Frequently asked questions
Straight answers about the app Shackles.io: LOLER Log — what it does, what it deliberately doesn't, and what it costs.
- What is Shackles.io: LOLER Log, and who is it for?
- A logbook for the lifting kit used in UK tree work — climbing ropes, harnesses, karabiners, slings, strops and rigging gear. It keeps your kit register, thorough-examination due dates, daily and weekly check records, defect log and PDF reports in one app, stored on your phone. It's built for duty holders — sole climbers and small arb firms — who want audit-ready records without the filing cabinet, and who'd rather be ready when the inspector asks than dig through van paperwork.
- Is it only for arborists, or can other trades use it for LOLER records?
- It's built arb-first, but the statutory machinery is the same for every UK duty holder under LOLER 1998. The examination clocks follow reg 9(3), the report writer covers every Schedule 1 field, and the defect log works the same whichever trade you're in — none of that is tree-work-specific. The kit catalogue speaks tree work (ropes, harnesses, rigging), and there are catch-all kinds — “other lifting accessory”, “other lifting equipment”, “other work equipment” — that put kit outside that catalogue on the correct examination clock. Two honest notes if you're not in tree work: the daily pre-use and weekly rope-record prompts reflect HSE's tree-work guidance, so your sector's inspection norms may differ; and as ever, the app records examinations — the thorough examination itself is your competent person's job.
- Does the app perform thorough examinations?
- No — and it never will. Thorough examinations are carried out by your competent person; Shackles records them and reminds you when the next one falls due. The app does not perform, verify or certify examinations or inspections, does not provide legal advice, and does not guarantee compliance with LOLER 1998 or any other regulation. You (or your business) remain the duty holder, and using the app does not discharge any of the duty holder's obligations — the terms spell this out.
- What is the examination clock?
- Lifting kit in service needs periodic thorough examination by a competent person, and LOLER regulation 9(3) sets the default rhythm: every 6 months for lifting accessories and kit that lifts people (climbing ropes, harnesses, karabiners, strops), every 12 months for other lifting equipment — or the intervals in a written examination scheme your competent person has drawn up. In the app, each item carries the clock its kind defaults to, you can set a per-item scheme interval, and the clock counts from the item's last recorded examination. If the examiner's report names an earlier "next examination by" date, the app tracks that earlier date instead. That's a plain-English summary, not legal advice — which interval applies to your kit is a question for you and your competent person (see the terms).
- What about daily pre-use checks and weekly rope records?
- Alongside thorough examinations, HSE guidance expects a pre-use check of climbing kit each day it's used, and a weekly recorded inspection for ropes and other high-wear items. The app gives both a home: daily checks in a couple of taps (a batch flow can cover the day's whole kit list in one go) and weekly rope records with dates and outcomes. Days or weeks without a record show as gaps — never auto-filled — because a record that fills itself in isn't evidence of anything. These cadences are what HSE guidance expects, and that's how the app describes them; keeping the records is how you show a working system when someone asks to see it.
- Where do my records live? Do I need an account?
- On your device, and only there — no account, no sign-in, no cloud, no server. The app never transmits your records anywhere; that's the design, not a setting. The honest consequence cuts both ways: nobody else can see your records, and we cannot see, recover or restore them either — there is no copy anywhere but your phone. Details in the privacy policy.
- What happens if I lose or break my phone?
- Whatever you exported or backed up survives; nothing else does. Because your records exist only on your device, backups are your job — and the app makes them easy:
- export PDF and CSV copies of your records whenever you like;
- create a local backup file from the app's settings, and store it somewhere safe of your choosing (your files app, a cloud drive, an email to yourself).
- What does the Schedule 1 PDF report contain?
- All 11 particulars that Schedule 1 of LOLER 1998 lists for a report of thorough examination — employer and premises details, equipment identification, safe working load, which regulation 9(3) basis the examination was made under, defect particulars, the examiner's and signatory's details, and the report date. Where a particular doesn't apply — say, the first-installation declarations on a routine periodic examination — the report shows an explicit "N/A" rather than silently dropping the field, so a reader can see it was considered, not missed. The PDF is generated on your device from what you recorded: it's your record of your competent person's examination, not an official document of any authority, and not a certificate.
- How do reminders work?
- They're local notifications, scheduled on your phone by the app — before thorough examinations fall due and when routine checks are coming up. There are no push notifications and no notification servers; nothing about your reminders leaves the device. One honest caveat, the same one the terms make: the operating system can delay or suppress notifications (focus modes, battery optimisation, after a restart), so we cannot guarantee a reminder will fire or be seen. Don't make the app your only mechanism for tracking examination dates.
- How much does it cost?
- Three ways in, all through the App Store or Google Play:
- Free tier: up to 15 kit items with every feature working — try the whole app before paying anything.
- Monthly: £1.99/month (incl. VAT) after a 1-month free trial. It auto-renews until you cancel, and the trial costs nothing if you cancel before it ends.
- Lifetime: £19.99 (incl. VAT), one-time — paid features for as long as we make the app available. The terms define exactly what "lifetime" means.
- What happens if I stop paying?
- The app goes read-only — it never holds your records hostage. Everything you already recorded stays viewable and exportable, free, forever: register, history, CSV exports, backup files, and regenerating reports you'd already generated. What waits for an active plan is new routine recording — items beyond the free tier, examinations, routine check records and first-time report generations. And one thing is never paywalled, in any state: safety-event recording. If you find a defect, or have to withdraw kit after it has arrested a fall, that record always saves — lapsed subscription or not. We won't trade a safety record for £1.99.
- Which platforms is it on, and in which countries?
- iPhone/iPad (App Store) and Android (Google Play) — the same app, records on the device either way, and it's coming soon to both stores. At launch it's listed on the UK storefronts only: the app is built around Great Britain's regime — LOLER 1998 and HSE guidance — so that's where it's honest to sell it. Other countries can follow if a version genuinely fits their rules.
- Is Shackles.io connected to the HSE?
- No. Shackles.io is independent software and is not affiliated with, approved or endorsed by the Health and Safety Executive or any other authority. Where the app or this site refers to HSE guidance or to LOLER 1998, that's identifying the public rules and guidance the records are built around — nothing more.
- How do I get help?
- Email support@shackles.io — or the company address, info@upskillagents.com, which also reaches us. The support page has full contact details plus the practical answers: cancelling the subscription, refunds, restoring purchases. You never need to send us your records or any personal data — support works without them.