Periodic Inspection of Lifting Equipment in Hungary: How the System Works – an Operator's Guide

Safe operation of a lifting machine is the operator's responsibility. To carry that responsibility well, it helps to first clarify who is who in the terminology of the Lifting Machine Safety Code (EBSZ):

• Operator (üzemeltető) – the organisation that keeps the machine in service: typically the owner or the lessee, the employer of the personnel who operate and serve the machine
• Owner (tulajdonos) – under the EBSZ's default rule, in the absence of a written agreement to the contrary, the owner ensures the machine's safe condition and has the periodic inspections performed
• Handler (emelőgép-kezelő) – the qualified worker who operates the machine day to day; the per-shift check is also their task

This guide walks through how the Hungarian inspection system is built up.

The legal chain: from EU directive to standards

The Hungarian inspection regime is not a single law but a system of layers. EU Directive 2009/104/EC on the use of work equipment is transposed by the Occupational Safety Act; sector decrees and safety codes spell out its implementation; and the concrete inspection methods and intervals come from national standards. The elements of the chain:

• Act XCIII of 1993 on occupational safety (Mvt.) – the operator's responsibility and the basic requirements of safe work; Section 21 on the commissioning of dangerous work equipment
• Decree 47/1999. (VIII. 4.) GM on the issuing of the Lifting Machine Safety Code (EBSZ) – operation, inspections, logbook, and who is authorised to inspect
• Decree 10/2016. (IV. 5.) NGM on the minimum level of safety and health requirements for work equipment and its use – the framework of the periodic review and the electrical safety measurements
• Decree 5/1993. (XII. 26.) MüM on the implementation of certain provisions of Act XCIII of 1993 – the scope of dangerous work equipment (annex) and occupational-safety commissioning
• The MSZ 9721 standard series (2020) – periodic inspection of lifting machines (its parts listed below)
• MSZ 9750:2009 – the periodic inspection group number of lifting machines
• MSZ 6726-1:2011 and MSZ 6726-4:2009 – verifying lifting machines' suitability for intended use (general requirements, and hydraulic installations)
• MSZ 07-4446:1991 – periodic inspection of vehicle lifts
• Decree 35/1997. (XII. 5.) MKM – Theatrical Arts Safety Code; Decree 12/2000. (VI. 15.) NKÖM – Television and Motion Picture Recording and Broadcasting Safety Code; and the safety rules of the vehicle-servicing sector

The parts of the MSZ 9721 series — republished as a whole in August 2020 — divide the inspection requirements by machine kind:

• MSZ 9721-1:2020 – General requirements: the common inspection basis for every kind (this part also covers, for example, lifting tables, winches, trolleys and stage lifting machinery)
• MSZ 9721-2:2020 – Periodic inspection of bridge and gantry cranes
• MSZ 9721-3:2020 – Periodic inspection of mobile and loader cranes
• MSZ 9721-4:2020 – Periodic inspection of power-driven forklift trucks
• MSZ 9721-5:2020 – Lifts with a speed of at most 0.15 m/s
• MSZ 9721-7:2020 – Periodic inspection of tower cranes
• MSZ 9721-8:2020 – Periodic inspection of mobile elevating work platforms

The inspection types: what, when, why

The EBSZ itself defines what counts as a periodic inspection (point 7.2.1): "for the purposes of this Code, periodic inspection — in accordance with the applicable standards — means the periodic safety review, the structural inspection and the main inspection, the performance of which, in the absence of an agreement to the contrary, must be ensured by the owner of the lifting machine." This is complemented by the pre-commissioning examination, which is not a periodic inspection but a precondition of taking the machine into use.

Occupational-safety commissioning and suitability examination. A lifting machine is dangerous work equipment under Section 21 of the Occupational Safety Act — per EBSZ point 7.1.1, "the precondition of putting a lifting machine into service is occupational-safety commissioning". It is due at first installation and again after relocation or substantial modification; per point 9.14, a main inspection must be performed before commissioning a machine erected at a new installation site. The commissioning is ordered in writing by the operator. If not every condition is yet in place, operation may be ordered on a temporary basis, for at most 180 days. For certain dangerous work equipment — those listed in Annex 2/b of Decree 5/1993. (XII. 26.) MüM — a further condition of commissioning is an inspection report certifying conformity, issued by an accredited organisation. The methodology of the suitability examination comes from MSZ 6726-1:2011 (with MSZ 6726-4:2009 for hydraulic installations); we perform these as conformity/suitability examinations under Section 21(5) of the Occupational Safety Act.

Per-shift check. Under MSZ 9721-1:2020 the lifting machine must also be checked every shift, before work begins, taking the manufacturer's instructions into account. If several people operate the machine within one shift, the first user performs the check and the others verify the entry. This is the only inspection without a report: its findings are entered in the lifting-machine logbook.

Structural inspection. It verifies that the machine's structural elements carry no damage, wear, permanent deformation or other irregularity affecting load-bearing capacity or operability (loosened connections, visible cracks, for example), and that the safety devices work as intended. It is performed without disassembly, with the machine running unloaded; if the inspection raises doubt, it must also be performed at nominal load (brake or overload-limiter checks, for example).

Main inspection. Beyond the content of the structural inspection, it also checks the machine's technical condition, its proper operation, and whether its main technical characteristics match the documentation; this is also when the appropriateness of the inspection group number and the repair of previously found defects are verified. Under the standard, the main inspection contains the structural inspection – which is why it discharges a structural inspection due in the same month, in a single visit.

Periodic safety review. Under the EBSZ it must be performed at least every five years — and also when the machine's environment changes (for example, when the technology it serves changes), or more often if the manufacturer prescribes a shorter interval. Under MSZ 9721-1:2020 the periodic safety review contains the main inspection; this is the deepest review, judging the conformity of the structural design, the mechanical and electrical installations and the safety devices, and the machine's fitness for continued safe operation.

Extraordinary inspections. There are three typical triggers: after an accident; after the machine has been out of service for more than 30 days for technical reasons; and after relocation or modification. For vehicle-mounted lifting machines (truck cranes, for example) a practical point: some vehicle-inspection stations require a fresh main-inspection report for the base vehicle's roadworthiness test.

Shock-protection and insulation-resistance measurement. For lifting machines powered from the electrical mains, Decree 10/2016. (IV. 5.) NGM also requires shock-protection and insulation-resistance measurements: at most every 3 years for installed equipment, and annually for portable equipment.

Who may perform the inspections?

EBSZ point 7.2.10 settles this precisely: "A lifting-machine expert is authorised to perform the periodic inspection of a lifting machine. A lifting-machine administrator is also authorised to perform the main inspection — except for machines with a permitted capacity above 1,000 kg and machines where the operator's workstation is on the lifting carriage and the carriage can be raised above 1.5 m — and the structural inspection; a lifting-machine inspector is authorised to perform the structural inspection only."

Who qualifies as a lifting-machine expert? Under EBSZ point 5.3, someone who is an inspector on the staff of a testing laboratory accredited for the given machine type, or who holds the relevant expert licence — in practice the Hungarian Chamber of Engineers' lifting-machine certificate (G-D-36) or the occupational-safety expert authorisation (Mb5-SZ). The expert may perform every periodic inspection.

According to the EBSZ interpretation of OEME (the Hungarian National Lifting Machine Association), the lifting-machine administrator may perform structural inspections without restriction, and main inspections up to 1 tonne capacity — or on machines whose operator carriage does not rise above 1.5 metres. The lifting-machine inspector — per EBSZ point 5.4, a maintainer with at least 5 years' practice — may perform any structural inspection. The periodic safety review is always an expert's task.

How often? The inspection group number (MSZ 9750)

Per EBSZ point 7.2.7, "for the mode and frequency of the structural and main inspections, the national standard applicable to the lifting machine — its kind/type — or the provisions of the manufacturer's instructions must be taken into account". For lifting machines under MSZ 9721, frequency is set by the periodic inspection group number (VCS 1–5) per MSZ 9750, which weighs the machine's character and the intensity of its use together. Every interval is measured two ways – in operating hours and in calendar months – and whichever the machine reaches first governs. The intervals per Table 1 of MSZ 9721-1:2020:

• VCS 1: structural inspection every 1,600 operating hours or 8 months · main inspection every 4,800 hours or 24 months
• VCS 2: structural inspection every 1,400 operating hours or 7 months · main inspection every 4,200 hours or 21 months
• VCS 3: structural inspection every 1,200 operating hours or 6 months · main inspection every 3,600 hours or 18 months
• VCS 4: structural inspection every 800 operating hours or 4 months · main inspection every 2,400 hours or 12 months
• VCS 5: structural inspection every 600 operating hours or 3 months · main inspection every 1,800 hours or 9 months

Two practical rules for the table. If operating hours cannot be tracked accurately, the calendar intervals govern. And the table's intervals are minimum requirements: a longer interval may be set on the basis of a risk assessment, but only under strict conditions — a long-term (at least 5-year) inspection and maintenance schedule evaluated annually, usage time traceable from the lifting-machine logbook, documented logbook handling, and maintenance documented and aligned to the changed interval. For machines designed for a defined service life, the intervals must be set per the manufacturer's specifications (for life-designed cranes, with a full technical review every ten years).

Assigning the right group number is a professional judgement – our colleagues help with it when surveying an equipment fleet. Under the EBSZ, the operator must also arrange the periodic inspection of load-bearing accessories: rigid ones at the intervals of the applicable national standard, textile ropes and slings at the frequency prescribed by the manufacturer — in practice typically annually.

Vehicle lifts: the MSZ 07-4446 regime

The inspection regime of vehicle lifts is set by MSZ 07-4446:1991: they do not follow the MSZ 9721 cycle system and carry no inspection group number. Their regime consists of three independent obligations, in which the machine's age also plays a part:

• Structural inspection: every 4 months
• Main inspection: every 36 months up to 9 years from manufacture, then every 24 months
• Periodic safety review: at most every 5 years, together with a main inspection

Here too, a main inspection discharges a structural inspection due in the same month. As lifting machines, vehicle lifts fall under the EBSZ, and because of the workshop environment the safety rules of the vehicle-servicing sector apply as well.

Stage and studio lifting machinery

Stage hoists, point hoists, scenery hoists and studio lifting equipment qualify as lifting machines, so the EBSZ and MSZ 9721 apply to them – but so do dedicated sector codes: the Theatrical Arts Safety Code (Decree 35/1997. (XII. 5.) MKM) and the Television and Motion Picture Recording and Broadcasting Safety Code (Decree 12/2000. (VI. 15.) NKÖM).

What makes this field special is that the load often moves above people's heads, during a performance, with an audience present. The intervals are therefore stricter than the general cycle system — per the stage-technology chapter of the EBSZ, "the main and structural inspection of stage lifting machinery must be performed between each season's closing and opening, but at least annually". GÉPTESZT has inspected the stage machinery of leading theatres and studios for decades.

A look beyond: when the machine is not a lifting machine

An operator's fleet rarely consists of lifting machines alone, so the inspection regime of other work equipment is worth a brief look — this is where the dangerous and non-dangerous categories part ways:

• Dangerous production equipment (not a lifting machine): occupational-safety commissioning ordered in writing under Section 21 of the Occupational Safety Act, then a periodic safety review at least every five years — and after an accident — under Section 23. The examinations are based on MSZ 63-4:1985 (commissioning) and MSZ 63-5:1985 (periodic safety review). This is a certified occupational-safety activity, tied to specialist qualification.
• Non-dangerous work equipment: under Decree 10/2016. (IV. 5.) NGM, if the equipment can suffer damage that may create a dangerous situation, a periodic control review is required at most every five years. This may be performed by any suitable person entrusted by the employer — no specialist qualification needed.
• For lifting machines, the suitability examination follows the MSZ 6726 series; on the client's request we also perform the examination per MSZ 63-4 and MSZ 63-5.

After the inspection: report, defects, logbook

Every inspection except the per-shift check produces a report recording the machine's identification, the inspection type and result, the defects found with their severity, and the finding on continued operability. The inspector also records the report's identifier and their fitness statement in the lifting-machine logbook; the inspection must also be entered in the machine's operating document (MSZ 9725:2018). The operator must have the defects repaired and document the repair – with a serious defect, the machine may not be operated until it is fixed.

Section 3 of the EBSZ lists the operator's duties item by item. Beyond having the inspections performed, the operator must keep the register and the operating documentation of the lifting machines and load-suspension devices up to date — retaining them until the machine is scrapped — and the instructions for use must remain available to the machine's handler until scrapping. Operating experience and safety-related events must be recorded in the lifting-machine logbook; in our inspection experience this is the most common shortcoming — the logbook is not up to date, or is not available at the inspection. The operator may delegate these duties only in writing, to a person with suitable technical qualification (for example a lifting-machine administrator), to a specialised organisation, or to a lifting-machine expert.

Tracking due dates across hundreds of assets is no longer reliable in spreadsheets. We manage our clients' equipment in a digital register: identified assets, forecast due dates, retrievable reports.

The operator's duties – a checklist

• Classify your lifting machines: inspection group number per MSZ 9750, with expert involvement
• Schedule structural and main inspections – by operating hours and calendar alike; the earlier deadline governs
• Have a periodic safety review performed at most every five years, together with a main inspection
• Keep the lifting-machine register and operating documentation up to date, with the instructions for use available to the handler
• Keep the lifting-machine logbook up to date and available at inspections
• Ensure operators are trained and authorised; delegate duties only in writing (e.g. to a lifting-machine administrator)
• After an accident, an outage of more than 30 days, relocation or modification, initiate an extraordinary inspection
• For mains-powered lifting machines, arrange shock-protection and insulation-resistance measurements: at most every 3 years if installed, annually if portable
• Retain the reports and document the repair of the defects found

How we do it

GÉPTESZT has inspected lifting machines since 1987, and since 1999 as an inspection body accredited to MSZ EN ISO/IEC 17020. We carry out the periodic inspection of more than 10,000 power-driven lifting machines and, beyond those, several thousand load-bearing accessories for our clients – more than 14,000 inspections a year – with nationwide coverage, a digital register and due-date forecasting. If you would like us to survey and schedule the inspection regime of your equipment fleet, get in touch.