Passenger Lift and Lifting Equipment Policy

1. Scope 

Derby Homes (DH) manages buildings that have passenger lifts in them. In addition, the aging population in the UK means that an increasing number of homes are now being adapted with aids like stairlifts, through floor lifts, step lifts and ceiling track hoists, to enable tenants to continue to live independently.

DH is responsible for the maintenance and safety of lifts and lifting equipment in the buildings it owns and those it manages on behalf of Derby City Council (DCC). DH undertakes periodic inspections to ensure the safe operation of lifting equipment and to ensure the safety of tenants, employees, contractors and all other persons or stakeholders who may work on, occupy, or use in the properties it owns or manages. 

2. Aim of Passenger Lift and Lifting Equipment Policy

The aim of this policy is to set out DH’s responsibilities to comply with relevant legislation and associated regulatory guidance on the use and maintenance of passenger lifts and lifting equipment.

DH must ensure that it complies with the Regulator of Social Housing’s regulatory framework and Consumer Standards for Social Housing in England. 

The principal legislation and regulations that apply to this policy are:

• The Landlord and Tenant Acts 1985 and 1987
• The Housing Acts 1985, 1988 and 2004
• Disability and Discrimination Act 2005
• The Equality Act 2010
• Data Protection Act 2018
• The Lifting Operation and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 Regulation 9(3) (LOLER)
• The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER)
• Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999
• The Safety, Health & Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulation 2007
• Health & Safety Executive (HSE) Guidelines Note, PM 26 Safety at Lift Landings
• All relevant British and European Standards including BS EN 81-1:1998 (Electric Lifts) BS EN 81-2:1998 (Hydraulic Lifts)
• The Building Regulations 2004 – Part M
• Construction, Design and Management Regulations 2015
• Safety Assessment Federation Guidelines.

3. Key terms and Definitions

The two main regulations governing the health and safety of passenger lifts and lifting equipment are LOLER and PUWER.

LOLER (Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998). which place duties on people and companies who own, operate, or have control over lifting equipment.

Essentially LOLER is an MOT for lifts. It is a periodic inspection that is carried out every six months and is conducted by a professional who is technically qualified and proficient and can identify issues and is impartial. The LOLER examination, known as a ‘thorough examination’ also includes an assessment of the maintenance operations to date.

The aim of LOLER is to ensure that the equipment is safe to use and safely maintained.

PUWER (Provision of Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998). which places duties on people and companies who own, operate, or have control over work equipment. PUWER also places responsibilities on businesses and organisation whose employees use work equipment whether owned by them or not.

If LOLER can be compared to a car MOT, PUWER is the equivalent of the regular maintenance and servicing undertaken to ensure your car passes its MOT. Compliance with PUWER occurs where the correct level of maintenance and servicing is in place, considering the level of use, function, and age of the passenger lifts.

The aim of PUWER is to achieve an ongoing schedule of maintenance and servicing to maintain the highest level of safety for passengers.

Examination scheme - LOLER permits a scheme of thorough examinations drawn up by a competent person as an alternative to the fixed maximum periods of a thorough examination. 

Thorough examination - a systematic and detailed examination of the equipment and safety-critical parts, carried out specified intervals by a competent person who must then complete a written report.

4. Key Responsibilities and Duties 

DH as the owner of properties and buildings where lifts and lifting equipment is situated acknowledges and accepts its responsibilities regarding lift safety, inspection and maintenance of lifts, stair lifts and hoists in communal areas and within tenants’ homes managed by Derby Homes.

DH as a ‘duty holder’ has responsibility of ensuring the safe operation, condition (maintenance) of all lifts and lifting equipment it owns and to oversee they compliance with the relevant statutory requirements. This will include acting (within the advised timescales) to remedy any faults or defects with lifting equipment identified through testing, inspection, preventative maintenance, or thorough examination.

For discharging the above responsibilities DHs has a ‘competent person’ (the statutory compliance manager) who works in conjunction with the DHs insurers and specialist contractors including the following.

• To oversee the testing, inspection, preventative maintenance, and thorough examination regime for lifting equipment and ensure it is carried out by suitably skilled and competent operatives in accordance with the safety assessment federation guidelines (thorough examinations to be carried out by lift maintenance contractors appointed by DCC insurers, all other testing, remedial and maintenance works to be carried out by contractors appointed directly by DHs). This also includes ensuring all contractors meet their required health and safety obligations.
• To report any defects identified back to the DHs ‘duty holder’ and where appropriate to the relevant enforcing authority (local health and safety executive) and issue works to remedy faults.

The competent person also has responsibility for drawing up and maintaining DH’s inspection scheme in conjunction with the DH’s insurers.

Response Times
DH will endeavour to work to the response times below:

• Emergency – within 24 hours
• Health & Safety Risk – within 2 hours
• Non-emergency – within 10 working days.

It should be noted that on occasion due to the mechanical nature of the systems in operation, it may not be possible to remedy a fault immediately. This could be due to number of reasons such as the unavailability of parts. In those circumstances, DH will endeavour to resolve issues as expeditiously as possible and keep users informed of progress and expected timescales.

We will treat issues and faults about passenger lifts and lifting equipment as requests for service unless the occurrence of risks and issues affecting the specific passenger lift or item of lifting equipment is excessive. For the purpose of this policy, the term excessive is defined as more than four occurrences in a four-week period or being out of use for a period of 20 consecutive days.

5. Monitoring, Compliance and Effectiveness 

This Policy forms part of a group of Policies known collectively as ‘Compliance Policies’ and includes the following:

• Derby Homes Gas Safety Policy
• Derby Homes Asbestos Management Policy 
• Derby Homes Periodical Electrical Testing Policy 
• Derby Homes Fire Safety Policy
• Derby Homes Water Policy

The Policy should also read in conjunction with:

• Derby Homes Health and Safety Policy

5.1 Compliance Risk Assessment

To comply with the requirements of the Construction, Design and Management Regulations 2015 (CDM) DH ensures a Construction Phase Plan is prepared at the start of any major lift refurbishment works’ contract. This plan details all necessary work required for a safe installation of all lifting equipment and reinstate other works that may affected by the lift’s installation to ensure that the lifting equipment installed are complying with all relevant legislation and safe for continue use.

DH maintains a risk assessment for lift safety operations. This risk assessment sets organisation’s all key lift safety risks together with appropriate mitigations.

5.2 DH Examination Scheme 

The examination scheme involves a Thorough Examination and Routine Maintenance of all lifting equipment installed in residential buildings and tenanted properties managed by DH.

The Thorough Examination includes a detailed schedule of checks, appropriate examination techniques and testing requirements, drawn up to suit the operating conditions of a specific item of lifting equipment.

The specifics of the DH examination scheme as outlined below:

The competent person reviews the examination scheme regularly and following each Thorough Examination. The scheme will also review after each significant event that affects the risks associated with the smooth running of the lifting equipment e.g., Replacement of major parts or entrapment incident.

5.3 Planned Maintenance

DH follows regular planned services of all passenger lifts, conducted by competent contractors appointed at recommended intervals specified by lift’s manufacturing companies.

In addition to the checks conducted under the examination scheme, DH undertakes a programme of planned maintenance visits by competent persons to all properties that have a lift, stair lift or hoist. This programme ensures that all required maintenance and testing fully completed at the times and intervals stated.

Below is the current scheduled of planned maintenance:

Follow-Up Works

DH will act on any recommendations identified and reported by a competent person, for remedial action that result from either operation of the Examination Scheme or through Routine Maintenance within accepted timescales.

DH will take immediate action for any significant defect that causes a risk to users of lifting equipment and will ensure that the fault is rectified to ensure health and safety.

Record Keeping

DH will maintain a core asset register extracted from its housing management system of all properties that have a lifting equipment installed. This register will also hold data against each property asset of the type, age, and condition of the lift plant in place and DH will store them electronically. 

DH will establish an electronic record and maintain accurate records of all inspections undertaken by their insurers, the findings of these inspections and records of completed remedial works, where identified by inspections conducted by insurers, including dates. Insurer will send electronic copies of all examination records to DH for archiving and will also be available on the insurer’s and service provider’s online portal.

DH directly will hold records for all other inspections and maintenance work (each individual entry being stored for a minimum of five years).

The competent person will also be able to produce hard copies of the records if required by the local enforcement authority (local Health and Safety Executive). 

DH will also keep a record of any entrapment incidents and will use these to inform any potential revisions of the examination scheme.

Equipment Standards (including disability access)

DH will ensure that all lifts in buildings that it owns, and controls comply with the relevant equality legislation and meet all health and safety requirements. This will include provision of lifts that:

• Prevents users from getting crushed, trapped, stuck, or falling from the lift.
• Have safety devices that prevent a carrier from falling.
• Ensure that if a person becomes trapped in a carrier, they are not exposed to danger.
• Are clearly signed.
• Are equipped with emergency lighting.
• Have intercom facilities that are accessible to all and are linked to a central control point that is operational 24 hours a day.
• Have voice announcement systems for floor arrival and door closing. 
• Have carriage and landing call dwell times with a 5 second delay.
• Have braille floor numbering and safety instructions and other tactile controls.
• Are sufficient size and capacity to allow wheelchair access.
• Have carriers that will not move unless the doors are fully closed and that prevent users from being crushed when entering or leaving.

In situations where DH owns apartments in buildings that it does not own or manage, DH will liaise with the organisation that does to ensure that lifts are services and maintained to the same standard. We will work with the leaseholder to obtain LOLER certification to maintain our compliance standards.

Aids and Adaptations (Domestic lifting equipment) – Inspection Requirements

In addition to the requirements to ensure passenger lifts are operational and safely maintained, DH must ensure the safe use of lifting equipment such as through floor lifts, stair lifts and housing equipment that has been installed in properties it manages.

DH will ensure a through examination is conducted on all known aids and adaptions intended for lifting operations, in properties it manages every twelve months, or in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations.

DH will respond and take remedial action for any defects identified during regular use in line with the normal provision of its repairs and maintenance regime. DH will treat all such requests as urgent and will seek to remedy faults, where possible within 24 hours of being reported.