Expert and annual inspection: requirements, deadlines, scope

So there are two requirements. The first applies to all equipment, the second to specific types of equipment.

Inspection and maintenance of all equipment

Chapter 12 of the Regulations concerning the performance of work deals with the inspection and maintenance of work equipment. The employer must ensure periodic inspection if the equipment is exposed to influences that cause deterioration which can lead to dangerous situations.

Arbeidstilsynet (the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority) writes that the responsibility for inspection and maintenance under chapter 12 applies to all equipment and cannot be waived. The employer can use its own qualified personnel, or external parties, for example the supplier.

Arbeidstilsynet gives rammers, asphalt saws, welding equipment and petrol and diesel generators as examples of equipment that falls outside the requirement for inspection by a certified expert inspection body. This equipment must also be inspected periodically when it is exposed to deterioration that can lead to dangerous situations, and Arbeidstilsynet writes that the employer should document the inspection.

Which equipment requires expert inspection?

Section 13-1 of the regulations states that the employer must ensure expert inspection, carried out by an expert inspection body, of the following equipment:

• work equipment for lifting suspended loads
• lifting accessories
• lift and stacker trucks for goods
• earth-moving machines with a power output greater than 15 kW (20.4 hp)
• work equipment on recovery vehicles
• mobile elevating work platforms, i.e. equipment with a work platform or basket for lifting or transporting people, controlled from the platform or basket
• suspended scaffolding, and climbing scaffolding for heights over 3 metres
• studio and stage rigs, construction site hoists and transport platforms

Tractors and interchangeable equipment

Arbeidstilsynet's commentary on the regulations specifies that earth-moving machines do not include agricultural and forestry tractors fitted with digging units, buckets or similar for moving earth.

For the equipment in section 13-1, the requirement also covers tools and interchangeable equipment. Arbeidstilsynet writes that all equipment used on an earth-moving machine must be presented at the expert inspection, and mentions buckets, tiltrotators, hydraulic breakers, grabs and snowplough blades.

A snowplough blade that is interchangeable equipment for a wheel loader must therefore be inspected together with the wheel loader.

How often is expert inspection required?

Under section 13-2, expert inspection must be carried out:

• every 12 months
• when the equipment has not been in use for the last 6 months, and putting it back into use may endanger life or health
• when the environment the equipment is in makes more frequent inspection necessary
• when the equipment has been subjected to significant overloading
• after major repairs or modifications

Deadlines and exceptions

Periodic expert inspection can be carried out up to two months before it is due without changing the due month, Arbeidstilsynet writes.

Longer intervals are permitted when it can be documented that this does not endanger life or health, and the expert considers it fully safe.

Major repairs carried out according to the manufacturer's instructions do not trigger a requirement for expert inspection, according to Arbeidstilsynet's commentary.

What the inspection covers

Section 8-7 of the Regulations concerning administrative arrangements states that the expert inspection must in particular cover:

• the parts of the equipment that are important for safety and the working environment, and that are subject to wear, cracks, damage, corrosion and the like
• function testing with a suitable load
• inspection of safety devices
• checking that the instructions for use, operation and maintenance that are important for safety are present

The certificate and the documentation

The expert inspection body must document the inspection and certify that the work equipment is fully safe to use.

The documentation must be kept so that it can be shown to the public authorities on request, and it must accompany the equipment on change of ownership. Arbeidstilsynet writes that the documents can be digital, as long as they are available at the machine.

What the certification of an expert inspection body means

An expert inspection body must be certified by a certification body. At present, Arbeidstilsynet has designated seven certification bodies, and Kiwa is one of them.

The Regulations concerning administrative arrangements require, among other things, that an expert inspection body has sufficient theoretical knowledge and practical experience in the field in which it is to operate, and that it has the necessary competent personnel, the necessary equipment and aids, and a description of the procedures for the expert inspection. The work must be carried out with professional integrity, technical competence and independence.

Arbeidstilsynet describes the purpose like this: expert inspection is an independent technical safety inspection of the work equipment.

Sigurd Stave Maskin AS is Kiwa-verified and certified to carry out annual inspections. Ask which work equipment the certification covers when you book — see the next section.

Check that the certification covers the machine

The employer must make sure that the inspection is done by an expert inspection body that is certified to inspect the work equipment in question. So when you book, ask which machine types it covers.

The list of certified expert inspection bodies is on the website of Samarbeidsgruppen for sertifiseringsorganer (the cooperation group for certification bodies), sert555.no.

How to book an annual inspection with us

Call the workshop on +47 969 13 856, or book via Workshop and service and choose Annual inspection. The workshop will contact you to arrange a time.

If the machine is used with tools or interchangeable equipment, these must also be presented. The expert also needs information about the equipment, and Arbeidstilsynet mentions, among other things:

• identification of the equipment — in our booking form this is the serial number from the rating plate
• documentation from the manufacturer, including the operating manual
• documentation of maintenance carried out that is important for safety
• any certificate from the last periodic expert inspection