About

The Lifting Operations Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) are a set of regulations created under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 which came into force in Great Britain on 5 December 1998 and replaced a number of other pieces of legislation which covered the use of lifting equipment. A lifting machine needs a LOLER so that it is deemed safe to use, many expire annually however some machines need testing even sooner.

As this is an important question, it deserves to have its own page. Please see our Forklift Battery Care and Maintenance page for an in-depth look at how to properly care and prolong the life of your battery.

The first question to ask is what type of pallets you use. If you use ones with an open bottom, then you are able to use either (the wrap over may be a better choice as it takes up less room).

However, the wrap over machine is not able to lift closed pallets, as it has two legs that sit directly under the forks (the act of lifting the forks with a closed pallet would snap the pallet).

The alternative would be to use what is known as a “slave pallet”. This is a empty pallet that the loaded pallet would sit on so that a wrap over stacker can lift it. A wrap over pallet can never lift a closed pallet from the floor.

If you do not wish to use a slave pallet, then the alternative machine to use would be a straddle leg stacker, where the legs go either side of the closed pallet.

This very much depends on your application of use where different machines may have an advantage over another.