Safety of lifts

There are approximately 85,000 lifts in Belgium.

And it’s not just old lifts which can pose a serious hazard for user safety; ‘modern’ lifts can also be dangerous if not properly maintained or not maintained at all.

Owners or managers of lifts must ensure the lifts are safe for users, and for third parties (fitters, maintenance and modernisation technicians, inspectors and checkers). This safety must be guaranteed for the lifetime of the lifts. For this reason, existing lifts must also meet a number of minimum technical requirements.

The safety of lifts is subject to two regulations:

• New lifts
  regulations on the placing on the market of new lifts, which relates solely to the production and installation of safe lifts.
  
• Modernisation of existing lifts
  regulations that describe how the owner or manager should manage the lift and if applicable modernise it to ensure safe use

These regulations make no distinction between lifts for business use and lifts for private use.