A Thorough Examination is the name given to the mandatory inspection required by law to ensure that the mechanical parts of a lift truck are in safe working order. It is roughly equivalent to the MOT for cars.

Work equipment must receive a Thorough Examination at least once a year. However, examinations could be required more often depending on your type of truck.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) states:

"Thorough examination of industrial lift trucks is required under health and safety law: LOLER 1998, which covers lifting equipment, and PUWER 1998, which deals with all other safety-related items, such as brakes, steering and tyres. Your regular inspections as part of a preventive maintenance scheme or scheduled service are not a thorough examination."

It is crucial to ensure that your Thorough Examinations comprehensively cover both the lifting and the driving mechanisms of the truck, because not all of them do. Some examinations only cover LOLER, which could put equipment, operators and businesses at risk.