The body behind the UK’s independent LOLER examination standard says farmers’ understanding is growing about the compulsory safety test. 

CFTS noticed a significant year-on-year improvement in awareness among visitors to its stand at this year’s LAMMA farm machinery show. Likewise, the number of agricultural businesses proactively contacting its members has also risen. 

Introduced in 1998, LOLER and PUWER rules make it a legal requirement for lifting equipment like telehandlers, hoists, and their attachments to have a regular “Thorough Examination” certifying safety.  

However, in farming, word has been slow to spread. Agriculture remains the UK’s deadliest industry to work in, and 30% of all fatalities are caused by moving vehicles. The HSE estimates that around half of these accidents could have been prevented with proper machinery maintenance. 

According to CFTS, though, the picture could now be changing for the better. 

Younger farmers taking safety seriously 

CFTS Technical Manager Matthew Kennedy credits much of the change to a new generation of farmers taking safety seriously. 

He says: “If this change continues, it could make real inroads into the unacceptable death toll caused by unsafe agricultural machinery. 

“Traditionally, we’d seen some farms trying to minimise their inspections, running patched-up equipment, with the attitude ‘nothing’s gone wrong yet’. Thankfully, the new generation of farmers and agricultural engineers take a more informed approach. 

“They understand that safe, well-maintained equipment prevents a lot of risks; not just to their workers but to their livelihoods, especially with machinery-related fines reaching six figures.” 

Attachments a key concern 

Despite the improvement, CFTS technicians report common misunderstandings persist about attachments like bale grabs, loader buckets, and man baskets, used to increase the versatility of tractors, telehandlers, and other equipment. 

Matthew Kennedy continues: “Removable attachments are right at the sharp end of safety, where any failure can quickly become catastrophic. As such, they’re every bit as much part of your inspection duties as the machine they’re attached to. 

“Unfortunately, our members still see instances where attachments are locked away at Thorough Examination time, or where they’re used in a way they weren’t designed for — like using a telehandler bucket as an access platform, lifting workers up. It might get the job done in the short term, but it puts the long-term future of the farm at risk. 

“There’s a longstanding joke about farmers fixing equipment with bale twine; sadly, when it comes to machinery attachments, this can be disturbingly close to the truth.” 

Accredited inspections cover LOLER and PUWER together 

A growing number of CFTS-accredited companies specialise in agricultural machinery, making it easier than ever to find a local inspector. Crucially, the CFTS Thorough Examination process covers both LOLER lifting requirements, and the farm’s responsibility under PUWER 98 to check the overall safety of the vehicle. 

To find your nearest CFTS-accredited company, visit: https://www.thoroughexamination.org/postcode-search.