Goods Lift Safety and Periodic Inspection

Goods lift safety: first know which kind of lift it is

Equipment called a "goods lift" in warehouses, factories and shops can fall under two different sets of legislation. Goods lift safety begins with this distinction, because who carries out the periodic inspection, how the result is shown and how maintenance is run all depend on it.

The Lifts Regulation covers lifts carrying persons, or persons and goods, as well as lifts carrying goods only whose carrier a person can enter and whose controls are inside the carrier or within reach of a person inside it. The "goods lifts" row of Annex III of the Regulation on Health and Safety Requirements for the Use of Work Equipment, on the other hand, covers lifts accessed for loading, whose carrier does not carry people and which carry goods only.

You can find out which group your lift belongs to from the declaration of conformity, the user manual and the manufacturer's plate. Small service lifts (dumbwaiters) used in kitchens are also listed as a separate row in Annex III.

Why is it so dangerous for people to ride in a goods lift?

A goods lift not designed to carry people has no controls inside the car; it may also lack equipment found in passenger lifts, such as an in-car alarm and communication system. If the lift breaks down and stops, the person inside may be unable to reach anyone; they may fall while trying to climb out through a gap between the car and the floor.

People riding in goods lifts usually happens on site in the same scenario: a worker pushing a pallet into the car with a pallet truck gets in with the load, thinking "I'll go up one floor and come straight back down". Being crushed between the pallet and the car wall, a load tipping over and the door being left open are typical outcomes of this scenario.

Measures:

• Post a visible "No persons" warning sign at every landing door.
• Write down the loading and unloading procedure: the worker loading on one floor does not get into the car; a worker on the other floor takes the load. The two floors communicate by radio or internal telephone.
• Make sure the controls stay out of reach from inside the car; do not make changes such as moving the controls inside the car.
• Show the rule during induction training and treat breaches as a disciplinary matter; for workers' duty to follow instructions, see our article on workers' OHS obligations.

If a person genuinely needs to travel with the load, the solution is not to bend the rule but to use a lift designed and certified for that use.

Follow three rules during loading as well: do not exceed the rated load written on the plate; distribute the load evenly on the car floor and secure loads that could tip over, such as rolls and drums; and drive a forklift into the car only if the lift is designed for this type of loading. For using pallet trucks, see our article on electric pallet trucks and stackers.

Door locks: the lift's most important safety device

The landing door lock prevents a landing door from opening when the car is not at that floor. The door contact prevents the lift from moving while a door is open. The most serious lift accidents occur when these two devices fail or are bridged: falling into the shaft through a door that opens when the car is not there, and being crushed between the floor and a car that moves with the door open.

Opening a landing door with the emergency unlocking key and interfering with the door equipment are jobs for authorised maintenance personnel only. The Regulation on the Operation and Maintenance of Lifts also requires that no one other than the company with the maintenance contract be allowed to interfere with the lift. For protecting the areas in front of doors from forklift and pallet truck traffic in the warehouse, our article on the forklift and pedestrian traffic plan in the warehouse offers guidance.

Goods lift maintenance and the maintenance contract

For lifts within the scope of the Lifts Regulation, the Regulation on the Operation and Maintenance of Lifts sets out the following framework:

• Maintenance is carried out periodically, at least once a month.
• Maintenance is carried out by the lift company with which the building manager has signed a maintenance contract, or by its authorised service.
• Maintenance records are kept by the building manager.
• Rescuing a person trapped in the car is part of maintenance. Rescue instructions are posted where they can easily be seen, and rescue training is given at least once a year to the persons designated by the building manager.

Determine in writing who will take on the role of "building manager" in the factory or warehouse. Make sure the contract clearly covers the following: maintenance frequency, the fault reporting route and response time, rescue service, handover of maintenance records, responsibility for remedying defects found at the periodic inspection, and spare parts terms.

For goods lifts within the scope of Annex III, maintenance is planned according to the manufacturer's instructions and the risk assessment. Under the Work Equipment Regulation, the person who maintains a piece of equipment may not carry out the periodic inspection of the same equipment.

What do the lift periodic inspection tags mean?

Lifts within the scope of the Regulation on Periodic Inspection of Lifts are inspected at least once a year by a type A inspection body. The result falls into one of four groups, and an information tag of the corresponding colour is affixed to the lift. The periods were revised by the regulation's 2022 amendment:

For goods lifts within the scope of Annex III, the periodic inspection report is used instead of a coloured tag. The result and opinion section of the report states clearly whether the equipment may be used. For equipment for which the Ministry has published inspection criteria, equipment with serious defects is not operated until the defect has been remedied; minor defects are remedied by the start date of the next periodic inspection. How to read the report is covered in our article on how to read a periodic inspection report, and the intervals for other equipment in our article on periodic inspection intervals for work equipment.

In its periodic inspection tracking, Bursa Sistemer determines which regime the lifts at your workplace fall under, monitors report and tag dates and links the remedying of defects to the risk assessment. For other risks specific to warehouse and logistics businesses, see our logistics and warehousing page, and to track inspection dates, our OHS calendar tool.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it also forbidden to ride a goods lift for a short distance?

A goods lift not designed to carry people is not ridden, whatever the distance. Most accidents happen in exactly this "just one floor" exception. If people need to be carried, a lift designed and certified for that use should be used.

Who should carry out the periodic inspection of our goods lift?

If it falls within the scope of the Lifts Regulation, a type A inspection body inspects it at least once a year. If it is work equipment that does not carry people and carries goods only, the inspection is carried out by an authorised person registered in EKIPNET under Annex III of the Work Equipment Regulation.

Can we use a lift with a red tag for goods only?

No. A red tag shows that the lift is unsafe; the lift is not used for any purpose until the non-conformities have been remedied. If they are not remedied within the period, the relevant authority seals the lift.

How often is lift maintenance carried out?

For lifts within the scope of the Lifts Regulation, maintenance is carried out at least once a month by the contracted company or its authorised service. For goods lifts within the scope of Annex III, the maintenance interval is set by the manufacturer's instructions and the risk assessment.