Lift Maintenance Regulations

The regulations governing lift maintenance aren’t simple to decipher. The Tower Lifts maintenance team often find themselves working through the detail with frustrated lift managers or owners. We thought it might be helpful, therefore, to take a look at the regulations and clear up the difference between ‘preventive maintenance’ and ‘thorough examination’ of your vertical transport.

What Are Lift Maintenance Regulations?

The LOLAR 1998 regulations stipulate that if you own, or manage, or have control over a lift in the workplace, you are required to ensure that it undergoes a thorough examination at regular intervals. This is to ensure that the equipment is safe to use. The examination has to be carried out by a ‘competent person’.

What is a Thorough Examination?

The HSE is at pains to point out that ‘a thorough examination’ is not the same as preventive maintenance:

• Preventive Maintenance. This is scheduled regularly and is normally carried out by a lift maintenance company. It will normally comprise topping up the fluid levels, routine adjustments and the replacement of worn or damaged parts.

A thorough examination takes into account not only the lift mechanism, but also the operating environment in which it is used:

• Thorough Examination. The risks will be assessed with reference to the age of the lift, its function, the loads it transports, and its position in the building. The examination will then ascertain the level of maintenance in place, and carry out checks on every component.

A thorough examination will determine whether or not the lift is safe for use given its condition, maintenance regime, and ongoing role within the business.

Finding a Competent Person

The lift owner, manager or operator has responsibility for selecting a ‘competent person’ to carry out the ‘thorough examination’. There are a number of criteria this person must meet in order to be considered capable of the task.

They must:

1. Have sufficient technical knowledge to know whether the lift is defective.
2. Be able to assess accurately the risks associated with any defects discovered.
3. Demonstrate an impartiality which will allow them to make an objective assessment.
4. Not be the same person who administers scheduled maintenance – as this would involve them in assessing their own work.

Whilst there’s no prohibition on using someone from within the business to carry out a thorough investigation, it rarely happens. This is usually because employees are rarely able to meet all the criteria, although they may meet some of them. It’s far more usual for companies to bring in an external examiner.

Thorough Examination Scheduling

If you have a ‘goods only’  lift you will need to schedule an examination every 12 months. If you operate a passenger lift, it should be scheduled at least every 6 months. If any major changes or repairs are made to the lift, an examination should be carried out straight after. In the event of a lift breakdown, or should the lift be out of use for a period, an examination is required before it returns to regular use.

Tower Lifts Carry out Thorough Examinations

Passenger health and safety drives everything we do at Tower Lifts. It makes sense, therefore, that an integral part of our work with clients involves lift examination for LOLER purposes. This is separate to the routine maintenance work we carry out for businesses, and would not normally be part of a lift maintenance contract.

If you own or manage a lift in the workplace, you’ll be familiar with lift maintenance regulations. For details of the work we do in this area, call Tower Lifts on 01525 601099

Tower Lifts carry out design and installation on a varied range of lifts throughout the UK including:

Domestic Lifts • Food Lifts • Bespoke Platform Lifts • Service Lifts • Platform Lifts • Goods Lifts • Scenic Lifts • Heavy Duty / Car Lifts • Passenger Lifts • Dumbwaiter Lifts • MRL Lifts • Fire lifts • Residential Lifts • low-Headroom Lifts