Periodic inspection and maintenance of crane and lifting gear — the law behind the routine
Why inspection is not bureaucracy, but what finds the fault before it becomes an accident
A crane can look fine and still carry a defect no one can see from the outside: a cable with internal breaks a hydraulic hose about to burst or a load limiter no longer warning correctly. That's why periodic inspection of cranes and lifting equipment is not something you can skip or postpone because the task is urgent. It's a legal requirement and one of the most important barriers against serious accidents in the field.
§The law behind the inspection
The requirements for crane inspection are found in the Occupational Safety and Health Authority's order on the use of technical equipment, which in its current form came into force in 2022. It stipulates that technical equipment — including cranes — must be inspected periodically according to the manufacturer's instructions, and at least every 12 months if the manufacturer has not set a shorter interval. The inspection must provide a reliable assessment of whether the crane is still safe to use, and this must be documented.
§Who may perform the inspection?
Inspection must be carried out by a competent person — meaning someone with sufficient knowledge, education and experience to be able to assess the condition of the crane. It can be an internally trained employee in a large company or an external testing firm, but it can never be a random colleague who just thinks the crane 'looks fine'. The requirement for a competent person is there precisely because the assessment must be able to withstand scrutiny if something later goes wrong.
- 01Wires, chains and hooks for wear, breakage and deformation
- 02Hydraulic hoses, cylinders and seals for leaks and damage
- 03Brakes, safety couplings and emergency stop
- 04Load limiter and other electronic safety equipment
- 05Load-bearing parts and welds for cracks and corrosion
§Daily inspection is your responsibility
The periodic inspection by the expert does not replace your own daily eye on the crane. Before you put the crane in motion you look through the wires hooks and visible hoses yourself test that emergency stop and load limiter respond as they should and listen for unusual sounds. It is a quick but important check — it is often here that a new damage or a forgotten error from the last shift is discovered before the lift begins.
| Type of inspection | Who performs it | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Daily check before use | The crane operator themselves | Each day/shift |
| Periodic inspection | Expert person | At least every 12 months |
| Thorough inspection (outdoor cranes) | Expert person/testing institute | Every 10 years |
§Why it is not bureaucracy
An inspection form a signature and a date might seem like paperwork taking time from the 'real' work. But it is precisely this kind of documentation that shows whether a fault was known and overlooked or arose without warning. A crane nobody has inspected in years is a crane where you guess that everything still holds. The inspection is what removes the guessing.
“The error you never see is the one that does damage. Inspection is how it gets found while there's still time to correct it.”