What does a LOLER thorough examination cost?
LOLER examination is commonly quoted by visit and item. Prices differ sharply between a sling, forklift, patient hoist, passenger lift and complex crane, so a total item count without equipment categories is not a comparable brief.
Check my situationBuild the asset schedule before seeking a rate
The cheapest credible quotation starts with each main item, accessory group, location, use and current report. Providers can then apply visit charges, per-item rates, volume discounts and specialist-equipment allowances to the same schedule.
- Separate main lifting machines from accessories and identify equipment lifting people.
- State makes, models, capacities, serial numbers and locations where known.
- Identify access, isolation, load-test, specialist-test, defect and out-of-hours requirements.
What to do next: Request the visit minimum, rate by equipment category, accessory rate, reporting, travel and exclusions as separate lines. Ask how unidentified assets and failed-item re-examinations will be priced.
What moves the price
Main equipment complexity, number of safety-critical parts, installation, access, item identification, volume, site geography and the need for supplementary tests all affect examination time.
- Minimum site attendance
- Main equipment by category
- Accessories by count or kit
- People-lifting and specialist-equipment complexity
- Travel, access and multi-site coordination
How the Vendor Atlas model works
The calculator uses a visit amount, per-main-item amount, per-accessory amount, people-lifting and complex-equipment allowances and additional-site attendance. Every factor is displayed.
Provider-published examples show that some providers use per-item prices while specialist arborist services use kit pricing. The initial model is deliberately broad and must be refined with comparable real quotes.
Do not hide remedial work in the examination fee
Maintenance, repair, replacement parts, load testing and re-examination after defects can be separately chargeable. Comparing a pure examination with a service-and-repair package produces a misleading headline difference.
Ask who owns each defect action and whether a repair provider will be independent of the final continued-use judgement.
Published prices are boundaries, not a market average
Vendor Atlas uses these provider sources only to constrain the deterministic planning model. Dates, regions, inclusions and equipment differ, so the result is not a market benchmark or a live quotation.
- Robinsons Facilities Services : Publishes examinations from £150 plus VAT per item and a £180 minimum visit charge.
- The LOLER Man : Publishes £80 for small equipment and £115 for plant, with travel excluded.
- LOLER for Arborists : Publishes £75 for an initial kit examination and £65 for re-examination within its stated kit limits.
What is still missing: awarded quote data normalised to the same asset schedule, access conditions and deliverables. The calculator shows every adjustment so it can be replaced cleanly as that evidence arrives.
Use the comparable-quote standard