Section 31

No lifting appliance or lifting machine shall be used unless —

Every lifting appliance and every lifting machine shall be thoroughly examined at least once in every 12 months by an approved person and a report of the result of such examination in the prescribed form shall be prepared in duplicate and signed by the person making the examination. One copy of such report shall be handed to the occupier of the factory and the other copy shall within 28 days of the completion of the examination be sent to the Chief Inspector, but where the examination shows that the lifting appliance or lifting machine cannot continue to be used with safety unless certain repairs are carried out immediately or within a specified time, the approved person shall forthwith send a copy of his report to the Chief Inspector.

Every crane, crab and winch shall be provided with a readily accessible and efficient brake or other safety device which will prevent the fall of the load when suspended and by which the load can be effectively controlled while being lowered. Every hand winch shall be fitted with an efficient pawl capable of sustaining the safe working load.

Every lifting appliance and every lifting machine shall be plainly marked with its safe working load or loads and a distinctive number or other means of identification except that, in the case of a jib crane so constructed that the safe working load may be varied by the raising or lowering of the jib there shall be attached thereto so as to be clearly visible to the driver an accurate indicator showing the radius of the jib at any time and the safe working load corresponding to that radius.

No lifting appliance and no lifting machine shall be loaded beyond its safe working load except by an approved person or an inspector for the purpose of testing such appliance or machine.

No lifting appliance having a safe working load of more than 150 kilogrammes and no lifting machine shall be used unless it has been thoroughly examined by an approved person within an appropriate period determined by its construction and conditions of service so however that no such period shall exceed 12 months, and the particulars of that examination have been entered in the register kept in pursuance of section 32.

Every lifting appliance and every lifting machine shall be adequately and securely supported and every rope, chain or wire and every part of a stage, framework or other structure and every mast, beam, pole or other article of plant supporting any part of a lifting appliance or lifting machine shall be of good construction, sound material and adequate strength having regard to the nature of the lifting appliance, its lifting and reaching capacity and the circumstances of its use.

All rails on which a travelling crane moves and every track on which the carriage of a transporter or runway moves shall be of proper size and adequate strength, and have an even running surface; and all such rails or track shall be properly laid, adequately supported or suspended, and properly maintained.

If any person is employed or working on or near the wheel tracks of an overhead travelling crane in any place where he would be liable to be struck by the crane, effective measures shall be taken to ensure that the crane does not approach within 6 metres of that place.

If any person is employed or working otherwise than mentioned in subsection (9) but in a place above floor level where he would be liable to be struck by an overhead travelling crane, or by any load carried by the crane, effective measures shall be taken to warn him of the approach of the crane, unless his work is so connected with or dependent on the movements of the crane as to make a warning unnecessary.

A lifting machine shall not be operated except by a person trained and competent to operate that machine but it shall be permissible for the machine to be operated by a person who is under the direct supervision of a qualified person for the purpose of training; no person, however, under 18 years of age shall be employed to operate any lifting machine driven by mechanical power or to give signals to the operator of any such machine.

An inspector may at any time test any lifting appliance or lifting machine and may prohibit its further use if not satisfied that it is safe for the use to which it is being put.

Neither the Government nor any inspector or approved person shall be liable for any damage done to any lifting appliance or lifting machine in the course of any test.