A lift is arguably the spine of any building, and along with providing structural

support, a lift ensures the building offers access and transportation to employees
within it.

Careful planning is essential when installing a new lift, as it doesnt just have to be
functional, it also needs to be safe.

Take a look at five things to consider when planning to install a lift in your office
building.

1. 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 buildings function, the amount of employees 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.

2. 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 cover to how much weight it has
to bear will all play a factor when evaluating the proposed space.

3. Lunchtime Rush

If you are planning to incorporate a staff restaurant, caf or canteen in your building,
you will need to consider where you are going to place it. 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 this problem in the morning as people
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.
4. Safety

Perhaps one of the most important elements to consider when planning a lift
installation is safety. It is incredibly important to choose the right type of lift for your
project. Primarily, the lift should be able to bear the weight of people when at
maximum capacity, and secondly, the lift 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. The lift must be In addition to routine maintenance, detailed and
thorough examinations of the lift need to be carried out regularly by a competent
person.

5. Lift Design

While safety is paramount when planning to install a lift, a good installation should
also focus on the aesthetic aspects 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 dcor 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 building or in collaboration with standard passenger
lifts and escalators.