Login
Lifting equipment and lifting devices that are manufactured often lack complete instructions and other documentation. “This can be safeguarded, and buyers and users of the equipment must be aware,” says chief engineer Bjørn Lerstad in the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority.
For a large part of the equipment, there are, in part, major shortcomings in the documentation from several of the suppliers. For example, several operating instructions were missing information on how to use the equipment, what training is required, and how to check the equipment. This can affect whether the machines are safe in use.
“We have also seen that more of the original operating instructions are not translated or only partially translated into Norwegian. This violates the regulations, “says Lerstad.
It shows an action that the Norwegian Labor Inspection and Petroleum Safety Authority Norway has carried out among 21 companies that manufacture or deliver loose lifting equipment / lifting gear and simpler lifting devices. The objective of the action was to investigate whether the formal documentation requirements in the machine regulations were followed for such equipment.
Necessary documentation is, for example, operating instructions and statements that show that the equipment is manufactured in accordance with the harmonized EEA product framework. However, the action did not check the contents of the operating instructions.
– If the operating instructions are available, there may still be room for improvement. This should be businesses that buy or use the equipment, demand from the supplier, says Lerstad.
It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that machines and equipment used in the work are safe in use. Read more about machines, responsibilities and regulations .
See Report: Report Market Monitoring Campaign for Loose Lifting Equipment 2016-2017 .
