Lifts in Singapore requires yearly inspections by a Qualified Examiner for the application of Permit-to-Operate. Emaan Inspection Pte Ltd has been providing inspection services for this purpose. In these slides, Emaan Inspection would like to share some of the more commonly found faults and defects in lifts inspected.

1. Lifts
Common faults found during inspections

2. Background
• Currently in Singapore, there are about 60,000 lifts (expected to
double in 10 years time)
• Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act; and Building
Maintenance and Strata Management (Lift, Escalator and Building
Maintenance) Regulations 2016
• The existing regulations that govern operations and maintenance of lifts in
Singapore
• SS 550 - Code of practice on the installation, Operation and
Maintenance of Electric Passenger and Goods Lifts
• The main industrial standard referred to by the Regulations

3. Regulatory requirements on Lift Owners
1. Monthly maintenance - Owners to engage a Lift Contractor
registered with BCA to maintain lifts monthly
2. Lift Contractor to maintain lifts according to 20 specific
maintenance outcomes*
3. Lift Owners to keep maintenance records for at least 5 years and
make available to BCA when required.
4. Annual examination, inspection and testing of lifts – must be
carried out by a registered Lift Contractor in the presence of an
independent Authorised Examiner (AE)

4. Regulatory requirements on Lift Owners
5. Permit-to-Operate – Upon annual examination, AE will issue a
certificate to certify lift is in good working condition. Lift Owner to
apply to BCA for a Permit to Operate (PTO) together with certificate.
PTO must be renewed annually. PTO to be displayed in lifts.
6. Incident Reporting – Both Lift Owner and Lift Contractor must
inform BCA when an incident involving death or injuries to
passengers, or malfunction of safety critical components occurs.

5. * Maintenance Outcomes
20 specific maintenance outcomes for lifts could be found here –
https://www.bca.gov.sg/newsroom/others/Release_LiftEscalator_Regul
ations_080716.pdf

6. Our message to Lift Owners
• As Lift Owners, you should have an interest to know the condition of
your lifts by regularly engaging your appointed Lift Contractor and
getting maintenance reports from them.
• Check with the Lift Contractor that the 20 specific maintenance
outcomes out of each maintenance cycle are achieved. Any faults or
non-compliance should be rectified early to ensure the lifts are safe
and reliable to the users.
• Lift breakdowns and failures would cost downtime to business
operations, cause inconvenience to building occupants and may
create risks to lift users.

7. Common faults found
• Emaan Inspection actively conducts annual inspection of lifts for the
purpose of application of Permit-to-Operate (PTO) of the lifts by the
Lift Owners.
• We share with you some of the defects or faults in the lifts that we
inspected which can contribute to lift breakdowns or cause hazards to
users and maintenance crew under your charge.

8. Batteries for emergency back-up power supply poorly
maintained and not in service
During power supply
interruptions, batteries
provide back-up power
supply to at least the
lights, ventilation fans
and emergency alarm in
the lift for the comfort of
users while waiting for
rescue. Failure of
batteries to come into
service will cause
discomfort to users.

9. Worn-out wire ropes
Wire rope is an important
part for suspension of
the lift car. Over time
steel wire ropes will
corrode. Iron dust from
corroded ropes is a clear
indication that the ropes
are worn and should be
replaced.

10. Damages at landing doors
It is not uncommon to
find doors of cargo lifts
with damages due to
abuse by users wheeling
in and out pallet trucks or
trolleys. Damages
include broken or
misaligned door panels
or having gaps beyond
allowable tolerance.
This can trigger safety
switches causing
frequent lift breakdowns.

11. Poor housekeeping at car top
Lift car top is hidden
from public eyes. Hence
it is not uncommon for
car top to have left
behind used material or
misused as ‘storage
area’. These could be a
fire hazard and tripping
hazard to maintenance
crew working on car top.

12. Poor housekeeping at lift pit
Lift pit is located
underneath the lift at its
lowest landing, hidden
from public eyes. Hence
it is not uncommon for
pits to be full of litters or
misused as ‘storage
area’. These could be a
fire hazard.

13. Poor housekeeping at machine room
Lift motor room is
located above the lift
shaft typically on the roof
top accessible only to
maintenance crew. It is
not uncommon for pits to
be misused as ‘storage
area’. These could be a
fire hazard and safety
hazard to maintenance
crew.

14. Poor cables termination and arrangements
Poorly terminated cable
at the lift control panel
may cause unnecessary
faults to lifts operations.
These could be a safety
hazard to maintenance
crew and may also affect
lift operations.

15. No screen protector on counterweight
Counterweights are
important in lift operations
to minimise the force
required to move the lift
car. They are also a
safety hazard for
maintenance crew working
in the lift pit hence a
screen protector must be
installed to protect crew
members from moving
counterweights.

16. Sheave without protection shield
Sheave rotates to move
the lift car vertically via
wire ropes. They are a
safety hazard for
maintenance crew
working in the motor
room and hence should
be covered with a
protective shield. Some
old models did not come
with such protection
shield.

17. Lubricant oil leaks from gear box of traction motor
Gears are important
components of the lift
traction system to convert
and transfer rotational
forces from the motor to
vertical forces to move the
lift car. Lubricants reduce
frictional forces in the
mashed gears. With poor
seals in the gear box
access panels, lubricant
will leak out of the gear
box and create safety
hazard to maintenance
crew and could also dry up
gears.

18. Lubricant oil spills from guide rail container onto lift pit
Lift car and counterweight
travels are guided by vertical
rails. Lubrication reduces
friction at the contact points
between the guide shoes
and rails. Due to damages
to the lubricant holding
containers, lubricants will
spill and drip down the rails
to the lift pit. Lift pits should
be maintained dry to prevent
slip and fall hazards to
maintenance crew.

19. Services Emaan Offers in Lifts and Escalators
• PE (Mechanical) services for certification of compliance for lifts and
escalators for application of building TOP or CSC
• Authorised Examiner services for annual examination, inspection and
testing of lifts and escalators conducted by registered contractors and
issuance of certificate of good working condition
• Specialist PE (Lifts and Escalators) services for performance audit and
conditional assessments of lifts and escalators

20. Contact us for any queries
Emaan Inspection Pte Ltd
8 Burn Road #04-08 Trivex
Singapore 369977
Tel: 6292 3549
email: info@emaan.com.sg
website: www.emaan.com.sg

21. Make every lift trip safe and comfortable
We are ready to serve you