When Does My EWP Need Recertification?
EWP certification is not a one-off event but a schedule of checks at set intervals. This guide explains when each one falls due.
Owners often ask when their EWP needs to be recertified, expecting a single annual date. In reality certification is maintained through a layered schedule of checks, each with its own interval and each required by AS 2550.10 and WHS obligations. Missing any one of them can leave a machine legally out of service. This guide explains the three tiers and the events that can bring an inspection forward.
The three standard intervals
The first tier is the daily pre-start check, carried out by the operator before use. It is a functional and visual check of controls, alarms, hydraulics and obvious damage, and it must be recorded. The second tier is the annual inspection by a competent person, due every twelve months, which verifies structure, hydraulics and safety systems in depth.
The third tier is the major inspection, due at intervals not exceeding ten years from the date of manufacture and involving partial dismantling and non-destructive testing. Many owners also adopt an interim structural inspection at around five years, particularly where the manufacturer's manual specifies it.
- Daily: operator pre-start check, recorded
- Annually: competent-person inspection
- Up to ten years: major inspection from date of manufacture
Events that trigger inspection out of cycle
Some events require an inspection regardless of where the machine sits in its schedule. After any incident, overload, collision or unexpected structural event, the machine should be assessed by a competent person before returning to service. The same applies after a significant repair or modification affecting load-bearing components.
Recommissioning a machine that has been in long-term storage, or one whose history is unknown, also warrants a full inspection. Buying second-hand is a classic trigger: the build date sets the major inspection clock, and the machine's true condition can only be established by examination.
Keeping the paper trail intact
Certification is only defensible if the records exist. Each inspection updates the log book and, where relevant, the compliance and inspection plates. Insurers and regulators will ask for this evidence after any incident, and gaps in the record are treated as gaps in compliance.
The safest approach is to diarise every due date well in advance and book inspections early. A machine used past any of its intervals is not certified, is generally uninsured, and exposes the duty holder to enforcement action.
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