banners new 21
Independent lift & escalator consultants

Lift & Escalator FAQs

Find the answers to your frequently asked questions about lifts and escalators in our comprehensive FAQs page.

As independent lift and escalator consultants we regularly get asked the following questions:

Am I receiving the correct level of maintenance, what are my options?

The appropriate level of maintenance will differ from one lift to another. Factors such as level of use, type of use, number of lifts within the building, age of the equipment, and the criticality of the lift to the building, can all play a part in determining the most effective maintenance program for your specific lift.

ILECS can work with you to determine the most appropriate level of maintenance for your lift, and develop a bespoke maintenance contract, which can be used to procure a maintenance service, which is designed to serve the needs of the client and not the contractor.

What rules and regulations should I be following for safe lift operation?

Lifts and escalators are subject to numerous regulations and standards, covering areas from design and installation,  accessibility, thorough examinations and testing to maintenance. Understanding which regulations and codes are applicable to your lift can be a difficult and confusing task. Our OneVision service can provide guidance on all areas of compliance, including your obligations as a duty holder under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act, and requirements of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) in relation to your lift.

Is my lift energy efficient?

Modern lifts tend to be increasingly energy efficient, with features designed to save and regenerate energy during the lift’s operation. Many older lifts will not include these energy saving features, however, the energy efficiency can still be improved through full or partial modernisation with new efficient equipment. 

There are also ways to immediately improve the energy efficiency of your lift through simple steps, such as by replacing tungsten or halogen bulbs with LED types.

At ILECS we can assist with identifying the best methods to improve the efficiency of your lift or escalator.

How long can I rely on my lift?

The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) suggests that a typical service life for a lift can be anything between 15 and 25 years. However, like cars, the actual life of a lift can depend on numerous factors such as design and build quality, duty type, quality of installation and subsequent maintenance, operating environment and level of use (and sometimes more importantly) misuse.

While a lift might remain serviceable for up to 20 years, it may be necessary to replace various components and items of equipment during that time, and it can often become quite costly to maintain a lift that is reaching the end of its serviceable life.

At ILECS we can help you to determine the remaining useful service life of your lift and provide guidance on what steps can be taken both to ensure the lift remains reliable for the remainder of its useful life, and to plan for the eventual modernisation or replacement of the lift in order to provide continued lift service into the future.

What is lift portfolio management?

Lift management comprises the day to day process of ensuring that your lifts remain reliable, safe and compliant in accordance with your obligations as a duty holder under Section 4 of the Health and Safety at Work Etc Act (1974). This covers the planning of routine proactive maintenance, and the scheduling of legally required thorough examinations, inspections and supplementary tests. It includes the actioning of any repairs or health and safety upgrades required to maintain your lifts in a safe and efficient condition. And it includes the recording and retaining of key lift information in an up to date condition such that it can be presented for review to any authority when required.

This can however, be a time consuming, costly and stressful experience for the duty holder, especially if they are managing a larger portfolio of lifts.

This is where our OneVision Lift Management service can help. Our expert team of OneVision Account Managers have the knowledge and experience of managing lift portfolio's no matter what size.

Do we need to proceed with all work recommended by our lift service provider?

You do not always need to have recommended work carried out by a service provider. While lift contractors can provide guidance and recommendations for upgrade and compliance works, they are not truly independent, and there is a risk that some recommendations may be sales biased rather than those, which are actually required to provide any real benefit to the user.

Our OneVision team can provide you with assistance with all of your maintenance issues, including assessing any recommended work quotations for applicability.

How does lift maintenance management save us time and money?

Our experienced OneVision team works directly and independently with the lift contractors, taking away the time and stress of lift management from our clients, whilst still keeping them informed of all actions taken in support of their lift service. All quotations and invoices are reviewed and checked by our experienced team to ensure that works are in the first instance, required and where so, that value for money is achieved. We aim to reduce costs associated with maintenance, callouts and repairs over the course of a year – saving our clients money.

How can ILECS assist with making sure our lifts are compliant?

All of our OneVision team are trained to identify, what areas of regulatory compliance are applicable to your lift. We can provide guidance on achieving compliance with both health and safety legislation and current lift design and other standards. We work with lift contractors to ensure that issues raised by inspecting bodies, are addressed in a timely manner, and can identify those items, which may already be covered for free as a part of your existing maintenance contract.

We have been told that our installation is old and requires modernising/replacing. What are our options?

Like any piece of mechanical equipment, lifts and escalators have a finite service life. This can vary considerably depending upon many factors from the original equipment type to the quality of subsequent maintenance. The options of full or partial modernisation or replacement all offer benefits and drawbacks, depending upon the specific installation and the owner’s individual requirements. Through discussion with our clients ILECS can evaluate the most appropriate and cost effective solution to ensure that your lift or escalator service can be maintained into the future.

How will an independent survey carried out by ILECS benefit me?

An ILECS condition survey can provide you with an in-depth look at the condition, compliance and serviceability of your lift or escalator. Our surveys are designed to look at all aspects of a lift or escalator providing recommendations for required remedial works, health and safety issues and upgrades to ensure continued serviceability. An ILECS survey report offers truly independent advice and budget pricing for any required or recommended works.

What is a lift consultant?

A lift consultant provides clients with independent and honest advice assisting with lift design and engineering, refurbishments, surveys, maintenance audits, authorised engineer services under HTM 08-02, as well as administration support, and lift management; ILECS is a totally independent consultancy involved in all aspects of the lift and escalator industry.

From complex legislation to technical and economic issues, ILECS provide expert, impartial advice always working on behalf of clients to make sure they get the best solution for their needs.

What is the difference between a lift consultant and a lift contractor?

A lift contractor can undertake lift installation and modernisation/refurbishment works, provide maintenance and call out services along with repairs. While they can offer advice and recommendations on issues relating to your lift, their revenue generation is through the sale of products and maintenance. There is a risk therefore that any advice provided might, either intentionally or unwittingly, be affected by bias or a lack of knowledge of certain areas.

As a lift consultant, we provide independent technical expertise. We do not install or maintain lifts, nor are we affiliated with any lift company. We are therefore able to always act on behalf of the client. Our experience and broad technical knowledge allow us to provide advice on all aspects of the industry that is both independent and without bias or prejudice. This gives our clients peace of mind when it comes to making the right decisions.

Whether they are looking to install a new lift, modernise an existing lift or simply manage the day to day operation of a lift portfolio, we provide assistance and advice on issues from planning and design, to maintenance and legal responsibilities.

Our lift is problematic, how can ILECS help to resolve this issue?

A lift's reliability can be affected by many factors, including ageing equipment, harsh operating environment, misuse or vandalism or insufficient maintenance. At ILECS we can assist in determining the root causes of a lift’s unreliability by undertaking condition surveys, reviewing your maintenance regime or assessing call out records. Once the cause is known, we can work with you to establish and put in place the most effective remedial plan for your lift in order to ensure a continued reliable service.

Access our Information offline
Download Our Brochures
If you would like more information on our lift and escalator consultancy 
services or want to find out how OneVision can help you. 
ILECS Brochure Download
ILECS BROCHURE
OneVision Logo
ONEVISION BROCHURE

A Mackman Group collaboration - market research by Mackman Research | website design by Mackman

linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram