Lift consultants within the industry strongly suggest that lifts be maintained every so often to ensure that they are working well. However, due to legal reasons, it is highly recommended that they be maintained so that it doesn’t cost you a small or large fortune at some point. Industry expert David Pickering has given his honest advice on this matter.
With over 20 years of experience, he has obtained his Masters in Lift Engineering. This was completed at the University of Northampton and he’s also a certified member of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers. In the beginning, he started as a consultant before he became a senior engineer in Dublin.
How Important Is Lift Maintenance for Ensuring a Reliable Lift?
You can think of your lift as a car or rather a taxi. Most people understand it from this point of view and it contains some of the same components. Just like a car, lifts contain the following features:
- A motor
- A braking system
- A set of electronic controllers
- Specific user controls
- Some doors.
In essence, the previously mentioned systems or items are consumable. Hence, they should be replaced on a fixed schedule. This should be done during the life of the lift system. As such, tyres, filters, and oil are required to be replaced in a car now and again. In the case of a lift, rollers, ropes, and oil should be replaced.
Depending on the design, different manufactures produce different qualities of lifts and also have their own reputation within the industry. Similarly, the same way we intend to enter a car, it’s the same way we need to enter a lift. After getting in, passengers tend to expect that they get to their destination reliably and quickly.
Sticking with this example, throughout the existence of the lift routine inspections and servicing should be carried out. Hence, owners are expected to ensure that they have a special programme in place to ensure that the lift is maintained on schedule. If you were wondering, the first step in this process is to put an ongoing maintenance plan in place to facilitate these tasks.
When you organise and schedule things, preventative maintenance does a good job of ensuring things run the way that they’re supposed to. It also reduces the risks of regulatory and safety implications. So, if you’re interested in satisfying legal obligations, it’s a good idea to regularly maintain your lift.
Regulations usually apply to both office buildings as well as residential blocks. These include:
- Lift Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations
- The Health and Safety at Work Act
- Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations.
How Much Maintenance Is Required?
In the same way that you need to do regular upkeep on your car, you’ll need to do so with your lifting system. However, the following must be considered:
- The equipment quality
- The age of the equipment
- The amount of use it gets
- The type of use it is subjected to.
When a lift is properly installed, it will require a lower degree of maintenance effort. However, this applies to heavily engineered lifting systems. In this instance, value-engineered installations will need a higher degree of installation due to having stronger components.
If for some reason the lift ages, the components will become older and worn down. Hence, they will need more effort from the maintenance crew. All of this is necessary to prevent mishaps. It should be noted that traction lifts can easily last for 20 years or more if they’re taken care of.
This simply means that it can remain completely reliable if proper maintenance tactics are in place.
What Types of Lift Maintenance Are There?
For the most part, a ton of contractors will easily offer clients various maintenance and lift modernisation packages. However, selecting a contractor as well as a plan is often difficult. So, before you jump into a deal with a contractor, it’s best to find out about different contractors because you’ll never find two that offer the same service plans.