks - Lifting beams - Spreader beams

Where are you based?

Our workshop is based in the heart of the Black Country, in the West Midlands, with easy access to the M5 and M6.

How much does a LOLER inspection cost?

LOLER inspections start from £90 + VAT per machine, plus travel. That includes grab lorries, lorry loaders (HIABs), excavators, skip and hook loaders, telehandlers and forklifts. Where we inspect several machines on the same visit, each additional machine is charged on a sliding scale, so the more we inspect, the less each one costs. Lifting accessories inspected alongside your machines are priced per item, and travel is quoted per job based on your location.

Send us your equipment list and we'll give you a fixed price before we book in.