Scenario: a Japanese customer’s audit finds that 3 of the plant’s 11 overhead cranes expired their technical inspection four months ago — not because the plant refused inspection, but because nobody tracked the stamp dates. Lifting equipment is the most strictly policed category in a factory: expired inspection is the violation almost guaranteed to be caught in every labour inspection and customer audit. This article organises the legal basis, the cycle and the liabilities so the plant does not repeat the mistake.
Legal basis: the controlled list and the inspection duty
Article 31 of the Law on Occupational Safety and Health 84/2015/QH13 requires machinery, equipment and materials with strict occupational safety requirements to be technically inspected before being put into use and periodically during use; inspections are performed by safety-inspection organisations designated by the competent authority. The concrete list sits in Circular 36/2019/TT-BLDTBXH — in a typical factory it covers overhead and gantry cranes, lifts and freight elevators, engine-powered forklifts with lifting capacity of 1,000 kg or more, plus associated pressure vessels and boilers. The employer must also declare its use of listed equipment to the local state labour authority. A pass is evidenced by a certificate of inspection results and an inspection stamp affixed to the equipment — the stamp is the first thing inspectors and auditors look at.
The inspection cycle in real operation
Three inspection events must be managed: the initial inspection before the equipment enters use (after installation); periodic inspection when the cycle in the equipment’s inspection procedure falls due, as recorded on the certificate; and extraordinary inspection after an incident, after repair or replacement of load-bearing parts, or after a long idle period. The dossier comprises the equipment file, manufacturer technical documentation, conformity certification/import documents for imported equipment, maintenance records and the previous inspection certificate. The classic FDI bottleneck is intra-group transferred equipment lacking its original file — resolve it at the receiving step by having the manufacturer re-issue the technical documentation, not on the first inspection day. Inspection cost falls on the employer and is a mandatory compliance cost, not a discretionary saving.
Expired inspection: consequences in layers
Layer one, administrative: using uninspected or expired equipment is fined under the labour administrative penalty decree — note Decree 12/2022/ND-CP ceased effect on 10 September 2026 and was replaced by Decree 283/2026/ND-CP — and the equipment may be ordered out of use until it passes. Layer two, commercial: customer audits (especially social-responsibility and supplier-safety programmes) grade this a major finding, leading to time-bound corrective action plans or order cuts. Layer three, accident liability: expired inspection is direct adverse evidence of employer fault, affecting compensation, insurance and criminal liability for occupational safety violations. Correct governance is mechanical: one register of strictly-controlled equipment for the whole plant, stamp expiry as a mandatory data field, alerts 45 days ahead, and inspections anchored to planned maintenance shutdowns.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which equipment in a factory is subject to mandatory safety inspection?
The list of equipment with strict occupational-safety requirements subject to inspection is set out in Circular 36/2019/TT-BLDTBXH under Article 31 of the Law on Occupational Safety and Health 84/2015/QH13. In a factory, the common groups are: overhead and gantry cranes and other lifting equipment; elevators and escalators; engine-powered forklifts with lifting capacity of 1,000 kg or more; pressure vessels; boilers and pressurised piping systems; personnel lifting platforms and goods hoists. The determination principle is to check the current list of the labour authority, not to guess — listed equipment must be inspected before being put into use and periodically during use.
How often are first and periodic inspections, and who may perform them?
There is no single cycle for all equipment: each equipment type has its own inspection procedure (QTKD procedures issued by the competent authority) setting first, periodic and extraordinary inspection cycles by type, age and working conditions — the specific cycle for each unit is printed on its inspection stamp and certificate. Inspection may only be performed by an occupational-safety technical inspection organisation holding an eligibility certificate for inspection activities; internal self-checks do not substitute for statutory inspection. Correct management is to load the expiry date on the inspection stamp into the factory maintenance system as a hard deadline.
What is the penalty for using uninspected equipment?
Equipment that is uninspected or overdue and still in use attracts administrative penalties under the current labour sanction framework — Decree 283/2026/ND-CP replacing Decree 12/2022/ND-CP from 10 September 2026 — plus suspension of the equipment’s use until it passes inspection. The specific fine depends on the act (no inspection, using equipment failing safety requirements, no use declaration) and the decree’s rules on organisation-level fines. The heavier risk beyond fines arises when an accident occurs on uninspected equipment: the enterprise loses its occupational-accident insurance position and faces compensation liability, even criminal liability of direct managers.
Where is the use-registration dossier for lifting equipment filed?
Under Article 31 of the Law on Occupational Safety and Health 84/2015/QH13, after equipment passes its first inspection, the using organisation must declare the use of strict-requirement equipment to the labour-specialised agency of the provincial People’s Committee where the equipment is installed, before putting it into use. The declaration file includes equipment information, the first inspection result and accompanying technical documents per the local labour authority’s guidance. Equipment moved between factories or provinces must be re-declared at the new installation place; the declaration is what completes the factory’s safety file when labour inspectors call.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council