Official Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) guidance confirms the statutory duties that apply to lifting equipment, including the legal basis for periodic thorough examinations. But the obligation does not stop there. Operators must inspect wire ropes before each use for broken wires, corrosion, kinking, bird caging, core protrusion and diameter reduction. This daily pre-use check is distinct from the periodic thorough examination, and it is the one most likely to catch a problem before it becomes dangerous.
It’s easy to assume that the periodic thorough examination, carried out by a competent person on a fixed schedule, covers the bulk of the safety obligation. In practice, the daily pre-use check is just as important, since it is the one routine that catches problems developing between formal examinations, before they have a chance to escalate. A rope that passed its last thorough examination with no issues can still develop a serious fault within weeks, particularly in demanding or poorly maintained conditions, which is exactly the gap the daily check is there to close.
The Damage You Cannot See Yet
Internal corrosion between wire strands begins well before any external deterioration becomes visible, which is what makes wire rope lubricant inspection genuinely tricky. Strength can already be meaningfully reduced by the time surface rust actually appears, since fretting and pitting corrosion attack the load bearing wires from within long before anything shows on the surface. That is a real loss of safety margin happening entirely out of sight, which is exactly why visual inspection on its own is not enough.
Guidance on thorough examinations and inspections sets out the frequency and competent person requirements under regulations 9, 10 and 11, giving a clear framework for when and how these checks should happen. Most lifting equipment falls under a six- or 12-month examination interval depending on the type, unless a written examination scheme drawn up by a competent person specifies a different frequency based on how the equipment is actually used.
However, pre-use visual inspection also needs to be combined with a proactive lubrication programme if you want to catch internal deterioration before it compromises the rope.
Why Lubrication Condition Deserves As Much Attention As Wear
Lubrication condition should be assessed at every inspection, not just when something looks obviously wrong. Old crane wire lubricant contaminated with grit acts as an abrasive, accelerating internal wear rather than preventing it. If coverage looks insufficient, ropes should be re-lubricated before returning to service, since sending a rope back into operation on degraded lubricant simply speeds up the next failure.
This is an area where good intentions sometimes work against the rope itself. A team that applies fresh wire rope lubricant spray over old, contaminated grease without first cleaning the rope can end up trapping grit against the wire strands, doing more harm than leaving the rope alone entirely.
Getting Lubricant Where Manual Methods Cannot
This is where the right equipment makes a genuine difference. Viper Wire Rope Lubricators are wire rope grease applicators which combine integrated wire rope cleaners, which remove contaminated old grease, with a mechanical system that massages lubricant deep into the rope core at up to 2,000 metres per hour. That level of internal protection simply is not achievable through manual brushing or rag application, no matter how thorough the technician.
Detailed practical guidance on LOLER compliance reinforces this point directly, treating pre-use inspection as a distinct daily requirement that sits alongside, rather than replaces, periodic thorough examination.
Choosing The Right Grease For The Application
A&S International supplies the Viper WRL alongside MAK LUBES wire rope greases, covering ML200 Penetrating Grease for core protection, ML221 Coating Grease for external sealing and ML253 Ecology EAL for environmentally sensitive applications. Matching the right grease to the right application is just as important as the lubrication equipment itself, since each one is formulated for a different protective priority. A rope working in a generally dry, sheltered environment has different needs to one exposed to weather or wash down, and treating every application the same way often means over-specifying in one area while under protecting another.
Building Inspection And Lubrication Into One Routine
Treating pre-use inspection and lubrication as two separate, disconnected tasks misses the point. The most effective maintenance teams check rope condition and lubrication coverage together, every time, because contaminated or insufficient lubricant is itself one of the conditions you are supposed to be checking for. Building this into a single combined routine, rather than two separate checklists, also makes it far easier to train new staff and maintain consistency across shifts.
LOLER compliance requires more than a periodic inspection report. It requires a proactive lubrication programme that protects wire rope internals from the corrosion that external checks cannot detect.
Contact A&S International to discuss Viper Wire Rope Lubricators and MAK LUBES greases for your lifting equipment maintenance programme and put a routine in place that catches problems while they are still manageable.
