If you are responsible for a building with one or more lifts, keeping them in safe working order forms part of your role. This does not mean carrying out repairs yourself, but it does mean ensuring that lifts are properly maintained, inspected and managed throughout their working life.
For many building managers, lifts are only one part of a much wider set of responsibilities. They often become a priority when a breakdown occurs, a LOLER examination is due or recurring faults begin causing disruption.
Understanding what needs to be arranged, keeping accurate records and working closely with your lift maintenance provider can make managing lift systems far more straightforward.
Understanding Your Responsibilities
Responsibility for a lift involves more than arranging a service visit every few months. Building managers need to make sure that suitable maintenance arrangements are in place, statutory examinations are completed when required and any identified defects are dealt with appropriately.
The person or organisation responsible will depend on how the building is owned, occupied and managed. In a commercial property, responsibility may sit with the building owner, facilities manager, managing agent, employer or another duty holder.
Responsibilities should be clearly defined so that maintenance visits, LOLER examinations and necessary repairs are not missed because each party assumes someone else is arranging them.
Lift Maintenance Is More Than Routine Servicing
One common misunderstanding is that a routine maintenance visit covers every aspect of lift management. In practice, servicing, repairs, LOLER thorough examinations and modernisation work all serve different purposes.
Routine maintenance allows lift components, controls and safety systems to be checked, adjusted and monitored. It can also identify wear or developing problems before they result in a breakdown.
Repairs are required when components fail, faults develop or defects are identified during maintenance or examination. Some repairs may need to be completed immediately, while others can be planned depending on the nature of the fault and the risk involved.
LOLER examinations are separate statutory examinations intended to assess whether lifting equipment remains safe for continued use. Modernisation becomes relevant when parts are obsolete, reliability is deteriorating or upgrading particular systems would extend the working life of the lift.
Why LOLER Examinations Matter
Regular servicing does not replace the requirement for a LOLER thorough examination.
A thorough examination is a systematic assessment of the parts of the lift that could affect safety. It is normally carried out by a competent person who is sufficiently independent and impartial to make an objective judgement about the lift’s condition.
Passenger lifts and lifts used to carry people are generally examined at least every six months. Other lifting equipment is commonly examined every twelve months, unless a written examination scheme specifies a different interval.
The examination report may identify defects requiring immediate action, defects that must be addressed within a stated period or observations that should be monitored. Building managers should review these reports carefully and retain evidence that any necessary remedial work has been completed.
Keeping Accurate Lift Records
Good records provide a clear history of how a lift has been maintained and how its condition has changed over time. They are particularly valuable when recurring faults are being investigated or future expenditure is being planned.
Records should include maintenance reports, LOLER examination reports, breakdown call-outs, completed repairs and outstanding recommendations. Details of modernisation work or major component replacements should also be retained.
Reports should not simply be filed away without being reviewed. Recommendations, exclusions and outstanding repairs need to be understood, allocated and followed through.
Accurate records also make it easier to transfer responsibility when a building changes owner, managing agent or facilities team.
Managing Lift Breakdowns
No maintenance programme can prevent every breakdown. Mechanical components wear, electrical faults develop and unexpected failures can still occur.
When a lift stops working, the fault should be reported with as much useful information as possible. Details such as unusual noises, door behaviour, error messages, the floor where the problem occurred and whether the fault has happened before can help the engineer begin the investigation.
Building users should be prevented from using a lift when there is reason to believe it may be unsafe. Warning notices or barriers may be needed until the lift has been inspected and returned to service.
Repeated call-outs for similar faults should not be treated as unrelated incidents. Repair reports and breakdown history can help establish whether a component is repeatedly failing or whether a wider control, door or electrical problem needs further investigation.
Managing Passenger Entrapments
Building managers should have a clear procedure for dealing with passenger entrapments. Occupants need to know how to raise the alarm, and the alarm communication system should be tested at the required intervals.
Only trained and authorised people should attempt to release passengers from a lift. Trying to force doors open or move the lift without the correct knowledge can place both the trapped passenger and the person attempting the release at risk.
The lift maintenance provider should be contacted immediately, and emergency services should be called when there is a medical emergency or another immediate danger.
Following an entrapment, the cause should be investigated and recorded rather than simply resetting the lift and returning it to service without understanding what happened.
Planning Maintenance Around the Building
The maintenance requirements of a lift are influenced by its age, design, condition, operating environment and level of use.
A passenger lift in a busy healthcare building, office block or residential development may complete considerably more journeys than a lift in a lightly occupied commercial property. Maintenance frequency should reflect these differences rather than relying on a standard schedule for every lift.
Building managers should also consider when maintenance visits can be carried out with the least disruption. Planned work may need to take place outside normal operating hours or during quieter periods, particularly where a building has only one lift.
Maintenance arrangements should be reviewed when building occupancy, opening hours or lift usage changes. A programme that was appropriate several years ago may no longer reflect the demands being placed on the equipment.
Responding to Maintenance Recommendations
Maintenance reports often include observations or recommendations that do not require an immediate shutdown but still need attention.
These recommendations should be assessed rather than repeatedly carried forward from one report to the next. Delaying minor repairs can allow wear to progress, potentially leading to a larger failure or more disruptive work later.
Building managers should ask for clarification where a recommendation is unclear. A good maintenance provider should be able to explain what has been identified, why the work is needed, how urgent it is and what could happen if it is postponed.
Knowing When Repairs Are No Longer Enough
Older lifts can often remain in service for many years when they are properly maintained. Age alone does not mean that a lift needs to be replaced.
However, recurring breakdowns, long waits for parts, obsolete controls and rising repair costs may indicate that continued reactive repairs are no longer the most practical approach.
Modernisation does not always involve replacing the entire lift. Controllers, door operators, drive systems, communication equipment and other components can often be upgraded individually or as part of a phased programme.
Reviewing repair history and component availability allows building managers to plan this work before a major failure forces an urgent decision.
Planning Lift Maintenance Budgets
Lift expenditure should include more than the cost of the maintenance contract. Building managers may also need to budget for repairs, statutory examinations, supplementary tests and future modernisation work.
Unexpected repair costs are difficult to eliminate completely, but reviewing maintenance reports and repair history can help identify likely expenditure in advance.
Where significant work is likely to be required, obtaining a condition assessment can help establish priorities and separate immediate safety work from repairs or upgrades that can be planned over a longer period.
This allows budgets to be based on the actual condition of the lift rather than waiting for a major breakdown before funding is considered.
Working With Your Lift Maintenance Provider
A lift maintenance provider should do more than attend scheduled service visits. They should provide clear reports, explain recurring faults and raise concerns when the condition of the lift begins to change.
Building managers should know what is included within the maintenance agreement, how quickly breakdowns will be attended and which parts or repairs are excluded. Response times, call-out arrangements and procedures for passenger entrapments should also be clear.
Regular communication makes it easier to plan repairs, manage budgets and avoid unexpected disruption. It also gives the maintenance provider a better understanding of how the building operates and when access can be arranged.
Managing Lift Systems Over the Long Term
Looking after lifts is an ongoing part of building management rather than a task that only needs attention when something goes wrong.
Regular maintenance, statutory examinations, accurate records and prompt action when faults are identified all contribute to better reliability and safer operation.
A planned approach also gives building managers more control over repair costs and future investment. Instead of responding to each breakdown in isolation, decisions can be based on the condition, repair history and expected working life of the lift.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a building manager legally responsible for arranging lift maintenance?
Responsibility depends on the ownership and management arrangements for the building. It may sit with the owner, employer, managing agent, facilities manager or another duty holder. The important point is that responsibility is clearly assigned and suitable maintenance and inspection arrangements are in place.
Does routine lift maintenance include a LOLER examination?
Not automatically. Routine maintenance and LOLER thorough examinations are separate activities. A maintenance provider may be able to arrange both, but the contract should state clearly whether the thorough examination is included.
How often should a lift maintenance programme be reviewed?
It should be reviewed when the lift’s usage, condition or operating environment changes, and whenever recurring faults suggest that the existing maintenance schedule may no longer be suitable.
What lift records should a building manager retain?
Records should include maintenance reports, LOLER examination reports, repair invoices, breakdown reports, entrapment records and details of major component replacements or modernisation work.
Can a lift remain in use when a defect has been identified?
That depends on the nature and severity of the defect. Some defects require the lift to be removed from service immediately, while others must be repaired within a specified period. The examination report or attending engineer should make the required action clear.
When should lift modernisation be considered?
Modernisation may be appropriate when a lift experiences recurring faults, replacement parts are becoming difficult to obtain, reliability is deteriorating or older systems are increasing maintenance and repair costs.