If you own your own building, you are likely aware of the importance of a lift in any building, primarily because it provides structural support, but it can also offer transportation for people that need access to different areas of the facility.
Planning for the installation of any lift does require some preplanning, mostly because it has to be both safe and functional.
These five considerations should be made you are planning on installing one at your facility. If you are looking for a lift maintenance company then see here.
Capacity
Before proceeding forward you need to know a lot of things about your building, as well as the capacity for the lift when it is filled with passengers that can impact which one you choose.
Following guidelines that refer to safety are one consideration to make, plus you also need to think about where your employees are in your building.
If you have a building with 20 floors or more, putting everyone inside would not be the most ideal solution, and it could become a congested area especially during busy parts of the day.
Environment
Other considerations to make will include the environment in which the lift will be placed as this will help you determine which one will fit best, and also fulfill requirements that may be mandated.
You need to consider the number of floors that are in your building, and how much weight will be in the lift at any given time.
Using The Lift at Lunchtime
An example of this would be a lift that you are using a restaurant, or perhaps a café because you need to know where the best place to install it will be. If you do have a restaurant, and it is on the first floor, during the lunch hour, it can be extremely crowded simply because everybody is coming down to eat. Another consideration that should be made is how many people will be using it in the morning to get coffee or perhaps their breakfast.
Safety Considerations
This is by far the most important consideration to make simply because a lift can lead to safety issues. You need to have the right one installed at your facility. In fact, every lift that you install will have the maximum capacity, and it also needs to be fitted with some form of an alarm that can be used to alert others outside of the lift if there is a problem.
In the United Kingdom, every lift that is installed must follow LOLER Regulations, plus there are also work equipment regulations that were established in the 1990s by PUWER that must be abided by in order for the lift to be completely legal.
Any business, or so-called duty holder, must examine the lift to make sure it is safe to use. In addition to this, regular maintenance must be administered on the lift, and while these examinations are occurring, it must be done by a competent person that is trained to do so which will allow potential problems to be identified.
Lift Design Options
Safety is always going to be a primary consideration when you are installing a lift in a building, but you almost must consider aesthetic considerations as well. If this is going to be placed into a new office building, or perhaps an environment that is even more refined, you must make sure that the decor of the lift, and its overall design, will fit the building in which it will be placed.