Does a platform lift need a LOLER inspection?
Updated: 1 day ago
Yes, if it’s used at work. A platform lift carries people, so LOLER requires a thorough examination by a competent person at least every 6 months, and before first use if it was assembled on site. A lift only the public use isn’t always strictly covered, but HSE still expects it to be kept safe.
A platform lift is the lift people forget about. It might be a vertical lift at the back of a church hall, a step lift in a school corridor or an inclined platform alongside a staircase in a surgery. It isn’t a big passenger lift with a lift company on a contract, so it’s easy to assume it looks after itself.... But it doesn’t. And HSE has said so, in a safety alert about one specific danger: landing doors that open when the platform isn’t there.
What counts as a platform lift?
The usual types, and what applies at work:
Vertical platform lifts and through-floor lifts: a platform that travels straight up between floors, with landing doors or gates.
Step lifts: a platform for a short rise, for example to a raised entrance or a change of level inside a building.
Inclined platform lifts: a platform that travels up a staircase, like a stairlift you stand or sit a wheelchair on.
If staff use any of them, it’s lifting equipment used at work and LOLER applies. For stairlifts specifically, see does a stairlift need a LOLER inspection?
What does LOLER say about a platform lift?
LOLER requires lifting equipment used to lift people to be thoroughly examined by a competent person at least every 6 months (Regulation 9(3)(a)(i)). HSE says the same in its guidance: 6 months for lifting equipment and any associated accessories used to lift people, unless a written examination scheme sets other intervals.
It also needs an examination before it’s first used if it was assembled on site. HSE gives “a platform lift installed in a building” as its example, because the lift’s safety depends on how it was installed. The same goes if it’s moved to a new location (Regulation 9(2)).
For the full page on the service, see our platform and disabled access lift inspections.
What if only the public use it?
LOLER covers equipment used at work. HSE’s passenger lifts page lists “platform lifts in shops used for customer access” as an example of equipment that’s usually outside LOLER and PUWER.
That doesn’t mean it can be left alone. HSE says anyone providing lifting equipment still has duties under section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 to people who aren’t employees, and still needs to arrange routine maintenance and inspection. A visitor stuck, trapped or hurt on your lift is your problem, whatever regulation covers it. If staff also use it, LOLER applies.
Why HSE issued a safety alert
In March 2019 HSE issued a safety alert (OPSD1-2019) to platform lift maintenance companies and to owners and operators in health and social care, NHS trusts, public buildings and schools. The danger is that landing doors can open when the platform isn’t at that floor, which leaves a person facing an open shaft. HSE says this carries “a significant risk to the users of falling from height or being crushed”.
It found the causes were things like tampering with safety devices, bent door lock contacts that can say “locked” before the pin is fully engaged, shortened lock pins, badly adjusted cables, missing screws and worn doors and hinges.
Daily checks: what HSE asks owners to do
HSE asks owners and operators to add simple daily checks, carried out by a competent person, to confirm two things:
The landing doors can’t be opened when the platform isn’t at that level.
The platform can’t travel unless the doors are closed and locked.
It also tells owners to review their maintenance and inspection arrangements to check that competent people carry them out.
Stannah, a lift manufacturer, publishes a how-to for these two checks. In short: with the lift at the top, try each lower landing door. Then hold a door slightly ajar and try to run the lift. If a door opens or the platform moves, stop, isolate the lift and call your service provider. Ask your lift company to show your caretaker how, and to write the daily check down.
Emergency release keys are for rescues and servicing, not for everyday use. Stannah says to keep them somewhere secure, and to have written procedures for a person trapped in the lift.
Who checks what?
Check | Who does it | How often | What it’s for |
Daily safety check | A competent person on site, such as a trained caretaker | Daily when the lift is in use | Spots landing doors that open at the wrong level, or a platform that moves with a door open |
Service and maintenance | Your lift maintenance company | As agreed in your contract | Keeps the lift working, adjusts and repairs it |
Thorough examination | An independent competent person | At least every 6 months at work | A written report on whether it’s safe to use, with a next due date |
A service is not a LOLER examination. HSE says the examiner shouldn’t be the person who maintains the equipment, because they’d be checking their own work. See what’s the difference between a LOLER thorough examination and a service?
What does an examiner look at on a platform lift?
On a platform lift, I’d be looking at the things that protect the person riding it:
the landing doors, their interlocks and lock pins, and whether they stay locked away from the landing
the controls, including the hold-to-run buttons and the emergency stop
the platform, guarding, ramps and safety edges
the drive, chains, ropes or screw, and the safety devices that stop the platform if something fails
the emergency lowering and alarm
the markings, including the safe working load
You get a written report of thorough examination for each lift, with its identification, safe working load, whether it’s safe to use, any defects with dates and when the next one’s due (LOLER Regulation 10 and Schedule 1). If a defect is or could become a danger to people, the examiner has to send a copy to the enforcing authority. Read will a LOLER examiner report me to the HSE?
Check your platform lift in 2 minutes
Find the last report. Is the next due date still ahead of you?
Ask who does the daily check. If the answer is no one, put a name and a diary entry against it.
Check the landing doors yourself. If you’re not sure how, ask your lift company to show you.
Find the emergency release key. Is it locked away, and does anyone know the procedure?
Check the lift company isn’t also your examiner.
Independent platform lift examinations across the East Midlands
We carry out LOLER thorough examinations on vertical platform lifts, step lifts, inclined platform lifts and through-floor lifts for schools, surgeries, care homes, churches, shops and offices. We cover Nottingham, Derby, Leicester, Loughborough and Lincoln, and the Midlands, and we also travel anywhere in the UK.
Every examination is carried out and signed by me, Ryan Leavesley MSOE MBES, an engineer surveyor with over 14 years’ experience. Reports are written on site before I leave, with photos of anything that needs fixing. We don’t sell, install or service lifts, so the examination is a genuine check on your lift company’s work. We contact you before each examination falls due, and once we’ve agreed a price, it stays fixed for all your ongoing examinations.
Tell us what lifts you have and we’ll come back with a fixed quote.
FAQs
Does a platform lift need a LOLER inspection?
Yes, if it’s used at work. A platform lift carries people, so LOLER requires a thorough examination by a competent person at least every 6 months. A lift used only by the public isn’t always strictly covered, but the building operator still has duties to keep visitors safe.
How often does a platform lift need a thorough examination?
At least every 6 months, because it lifts people, unless a written examination scheme sets different intervals. It also needs one before first use if it was assembled on site, and after it’s moved to a new location.
Is a platform lift service the same as a LOLER examination?
No. A service is maintenance carried out by your lift company. A thorough examination is an independent check with a written report. HSE says the examiner shouldn’t be the person who routinely maintains the equipment.
What daily checks should a platform lift have?
HSE’s safety alert asks owners to arrange simple daily checks by a competent person, to confirm that the landing doors can’t be opened when the platform isn’t at that level, and that the platform can’t travel unless the doors are closed and locked.
What was the HSE safety alert about platform lifts?
HSE issued a safety alert in March 2019 about platform lift landing doors that can open when the platform isn’t at that floor, leaving a person facing an open shaft. It found causes including tampering, worn doors and badly maintained door locks.
Does a platform lift used only by the public need examining?
LOLER covers equipment used at work, so it isn’t always strictly covered. But anyone providing the lift still has duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 to the public, and HSE expects routine maintenance and inspection. If staff use it too, LOLER applies.
Does a platform lift in a private home need a LOLER inspection?
Generally not, because LOLER covers equipment provided for or used by people at work. HSE says equipment such as stairlifts in private dwellings generally falls outside LOLER. It should still be serviced as the manufacturer says.
Who can carry out a LOLER examination on a platform lift?
A competent person with the knowledge and experience to examine that type of lift, who is independent enough to make an objective judgement. HSE says that shouldn’t be the person who routinely maintains it.
Comments