This month’s newsletter is looking at the reliability of lifts within a portfolio. As detailed in previous newsletters, lifts are a safe means of transportation with improvements in lift safety under constant review. However, they are still electro-mechanical equipment and subject to breakdowns.

On average a lift serving a residential building of low/mid-rise (4-8 floors) would be expected to fail approximately 4 times over the course of a year. Factors such as the level of a maintenance contract, more floors, higher numbers of journeys, etc. will impact on the reliability, but it offers a good rule of thumb. There are many reasons for a lift to break down including poor maintenance, misuse and component failure. Below we look at some common faults and how we can assist:

If your lift is breaking down more frequently than the average 4 per annum and the lift is less than 10 years old, then the root cause is likely to be maintenance issues. ARDENT Maintenance Audits are designed to review the level of maintenance in relation to your contract. Highlighting shortfalls and H&S issues, we offer details on what should be done to rectify the issues encounters.

If the lift in question is over 10 years old, then there may be problems relating to the condition of the equipment (with controllers and door operators potentially approaching the end of their design life). A Condition Survey would incorporate all from the Maintenance Audit content, but also look at the life span of the lift equipment, offering budget costs for planning capital expenditure.

Please feel free to contact us to discuss any problems you may be having with your lifts, as we can often assist through advice over the phone.