You have many areas in your building or complex which warrant careful consideration when it comes to emergency and risk management planning. A number of Plant for instance are even listed as High Risk. These are:

One such area is your Vertical Transportation – the elevator system. For many buildings, the lift installation is the heart and soul of its operation.

The Property Council of Australia list the average lift breakdown rates at 5-6 / lift / year, while the lift companies are quoting marginally better figures of 3 – 4 / lift / year

We will use the lift company figures for our discussion – (and remembering these figures are averaged across some 40,000 units installed around Australia, therefore individual sites will vary considerably). In a typical medium rise building with 3 lifts, the building manager could expect a breakdown at least once a month. That’s 12 times a year,

That sounds bad enough, but remember each unit will also be taken out of service for planned maintenance – at least an hour per lift and escalator each month. Consider also that a percentage of the breakdowns will involve the entrapment of building tenants or worse, their clients. What are the consequences and cost to the managers operation? How do you minimise the emotional impact to your tenant or visitor? How do you retain their custom? Does it mean you are out of pocket as a consequence? We all know the “One person tells ten more people”, story.

It is not all doom and gloom however, as each owner / manager can take proactive steps to prepare and deal with these unplanned stoppages – professionally and effectively. We should also note that the major lift companies would happily listen to your concerns and work with you to minimise the likelihood of these interruptions. The following is a step-by-step guideline to assist you in taking the panic and emotional frustration out of the equation

For ease of understanding, we group the 10 steps into 3 stages.

• Stage 1: Independent Analysis
  • Compliance, equipment suitability, historical R&H's
• Stage 2: Internal Procedures
  • Breakdown and guest management, policies and training
• Stage 3: Prevention Measures
  • Performance criteria, life cycles and programmed maintenance

By implementing the above, you can take the guesswork out of this important aspect of your building plant and be confident that you are well prepared for any likelihood in the future.

As a building owner or manager you have a duty of care with regards to safety and you are expected to act with due diligence when considering this responsibility. It is important to develop a proactive attitude when dealing with potentially serious safety issues. To assist you with this you should consider obtaining the advice of a workplace health and safety professional to identify potential safety hazards and the associated risks with the goal of preventing workplace injuries.

MINC Risk Services look forward to helping answer your questions and developing your business to the new highs in the area of Health & Safety.