In brief
A lift maintenance technician works in places users never see: the shaft, the car top, the pit and the machine room. Most serious accidents stem from three mistakes: stepping through a landing door without verifying where the car is, staying in normal operating mode on the car top, and entering the pit before the energy has been isolated and locked out. Inspection control, stop switches, energy isolation and lockout, and working in pairs are the basis for managing these risks.
Lift technician workplace safety: the work inside the shaft
A lift maintenance technician works in places users never see: the shaft, the car top, the pit and the machine room. What these areas have in common is that they are narrow and dark, carry a risk of falling from height and are close to large moving masses, namely the car and the counterweight. Lift technician safety therefore begins with rules for safe entry to the area, before the maintenance work itself.
The Regulation on Lift Operation and Maintenance requires the necessary occupational health and safety measures under Law No. 6331 to be taken during maintenance, repair, fault finding and periodic inspection. The same regulation requires technical maintenance staff to have graduated from a relevant vocational high school or vocational college, or to hold a master craftsman certificate or a vocational qualification certificate in lift maintenance and repair.
| Work point | Main hazard | Control measure |
|---|---|---|
| Landing door and shaft entry | Stepping into the void, assuming the car is there | Visually verifying the car position, barrier, authorised key |
| Car top | Falls, entrapment between counterweight and shaft equipment, approaching the headroom | Inspection control, stop switch, balustrade, harness if necessary |
| Pit | The car descending, buffers and tension pulley, slippery floor | Pit stop switch, energy isolation, securing the car |
| Machine room and drive | Rotating sheave, governor, brake | Guards, energy isolation and lockout |
| Control panel | Electric shock | Verifying absence of voltage, insulated hand tools |
| Hydraulic lift | Pressurised oil, the car descending by itself | Releasing pressure, mechanical support |
Lift shaft safety: where is the car?
The most serious scenario that comes to mind with a lift maintenance accident is opening a landing door and stepping into the void on the assumption that the car is there. Entry to the shaft is made in this order:
- Take the lift out of service. Inform the building's responsible person; hang an "Under maintenance, do not use" notice on all landing doors and place a barrier in front of the door on the floor where work is taking place.
- Bring the car to the planned position. If the pit is to be entered, the car is sent to the upper floors; if the car top is to be boarded, the car is brought so that its top is slightly below the landing floor.
- Open the landing door only with the authorised key. The emergency unlocking key is held only by maintenance staff.
- Visually verify the car position. When the door is opened slightly, look with a torch: is the car where you expect, and where is the counterweight? Do not step in without verifying.
- Do not leave the door open. A barrier is in place in front of the shaft opening throughout the work; when the technician leaves, the door is closed and checked to be locked.
Car top work
Car top work is done in an area where the lift can move; movement must therefore be brought under control first.
- Test before boarding. Reaching from the landing floor, press the car top stop switch and verify that the lift does not respond to calls. Then activate the inspection (maintenance) control.
- Stay in inspection mode. In this mode, the car moves only while the button is held down and at low speed; landing calls are disabled. Remaining in normal mode on the car top is unacceptable.
- Watch the edge. If there is a balustrade at the gap between the car edge and the shaft wall, use it; if there is no balustrade or it is inadequate, a harness attached to a suitable anchor is used. For harness selection see our article on full body safety harnesses, and for rescue when working with a harness, our article on suspension trauma and the rescue plan.
- Keep the body within the car outline. As the car moves, it passes the counterweight; an arm, leg or hand tool sticking out beyond the car's outline causes a shearing injury.
- Watch the headroom. As the car rises to the upper floors, the distance to the shaft ceiling decreases. For new lifts, TS EN 81-20 defines safety clearances; on older lifts this clearance may be insufficient and is addressed separately in the risk assessment.
In machine-room-less lifts, the motor and brake are inside the shaft; much of the maintenance is done from the car top. On these lifts, the time spent on the car top is longer and each of the rules above becomes even more important.
Working in the pit
A technician going down into the pit has a car weighing several tonnes above them. The safe working sequence is:
- Send the car to the upper floors, open the pit access door and, as the very first step, press the pit stop switch.
- Go down using the pit ladder; do not jump.
- If work is to be done under the car, isolate and lock out the energy and support the car mechanically according to the manufacturer's instructions.
- Clean up water, oil and waste on the floor; check that the pit lighting works.
- Keep away from moving or trapping points such as the buffers, the governor tension pulley and rope terminations.
For installation work in the lift shaft during building construction, protection against materials that may fall from upper floors and shaft edge guardrails are required; see floor openings and edge protection.
Lift lockout and energy isolation
Switching off the main switch is not enough on its own; the switch must be locked and tagged, and the key to the lock must stay with the technician doing the work. The steps of lift lockout are the same as the general sequence in our article on the LOTO procedure. On the electrical side, the 5 safety rules in electrical work are applied for isolation, securing against reclosure and verifying the absence of voltage.
Energy can remain in the system even after it has been isolated:
- Gravity: The car and counterweight are not perfectly balanced; when the brake is released, the car can move by itself.
- Hydraulic pressure: On hydraulic lifts, lines are not opened until the pressure in the cylinder and lines has been released.
- Electricity: Voltage can remain on drive and control boards for some time after the power is cut; the manufacturer's waiting time is observed.
If the lift needs to stay energised for fault finding, this work is done in inspection mode, by a competent person and with a second person standing by. For the general rules of live fault finding, see our article on maintenance technician risks.
Rescue, lone working and coordination
Rescuing a passenger trapped in the car is part of the maintenance service. In manual rescue, the brake is released and the car is brought to the nearest floor. The most common mistake is opening the door and taking the passenger out before the car is exactly level with the floor; this creates a risk of falling into the shaft through the gap between the car and the landing. The door is opened only after it has been verified that the car is level with the floor. For rules specific to goods lifts, see our article on goods lift safety.
Car top and pit work should not be done alone, or at the very least a method of regular communication with the technician should be defined. When working alone, it can take hours to notice a technician who has fainted or become trapped in the shaft.
The maintenance company works in another employer's area in the building it serves. Preventing clashes with other work in the building (renovation, cleaning, electrical maintenance) and sharing the emergency arrangements are the joint responsibility of both parties; see more than one employer in the same area.
As part of its OHS specialist services for lift installation and maintenance companies, Bursa Sistemer enters shaft entry, car top work and rescue procedures in the risk assessment and monitors them through site observations. For other risks specific to construction and building work see our construction page, and to track training dates our OHS calendar tool.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can lift maintenance be carried out by a single technician?
Some routine checks can be done by one person; however, work such as moving the car while on the car top, working under the car in the pit and manual rescue should be done by two people. Where work is done alone, a regular communication method is defined in the risk assessment.
Is a safety harness needed on the car top?
If there is a risk of falling through the gap between the car edge and the shaft wall and there is no adequate balustrade, a harness attached to a suitable anchor must be used. Even if there is a balustrade, the body must not extend beyond the car's outline.
What documents are required for lift maintenance staff?
The Regulation on Lift Operation and Maintenance requires technical maintenance staff to have graduated from a vocational high school or vocational college in the relevant field, or to hold a master craftsman certificate or a vocational qualification certificate in lift maintenance and repair. In addition, OHS training and competence in electrical work are required.
What is the most common mistake when rescuing a trapped passenger?
Opening the door and taking the passenger out before the car is exactly level with the floor. This creates a risk of falling into the shaft through the gap between the car and the landing. The door should be opened only after it has been verified that the car is level with the floor.
A certified specialist matched to your hazard class: site inspections, approved logbook, training plan, annual plan and report follow-up.
Bursa SİSTEMER OSGB Technical Team — written from the field experience of our OHS specialists and workplace physicians. Legal information is valid as of the publication/update date; contact us for an assessment specific to your business.