The importance of safety in lifts

Lifts are undoubtedly of enormous importance, functionality and value both in cities and in buildings with more than one floor. They are devices that serve both to save time and to overcome architectural barriers or stairs. They are essential for people with restricted or reduced mobility, as well as facilitating the movement or delivery of cargo, products or various objects.

The importance of safety in lifts

However, it is of the utmost importance that safety in lifts is fully guaranteed, as the lack of safety can have serious consequences.

Lifts and human quality of life

Movement has been essential in the history of mankind, especially in the development of its civilisation. We have created machinery and devices to move by land, air and water, but also vertically in ever higher buildings. Such is the case of lifts, which have contributed enormously to increasing our quality of life. But to achieve this, it is essential that they are properly constructed, that they work well and that they have the necessary devices and structure to make them safe in all respects.

At this point, two essential aspects must be taken into account: on the one hand, there is the lift manufacturer, who must have special recognition, and also the regular and periodic maintenance that these devices must receive. This will avoid, as far as possible, anything from an electrical or electronic problem at the push of a button, to some kind of jamming that can cause anything from concern to anguish. This can be avoided thanks to preventive maintenance, which is a periodic review of the system, as well as changing those parts that require it.

How to ensure the safety of a lift

Again, start with the reputation of the lift manufacturer, who should be an expert in their field, use quality materials and have worked on projects for different types of companies. This will help to avoid unpleasant and even dangerous situations, such as doors opening without warning, power cuts, etc. It is essential that a lift has, for example, door wedging to avoid the above, as well as measures such as parachutes (in case of a remote possibility of the mechanism falling) or a dry stop (if a higher speed than the previously established one occurs).

On the other hand, in the event of any failure or malfunction, the lift maintenance company should provide an immediate service of no more than 45 minutes. Of course, the lift must be equipped with a distress call device as well as shock absorbers to reduce the speed. Sensitive edge equipment will also be an important measure to avoid possible accidents when closing the automatic doors.

Measures to be taken to check that a lift is working properly

There are several things to always pay attention to, among them are the braking that it performs and that it does so at the correct stop. On the other hand, make sure that there is no excess or overcrowding of people or objects inside the lift that could damage it and cause an accident. People or any objects they are carrying should be prevented from interrupting the automatic closing of the doors, as this will help to prevent any type of failure.

In case of hearing strange noises in the lift mechanism, a safety measure is to report it as soon as possible. On the other hand, periodic maintenance is a key part of safety in lifts, so a complete overhaul of all the equipment, on an ongoing basis, will prevent any problems. They must even have an emergency response system, i.e., in the event of an accident, they must be able to open underground tunnels. Of course, in case of failure or malfunction, we must remain calm and not use a lift if there are visible problems such as smoke, creaking, speed increase, etc.

Hidral: we guarantee the safety of the lifts we manufacture.

Since 1975, we have been manufacturing residential lifts, freight elevators, commercial lifts, car lifts, panoramic lifts, vertical platforms, and other customised devices such as heliport lifts. Our interest is to offer comfortable, functional and, of course, very safe devices for our customers. We use materials of excellent quality that comply with national and international regulations, since a large part of our lifts are exported to other countries. This speaks of the special attention we pay to each of our products.

If you have any doubts about safety in lifts, we will be happy to answer them and we can make recommendations, both about maintenance and about the best products for your needs. Find out about our lifts and their technical specifications on our website, where we also detail their characteristics.

Hidral is located in Polígono Industrial PARSI, calle 7, nº 3, 41016 Sevilla (Spain). You can contact us by phone +34 954 514 500, by fax +34 954 677 633 or by email hidral@hidral.com