The firm I work for is getting new HIAB’s, the ones we use at the moment have grabs on for unloading blocks & bricks, the new ones will be able to fold up at the rear of the vehicle & our employer is then expecting drivers to swap attachments from a grab to a hook by removing a pin & disconnecting/reconnecting the hydraulic pipes to lift different goods off the vehicle, I would just like to find out, from a Health & Safety standpoint, if a mechanic has to do this, or is it ok for drivers to do it & what kind of inspection is required after the attachments have been swapped.
Thanks.
If you have been trained to do it, then you have been trained to do it! Obviously every different attachment has to be inspected/tested just the same as the HIAB. You might also need training to using each attachment on your ticket.
Think of it like changing a tyre, either you can have the skill to do it, or not. The new tyre you put on has to be of legal tread and inflation, and it has to be put on the correct way, with the nuts to the correct torque. But there is no reason why you couldn’t change it yourself rather than call out a mechanic at the roadside, other than the fact it is a massive ball ache, if you don’t happen to have all the tools a tyre fitter in his truck!
It’s not that difficult to change attachments by the way. It can get messy depending on what attachments you have on the ends of the pipes. I always found the screw type the best, as opposed to the push fit type, but I guess you won’t get to choose 
If you were the type of chap that liked to hang the job out, a sticky fitting or pin, when changing over is a cracking excuse…
I’ve never known a problem with drivers changing attachments, we always changed our own when needed anyway.
Just make sure that you mark the hoses so you put them back in the right order, or chaos will ensue with the controls 
Strip of insulation tape around #1 hose (both halves of the connection…).
2 strips around #2 hose etc etc.
Or cable ties if you want, maybe easier just to mark 1,2,3,4 hose.
Saves a LOT of messing about sorting them out later