FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
These FAQs are designed to provide a better understanding of your lift. They provide basic information, sometimes about fairly complex topics.
Regarding terminology used in these FAQs, we have kept to layman’s terms where possible for an easier understanding.
These FAQ are designed to be helpful in raising awareness about your lift. It is not a substitute for legal advice. It may not cover important issues that affect you. You should consult with your own lawyer if you have any legal questions.
If you would cannot find the answer to your question here, please contact us or telephone 020 8311 5880 and one of our experts will be happy to help.
Maintenance
Lift maintenance & lift servicing is the most cost-effective way of ensuring the longevity of your lifts and associated equipment. Failing to maintain your lift could result in unnecessary repair costs.
Liftworks offer a variety of packages to suit the needs of your equipment. Depending on the usage of your lift, we can also supply a tailored package to suit your needs and budget.
Find out more about our maintenance contracts here
Our flexible, personalised maintenance agreements cover everything from routine servicing to comprehensive support, and all customers have access to our locally-based 24/7 call-out service.
Call Outs
Yes. You have a responsibility to have an emergency plan in place, in line with BS EN81-28.
It is best practice for all lifts to have an autodialler system fitted in the lift. This system enables any trapped passengers to talk to our call centre and report the trapping.
Our service and call out engineers carry various common parts. We also have stores at our office which holds many obsolete and less common parts. Our engineers have 24 hour access to these stores.
Our aim is to reach trapped passengers within 1 hour. For less urgent call outs we endeavour to be on site within 2 hours.
Modernisation
The Equality Act replaced the Disability Discrimination Act in October 2010. It states that reasonable adjustments must be made to premises where people with disabilities experience “substantial disadvantage”.
If you are unsure of what changes you should be making please call our office and we can arrange for an engineer to visit you and advise on what changes you should be making.Please see our Lift Modernisation page for more information
No, you need to make reasonable adjustments to your existing lift where practical to do so.
Possible adjustments could be:
- Landings – fit location signs on the approach to a lift; ensure the lift doors are visually distinguishable from adjoining walls; ensure landing push buttons are suitably positioned for wheelchair users to reach, and provide a visual and audible indication of the lift arrival at the lift lobby.
- Lift car – Fit handrail; fit a mirror; install a floor position indicator; install a voice enuciator; install an emergency communication system; relocate the car push button panel and ensure it has tactile buttons that illuminate and are readable when pushed; install full height door safety edge protectors.
Please see our Lift Modernisation page for more information
BS EN 8 -80 is the latest lift standard which identifies how to ensure your lift remains safe. Upgrading parts of your lift may be necessary when new technology will improve its safety. Your service provider has a duty to advise you of any such improvements available.
Please see our Lift Modernisation page for more information
There are a number of reasons to modernise your lift:
- Improve performance and traffic flow
- Add value to the building
- Energy saving
- Keep up to date with current legislation – reducing the risk of accidents
- Reduce breakdowns
Please see our Lift Modernisation page for more information
New Lifts
We offer bespoke and pre-engineered new and replacement lifts for most duty ranges including passenger, goods, service and disabled access use on competitive prices and minimal timescales. We also provide machine-room-less as well as traditional hydraulic and traction lift format. Please contact us for a technical study and review which can often be undertaken on the phone to establish budgetary proposals.
Please see our Lift Installation page for more information
Bespoke solutions really mean ‘unique’ to the customer. So your lift may need to have a special lift car finish to be resilient in a demanding environment, including making it as vandal-resistant as possible. It may need to be aesthetically matched to its environment, for instance, within a listed building. The drive system may be bespoke as can the shaft itself and all the controls. Most things are possible.
Depending on whether you choose a pre-designed lift or bespoke lift, it will take between 8 to 12 weeks to deliver from order to manufacture once all details and finishes are agreed between us.
It certainly is. Many lifts are supplied structure supported. This means they come in a pre-built shaft that gains its support from the base and each floor it passes through. At Liftworks we are able to supply passenger lifts, platform lifts and goods lifts in this way.
We offer a range of products from conventional passenger lifts for disabled use through to specialist and more economic platform, step lifts and other equipment for exclusive use by semi-ambulant persons to assist their movement through your building. We can also improve your exiting lifts to achieve Equality Act 2010 compliance.
Repair
Yes. Our highly trained repairs team are able to work on all types of lifts ranging from dumbwaiters to car lifts.
Please see our Lift Repairs page for more information
Your lift company shares a duty of care and should bring to your immediate attention any potentially dangerous or unsafe condition relating to your lift. It always remains your choice as to the priority and significance of any potential risks and whether to complete such works.
Please see our Lift Repairs page for more information
We have vast stores of a variety of lift parts and spares. We are also able to source numerous obsolete items.
As approved members of LEIA, Lift and Escalator Association, we are able to source directly from the original manufacturers.
Please see our Lift Repairs page for more information
Lift Maintenance & Servicing
You should arrange for the lift to be maintained (regularly serviced and kept in good repair) and, if the lift is in a place of work or accessable to the public, thoroughly examined at intervals in line with legislation.
Yes. The general duties imposed by The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 mean that you are obliged to keep your lift in safe working order. This means you must arrange for regular maintenance of your lift. In addition, if your lift is in a place of work then PUWER (Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998) applies too. Regular servicing will assist you to achieve this.
Please see our Lift Maintenance page for more information
Yes. You should inform your insurance company that there is a lift in the building. If you do not you may not be insured for any accidents or losses which may occur and you could be held liable.
During a service visit an engineer will check the safety features on the lift. The engineer will clean, lubricate and adjust all components for optimum performance. All work is recorded on triplicate sheets, one of which is left with the customer. Our engineers also record all work carried out on handheld devices which are linked to our office. Engineers also use their handheld devices to report any additional works or repairs which need to be carried out.
Please see our Lift Maintenance page for more information
Yes. The engineer will need to check many items within the shaft and motor room and so the lift will be ‘out of service’ while the engineer is on site. Our engineers display “ out of service” signs on each floor.
We offer a range of contracts tailored to suit our customers, ranging from fully comprehensive cover to our basic Bronze contract.
Please see our Lift Maintenance page for more information.
Maintenance is the regular service of the lift, encompassing the routine adjustments to components, topping up of fluids etc. This must be carried out by a competant lift engineer. Maintenance is carried out to ensure the lift runs safe and efficiently.
Thorough Examination is the systematic and detailed inspection of the lift and it’s associated equipment. This should be carried out by your insurance company or a competant lift engineer. Thorough examination provides a good check that maintenance is being carried out properly. It focuses entirely on the safety of the lift equipment.
Yes. Regulation 9 of the Litfing Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) requires that a lift undergoes an inspection/Thorough Examination by a competant person at regular intervals (twice a year for passenger lifts, once a year for goods lifts or according to the lifts situation) and applies to all lifts and lifting equipment used at work or accessable to the public.
Thorough Examination, as referred to in The Guidelines for Supplementary Testing of In-service Lifts, may also be referred to as Form 54 Inspection – the code given to the original form on which the findings of a thorough examination were recorded.
