Mandatory inspections of aerial platforms and work equipment in Portugal: what the law requires

In short: Portuguese law (Decree-Law 50/2005) requires the employer to have work equipment subject to wear checked periodically by a competent person, and to keep a written report. It sets no interval in months: you follow the manufacturer's manual and your risk assessment. In practice, for aerial work platforms, that means an annual inspection, frequent checks every 3 months or 150 hours, and a daily check before use.

What the law says

The basic rule is Decree-Law 50/2005 of 25 February, which transposes the EU directive on the use of work equipment. It applies to any company, in any sector, that puts machines in the hands of its workers: construction, industry, logistics, building maintenance, events, agriculture.

Article 6 requires three kinds of verification:

1. Initial verification, after installation or assembly at a new site, whenever safety depends on the installation conditions.
2. Periodic verifications (and tests, where needed) of equipment exposed to influences that can cause dangerous deterioration: wear, corrosion, vibration, weather.
3. Extraordinary verifications after modifications, accidents, natural events or long periods out of use.

The person carrying out the verification must be a competent person: someone with theoretical and practical knowledge and experience of that type of equipment (Article 2).

Article 7 requires a written report identifying the equipment, the type of verification, the date, the defects found, the deadline to fix them and who carried it out. And here is a detail many people miss: when the machine is used away from the company premises, for example on a construction site, it must be accompanied by a copy of the report of the last verification.

The same decree also states that self-propelled equipment may only be driven by duly qualified workers (Article 32) and covers equipment used to lift people (Article 29).

Which machines must be inspected

The law speaks of "work equipment" in general. In practice, the ones that need the most attention are those that lift people or loads and those that work in harsh conditions:

• Mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs): articulating and telescopic booms, scissor lifts, vertical masts, truck- and trailer-mounted platforms. The most sensitive case, because they lift people.
• Forklifts and telehandlers, including those used with a work basket.
• Cranes: tower, mobile, truck-mounted and loader cranes, plus overhead cranes, goods hoists and construction hoists.
• Lifting accessories: slings, chains, hooks, eyebolts, clamps.
• Construction and paving machines: excavators, backhoes, rollers, milling machines, curb machines and concrete pavers. They do not lift people, but they are subject to heavy wear and the periodic verification in Article 6 applies to them just the same.
• Fixed workshop and industrial machines: presses, saws, compressors and other machines with dangerous moving parts.

When in doubt, the right question is: if this machine deteriorates without anyone noticing, could someone get hurt? If the answer is yes, it must be checked periodically.

How often

The law does not set an interval. It tells you to follow the manufacturer's instructions and the company's risk assessment. For aerial platforms, manufacturers (JLG included) and the international standard ISO 18893 define a schedule that has become the reference in Portugal:

• Before each use: visual and functional check by the operator (leaks, tyres, controls, emergency stop, alarms, guardrails).
• Frequent inspection: every 3 months or 150 hours of operation, whichever comes first, and whenever the machine has been out of service for more than 3 months.
• Annual inspection: no more than 13 months after the previous one, by a competent person, with a report.
• Extraordinary verification: after an accident, a structural repair, a modification or a long period out of use.

For other equipment the principle is the same: manufacturer's manual, risk assessment, and an annual interval as a reasonable minimum for anything that lifts loads or people.

Who is responsible

The employer who uses the machine. Not the manufacturer, not the dealer, not the rental company. The company that puts the equipment in its workers' hands is the one that answers to the labour authority (ACT) for the existence of verifications and reports.

This has practical consequences:

• If you rent a platform, ask the rental company for a copy of the last inspection report and keep it with the machine.
• If you buy a used machine, ask for its inspection history and have it checked before putting it into service.
• If you subcontract work, the subcontractor is responsible for its own machines, but the client and the safety coordinator (Decree-Law 273/2003) should confirm that the reports exist.

Common mistakes and misunderstandings

"The mechanic's service is enough"

No. Maintenance and verification are different things. Maintenance repairs and replaces; verification assesses the safety condition and produces a report with the content required by Article 7. A competent mechanic can do both, but must issue the report.

"The machine is new and CE marked, it doesn't need it"

CE marking and the declaration of conformity (Decree-Law 103/2008) guarantee that the machine was built to the rules. Periodic verification is the user's obligation and the clock starts when the machine enters service.

"This only applies on construction sites"

It applies in any workplace: warehouses, factories, shopping centres, hotels, airports, farms. The law does not distinguish between sectors.

"The law says 12 months"

It does not. The interval comes from the manufacturer and the risk assessment. Annual is the practice and what the standards recommend, but in harsh environments or with intensive use a shorter interval may be justified.

"Anyone can sign the report"

It has to be a person competent in that type of equipment. In the event of an accident, this is the first thing ACT and the insurer will ask. Keep proof of the competence of whoever inspected (training, experience, CV).

"The annual inspection takes care of everything"

The annual inspection does not replace the operator's daily check or the frequent inspections. The three levels complement each other.

"The operator needs a licence"

Portugal has no driving licence for platforms or forklifts. What exists is the obligation for the operator to be qualified: specific training on that type of equipment, with assessment. The IPAF PAL Card, valid for five years, is the most widely recognised certification for aerial platforms and what most sites require.

"The report stays in the office"

A copy of the last verification must accompany the machine whenever it works away from the company premises.

What happens if you do not comply

• An administrative offence, serious or very serious (Article 43 of Decree-Law 50/2005), with fines set by the Labour Code according to company size and degree of fault, which can reach tens of thousands of euros.
• In the event of an accident, missing verifications and reports weigh on the civil and criminal liability of the company and its managers, and may lead the insurer to refuse or reduce compensation.
• The machine can be stopped by ACT until the situation is regularised.

What an aerial platform inspection checks

• Structure, welds, boom, scissor stack and pivot points.
• Hydraulic system: cylinders, hoses, leaks, holding valves.
• Safety systems: load and tilt limiters, emergency stop, emergency lowering, alarms, position sensors.
• Platform and ground controls, including enable (dead-man) switches.
• Guardrails, gate and harness anchor points.
• Tyres, brakes, steering, oscillating axles and outriggers.
• Battery or engine, wiring and signage.
• Identification plates, capacity marking, manual on board and previous records.

At the end, the machine gets a report listing the defects found, the deadline to fix them and the date of the next verification. If there is a critical fault, the machine should not return to work before it is repaired.

How it works with us

At Trapézio de Prismas we carry out periodic inspections under Decree-Law 50/2005 of JLG and other-brand aerial platforms, Power Curbers machines and other construction and industrial equipment.

• Inspections by technicians with JLG factory training and decades of experience in lifting and paving equipment.
• Written report with the content required by Article 7 and a sticker on the machine with the date of the next verification.
• Repair of the defects found, with genuine parts, on the spot or at an agreed date.
• Advance reminder of the next inspection, so the deadline is never missed.
• We travel anywhere in Portugal: to the site, the warehouse or the factory.

We work with companies such as Tabaqueira, Philip Morris International's affiliate in Portugal, and PaviRamos on the inspection and maintenance of their equipment.

Request an inspection proposal or call us: we answer the same day.