Lifts regulations

Introduction

The Health and Safety at Work (Lifts) (Jersey) Regulations 1990 provide safety standards for all types of permanent lift installations in non-domestic premises. Such premises include all industrial, commercial or public buildings such as factories, warehouses, offices, shops, hospitals and schools.

Non-domestic premises also include those 'common' areas of certain domestic premises, such as purpose-built flats or houses converted into flats.

The regulations cover both new and existing lifts.

Interpretation

The regulations recognise two types of lift, service lifts and passenger lifts. All lifts will fit into one of these two categories.

Service lifts are defined as those with a lift car which persons are unable to enter. To ensure inaccessibility to persons, the lift car must have a maximum internal floor area not exceeding 1.25 square metres and an interior height, depth and width not exceeding 1.4 metres.

In order to be classified as a lift under the regulations, a lift must form a permanent installation and the lift car must run at least partially between rigid vertical guides or guides whose inclination to the vertical is less than 15 degrees.

Construction and maintenance

Lifts are required to be of good mechanical construction, sound material and adequate strength. Lifts constructed to a current relevant European or British Standard would, in most cases, meet this criteria.

The installation must also be regularly maintained. The type of maintenance required will depend on the type of installation and it is advised that the manufacturer's guidance be followed. All maintenance work should be undertaken by experienced competent engineers.

Testing and examination

Thorough testing and examination of a lift installation is required to be carried out:

after the initial installation and before being brought into use
after the installation has undergone any alterations, repairs or modifications likely to affect its safe operation.

Examinations of lift installations are required to be:

carried out at least once every six months
carried out by a competent person.

The term ‘competent person’ is not defined in the law as competency is a matter of judgement and not definition, but it is someone who has sufficient technical and practical knowledge to be able to detect any defects and assess how significant they are.

It is important that the competent person is sufficiently independent and impartial to allow them to make an objective assessment. The competent person carrying out the examinations and tests should not be the same person who has completed the installation or any maintenance and repair work on the lift installation.

In most cases this work is carried out by an engineer / surveyor employed on behalf of an insurance company. However, it could be another person providing they are sufficiently independent and impartial, and have sufficient technical and practical knowledge.

Initial thorough examination and test of a lift with CE marking and a Declaration of Conformity

It is a legal requirement under the Lifts (Jersey) Regulations 1990 to have an initial thorough examination and test when a new lift is installed. The competent person will take the CE marking and Declaration of Conformity into account and so those documents form an important part of the process. Once complete, the competent person will complete a certificate of thorough examination/ test and examination of lift.

Reports

The person carrying out the examination or test and examination must complete a certificate detailing the results of the examination or test and examination and send it to the person responsible for the installation within 28 days.

Where it is found that the lift cannot continue to be used safely, a copy of the certificate must also be sent to the Health and Safety Inspectorate.

The certificate of thorough examination / test and examination for all lifts must contain the details set out in the prescribed 'Form 1'.

These details include:

certificate number
description of equipment
identification mark of the equipment
date of the last thorough examination or test and thorough examination and number of the certificate issued on that occasion
safe working load and / or number of passengers
details of tests carried out
details of any defects found (if none state NONE)
date by which the defects must be rectified
date by which the next thorough examination must be carried out
the competent person must certify that the equipment was thoroughly examined, or tested and examined, and that the particulars are correct
the name and address of the person signing must be stated and the date entered
the name and address of the organisation employing the competent person

In addition, for passenger lifts, the details set out in 'Form 2' are required to be completed. The person responsible for the installation must then display a copy of form two inside the lift car.

Form two must contain the following details:

certificate number
description
identification mark of the equipment
the safe working load or loads and / or maximum numbers of passengers
the competent person must certify that the equipment described in the certificate was thoroughly examined and enter the date
the name of the person signing must be stated and the date entered
the name and address of the organisation employing the competent person
date of the next examination

Certificates must be kept by the responsible person for a period of two years. It must be available for inspection, when required, by a health and safety inspector.

Enclosure and gates

Every lift-way must be surrounded by an enclosure which prevents any person falling down the lift-way or coming into contact with a moving part of the installation.

Gates giving access to the enclosure must be interlocked with the movement of the lift car, preventing opening of the gate until the lift car is at that gate position.

The construction of the installation must prevent any person or goods carried in the lift car becoming trapped between any moving parts of the installation, and between any moving parts of the installation and fixed structure.

Safe working load

The maximum safe working load, and for passenger lifts the maximum number of passengers which can be safely carried, is required to be displayed.

Additional safety requirement for passenger lifts

Passenger lifts are also subject to the following additional safety requirements:

safety devices should be fitted to the installation to prevent the lift car overrunning
interlocked gates should be provided to the lift car
a means of calling for assistance, such as an intercom, alarm button or telephone, must be provided inside the lift car
safety devices should be provided which support the lift car and its load in the event of a failure of its means of support

Exemptions

Applications for exemptions from any or all of the requirements of the regulations should be made to the Health and Safety Inspectorate.

An exemption will only be granted where it can be shown that it will not result in a lower standard of safety than that required by the regulations.

Further advice and information

A copy of the guidance on the regulations can be obtained from the Health and Safety Inspectorate. You can find the regulations below.

Lift regulations on the Jersey Legal Information Board