Managing lift safety requires more than booking occasional maintenance. Responsibilities need to be understood, defects acted on and records kept in a form that helps the people controlling the equipment make decisions.
The applicable requirements depend on the installation, its use and who has control over it. Workplace passenger lifts, public-access equipment and a lift used solely in a private home should not automatically be treated alike.
This checklist helps organise the questions building owners and managers should address with competent advisers. DHG Services can discuss equipment enquiries and appropriate assessment or support.
Identify the Equipment and Its Use
Maintain an accurate list of the lifting equipment under your control.
Record the manufacturer, model, location, identification details and intended use. Include relevant alterations and changes in the building’s operation.
Establish whether workers use the equipment and which responsibilities apply. HSE explains that workplace lifts are subject to relevant lifting equipment requirements, while other settings can involve different legal duties.
A building containing several types of lift may need different arrangements for each.
Do not use a service contract’s general description as the only basis for deciding the legal position. Confirm the application to the actual installation and use.
Make Responsibility Clear
Identify who commissions maintenance, arranges examinations, receives reports and authorises remedial work.
Property ownership, lease arrangements and management contracts may distribute tasks, but responsibilities should not be left ambiguous.
HSE identifies lift owners and people responsible for the safe operation of workplace lifts as dutyholders under LOLER.
Record the relevant contacts and cover for absence. A report requiring action should reach someone able to respond rather than remain in a shared inbox.
Where a managing agent acts on behalf of an owner, agree how urgent findings are escalated and how completed work is evidenced.
Maintain an Appropriate Service Programme
Maintenance should reflect the equipment, manufacturer’s guidance, use and operating environment.
Confirm what the contract includes and how faults between visits are reported. Scheduled servicing and breakdown attendance may have different terms.
HSE’s work equipment guidance emphasises maintenance to keep equipment working effectively and address faults, using people with suitable competence.
Ask how recurring issues are reviewed rather than repeatedly adjusted without a wider explanation.
Keep service reports accessible and identify recommendations still awaiting action. A visit record does not establish that every item raised during it has been completed.
Arrange Thorough Examinations Where Required
A service visit is not automatically a thorough examination.
Where LOLER applies, the relevant examination arrangements must be established. Equipment used to lift people normally has a six-month interval unless an examination scheme specifies otherwise.
The competent person needs appropriate knowledge and experience and sufficient independence and impartiality to make objective decisions.
Confirm the next due date, access arrangements and who will receive the report. Do not allow a contract renewal or staff change to interrupt the programme.
The HSE guidance on thorough examination explains the distinction and relevant requirements.
Act on Defects and Restrictions
Read reports when they arrive and distinguish urgent restrictions from work required within a stated period.
Where a defect presents a danger requiring equipment to remain out of use, follow the instruction and arrange the necessary remedy. Other findings may carry a deadline that also needs to be tracked.
HSE explains the need to address dangerous defects and comply with the timescales identified in the report.
Assign each item to a responsible person and retain evidence of completion.
Do not assume a quotation, purchase order or booked appointment closes the issue. Closure should relate to the completed work and any required follow-up.
Control Access to Restricted Areas and Keys
Lift machinery areas, shafts and release keys need appropriate control.
Ordinary access to the building does not make someone authorised to enter lift working areas or attempt a passenger release.
LEIA’s guidance on lift access and release keys highlights the risks associated with their use. Establish who may hold them, what training is required and how access is recorded.
Review arrangements when contractors or staff change.
Any operational tasks assigned to building personnel should be defined and supported by the necessary training. Technical work should remain with appropriately competent people.
Review Communication and Rescue Arrangements
Establish how a trapped passenger requests assistance and how the building responds.
Confirm who receives alarm calls, what site information they hold and how competent rescue assistance is arranged.
Include relevant communication equipment and service arrangements in the maintenance discussion. A working lift car does not establish that the alarm connection is functioning.
The response procedure should identify what staff can do and where their role stops.
Provide contact information in a form available during the hours the building is occupied. Where the lift is essential for access, plan how affected users will be supported during downtime.
Keep Product and Modification Records
Retain relevant operating instructions, conformity documentation, service reports, examination reports and details of alterations.
HSE explains that lifting equipment has suitability, marking and record requirements where the regulations apply.
Documentation should relate to the actual installation, including later changes to controls, doors or drive equipment.
Ask the contractor what records will be supplied after significant work and whether further assessment is required.
Store the information so it remains available through staff changes or changes of managing agent. Protecting the record is part of maintaining continuity, not merely an administrative exercise.
Consider the Wider Building Arrangements
Lift safety connects with the way the building is managed.
Review lighting, approach routes, reporting procedures and information for users. Consider whether changes in occupancy or use affect the original arrangements.
Fire and evacuation planning needs specialist attention. Do not assume an ordinary passenger or platform lift can be used for evacuation unless it has been appropriately designed and incorporated into the building’s strategy.
A checklist helps organise these questions, but it does not certify compliance or replace competent assessment.
Discuss any uncertainty with the professionals responsible for the relevant equipment and building systems.
Establish the Next Actions
Start with the information you already hold. Identify missing records, overdue appointments, outstanding findings and unclear responsibilities.
Our team can discuss enquiries about lifting equipment and the appropriate next step.
For private households in Coventry, we also provide information about stairlift installations and support. Domestic use should be assessed on its own circumstances rather than assumed to carry the same duties as a workplace passenger lift.
Contact DHG Services to discuss your installation and requirements.
