Lifts are the most used mass-transit system used throughout the world, transporting workers, residents, customers, and delivery personnel throughout office residential blocks all around the world.

As with any heavy machinery, lifts must be maintained and serviced to ensure they are working correctly and safely to help reduce the risks of serious accidents or even death.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) states that passenger lifts and combined goods and passenger lifts in workplaces that are primarily used by people at work should be subject to periodic thorough examination and inspection.

This is required by Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) legislation.

We look at some tips to make sure that your business does not fail when it comes to lift safety.

All lifts must be properly maintained and subjected to a thorough inspection by competent personnel, as a failure of the lift can potentially result in serious injury or death.

Anyone with responsibility for lifting equipment  should:

•   Arrange thorough examinations for all lifts at a frequency specified by the competent person.

•   Retain a report/certificate that gives information on the safety of the lift.

•   Maintain the lifts in accordance with manufacturer’s or installer’s instructions, and keep an up-to-date maintenance log.

•   Instruct staff in their safe use, including emergency procedures associated with the lift.

•   Train key staff in the procedures to be taken in the event of a lift breakdown and when people need to be released.

•   Train key staff to carry out routine safety checks.

•   Keep all moving parts of the lift machinery guarded.

•   Prevent unauthorised persons from entering the lift plant room.

If you’re looking for lift consultants, get in touch today.

East Grinstead is to be one of two railway stations in East Sussex to benefit from step-free access for the first time, thanks to a £9 million investment.

Rail Advent reports that Network Rail began upgrades to both East Grinstead and Crowborough stations on Monday 1 November with a new footbridge and lifts. There will also be upgrades to help blind and partially sighted passengers too, with new tactile paving close to the platform edges and new CCTV cameras installed.

Katie Frost, the Sussex route director for Network Rail, said: “We are committed to improving access for passengers and this vital work will make it much easier for people to move around Crowborough and East Grinstead stations.”

Frost added that the stations are ‘important gateways’ for their respective communities, and the footbridges and lifts would provide significant benefits to them.

She said that the two stations are now more accessible to all passengers, regardless of whether they are in a wheelchair, have reduced mobility, or have luggage or pushchairs.

Network Rail has been working with local stakeholders and accessibility groups to determine the best course of action to support passengers and has made efforts to minimise disruption during the project, which is due to be completed by August 2022.

Engineers are set to build foundations on the platforms with the new lift shafts and footbridges being created off-site. They will then be lifted into position by crane during planned line closures.

Once each footbridge has been finished, engineers aim to dismantle and remove the existing station footbridges.

Network Rail is managing and delivering station accessibility enhancements as part of the Department for Transport’s Access for All programme.

About £4.6m was invested in East Grinstead station while Crowborough station received £4.7m.

If you’re looking for lift consultants to help improve your step-free access, talk to us today.

Thatcham Town Council and West Berkshire Council are in discussions to enable works to move ahead with an upgrade Thatcham Train Station, which will include improved customer facilities and new passenger lifts.

Newbury Today reports that during a recent planning and highways meeting, the two councils met to discuss receiving support for progression with the upgrade, and councillors from Thatcham Council discussed proposals for upgrades they wished to see at the station.

Passenger access was the main consideration and a priority for the upgrades, and the councils discussed the benefits of fitting passenger lifts to the existing footbridge at the station, increasing step-free access throughout the station and access to all platforms.

Also discussed at the meeting was an extension to the parking facilities to the north of the station, as well as the possibility of moving the main car park from the south side of the track to the north. The north side of the station may also see new ticket machines and shelters on the platform.

There are currently no toilets at the station, which raised concerns from West Berkshire Council due to plumbing issues that could arise from the installation of that type of facility. However, Thatcham officials pushed for a bigger upgrade, meaning that toilets would be considered.

Local transport links to and from the station were also a topic for discussion, and if a proposed 2,500 home development in Thatcham go ahead, it will provide an opportunity for Reading buses to improve transport links.

In moving these proposals forward, Thatcham Town Council is looking to enter into further discussions with Great Western Railway and Network Rail as well as West Berkshire Council.

If you’re looking for lift consultants, come and talk to us today.

Canary Wharf is famous for its plethora of skyscrapers, but the latest tower may continue a trend away from office buildings and towards the residential sector.

A consultation has been started by Canary Wharf Group over the possibility of switching the planned purpose of its latest skyscraper, raising the prospect of the 60-storey building at 1A Park Place becoming a residential hub for around 700 homes, Bloomberg reports.

If the plans are amended, that may mean the company will need to speak to lift consultants about the very different needs that might be required by the residents of hundreds of different homes, rather than a smaller number of offices that each contains more people.

Particular differences will include issues of 24-hour access and the safety and security implications for this.

The original plans were for a building containing 215 million square foot, which Bloomberg notes is twice the available space in the iconic ‘Gherkin’ skyscraper in the City of London.

Canary Wharf Group is considering the switch as a response to the pandemic, which has led to a decline in rental income from offices due to people working from home, as well as the potential prospect that remote working may become an established trend, reducing the need for office space.  

By contrast, there is a growing need for housing in London and this is particularly true in the east of the capital, which has seen the highest growth in recent years and is expected to continue doing so.

In the last census a decade ago, the two boroughs with the highest rate of population growth in the UK were Tower Hamlets and Newham. This year’s census may provide confirmation of this as a longer-term trend.

Accommodating a higher number of residents in an already densely-populated part of the capital may require more towers to be built. This will mean many more lifts being required with the needs of those living there 24/7 in mind.