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The ILECS team was first contacted by the private client in 2022, to request a full lift survey of the platform lift located in his residential property in Malta. The client had decided to relocate to a small city in Malta over a decade ago and had purchased a 16th century house, named Casa Collacchio. The house had seen some renovations over the years and as a result, now featured an open lift well in the middle of the property.
The lift well is a scenic construct of steel and glass and is primarily used so the client can access all floors of the historic building, which includes a roof sun terrace. However, the lift had experienced several issues from its installation including moisture and water entering the structure and causing problems with the lift safety components.
Given the international location of the lift survey, the logistical challenge of working abroad is the first key obstacle to consider and overcome. However, ILECS’ consultants are fully trained and well equipped to work internationally, and our team quickly arranged to fly out and view the property, adapting to the location and undertaking the survey quickly and efficiently.
The platform lift had experienced some technical and construction difficulties from day one. Due to exposure to rain, which caused the sensors to malfunction, the lift had issues working in the installed environment.
Within the enclosed lift shaft, the lift cabin is open on two sides. Rain water was able to penetrate under an exposed door and drop onto the top of the lift cabin roof and was able to reach the safety sensor edges. As a result, the water caused the safety sensor edges to short circuit and for the client this was costly to rectify.
As a quick and easy solution to the safety sensor edges shorting out, the contractors had disconnected the edges from the safety circuit to allow reliable service. Although water was still entering the lift well, the safety edges were no longer causing the lift to go out of service.
The client instructed ILECS to complete a full survey of the lift and identify what could be corrected so the lift could be reinstated back to full working condition.
The property itself presented a challenge to the team due to the age of the building. Our consultants needed to be methodical and careful in their approach and with the recommendations provided, to ensure the integrity of the historic property was maintained.
Our priority for this project was to prevent water from entering the lift well and keep the overall costs low for the client. We therefore recommended that the cabin roof trough of the lift should have deflector plates installed to displace any moisture attempting to enter the safety edge enclosure.
Next, we examined the landing doors which are open to the elements. To our surprise the landing plates ran back into the lift well, causing the rain to run into the well and onto the platform roof. We recommended that the landings be raised to prevent this, we also recommended the installation of rain guards and the reinstallation of rubber bungs which had been missed at installation.
The lift's auto-dialler was also due to be reinstated for health and safety purposes, so the ILECS team proposed recommendations to the client selecting a good GSM service provider.
Our report included reference to our findings and proposed solutions, which we provided to cause as little financial stress to the client as possible.
Carl Snell, a Director at ILECS said:
“It was a pleasure to work with this client and the ILECS team on such a unique project. As international consultants, it was great to be able to respond to the request to work in Malta at such a historical and picturesque residential property. We enjoyed the challenge of working overseas and it is rewarding to have provided our client with effective solutions for the future.”
To find out about more about how we can help with services like this, contact our team today.
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