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Unless there has been modification or onsite assembly of the lifting mechanism, the manufacturers Certificate of Conformity and Test Certificate is accepted as meeting the requirements of LOLER for the first inspection interval (generally 6 or 12 months).
The valid period however commences at the date of the certificate (usually date of testing in the OEM factory).
Many trucks, manufactured overseas could be in transit for as long two months and may have been in inventory, in the country of origin for some time, before shipment.
Upon arrival in the UK, some of these trucks may go into local inventory for a period of time, perhaps as available stock or as pre-ordered trucks awaiting delivery.
As you will see, for many trucks, much of the inspection interval has expired prior to delivery to the customer’s site.
Trucks in transit, or in storage, do not get any extension from the date of testing because they may deteriorate whilst being stored, e.g. corrosion.
Suppliers may decide to carry out a LOLER inspection at the time of delivery in order to ensure that their customer gets the full benefit of the whole first inspection period. Depending upon the terms of sale, they may be contractually obliged to do this – but they are not legally compelled to.
Taking account of the foregoing, our advice would be to check the date on the Certificate of Conformity or the Test Certificate, which should be issued with all new trucks, and use that as the anniversary date for the issue of a new LOLER Certificate or, you want to cover your obligations under LOLER and PUWER in one go, a Thorough Examination Certificate from a CFTS accredited provider.