Considerations when specifying and installing an office lift

[edit] Introduction

A lift is arguably the spine of any building. As well as providing structural support, it offers access and transportation to occupants. Careful planning is essential when installing a new lift, needing to be functional and safe.

[edit] Capacity

Before any type of planning can begin, you will need to know the expected capacity of your building along with expected passenger waiting times, as these factors will impact your overall lift requirements. There are guidelines to refer to in order to calculate this, which take into consideration the building’s function, the number of occupants and how they are distributed throughout the building. For example, when there are more than 20 floors, a single grouping would not be ideal as it would result in long travel times and could easily become congested during busy times during the day.

[edit] Environment

The environment that your lift is going to be installed will need to be assessed to help your installer decide on the best way not only to fit your lift, but which design will suit your requirements best. Aspects ranging from how many floors the lift must service to how much weight it has to bear must be considered when evaluating the proposed space.

[edit] Peak times

Peak times and high traffic locations must be considered. A restaurant on the first floor may cause serious congestion during the lunchtime rush, and your lift will not travel much further than the first floor because it will be transporting hungry passengers. Similarly, you could experience problems in the morning as people arrive, and maybe stop to get their breakfast and morning coffee. To avoid these issues, consider locating the central food hub on the ground floor, or if you can, create a dining areas at the top of your building; you could then consider having a separate lift systems to take passengers directly to the restaurant.

[edit] Safety

This is perhaps one of the most important issues to consider. The lift should be able to bear the weight of people when at maximum capacity, and needs to be fitted with a functioning alarm system that can be used if the lift were to break down.

In the UK, lifts installed to be used by people in the workplace are subject to the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) and Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER).

The business (duty holder) is legally responsible for ensuring that the lift is examined and is safe to use. In addition to routine maintenance, detailed and thorough examinations of the lift need to be carried out regularly by a competent person.

[edit] Lift design

While safety is paramount when planning to instal a lift, a good installation should also focus on the aesthetics of the lift. If your lift is being installed in a new, modern office or another more refined environment, it is important that it ties in with the overall design and décor of the building. However, bear in mind that as much as scenic, glass lifts look attractive, the more complicated the lift design, the more complicated it will be to maintain. Scenic lifts generally work best in low rise buildings or in collaboration with standard passenger lifts and escalators.

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