Lift and elevator preventive maintenance checklist
Lifts are safety-critical, specialised plant. The maintenance, adjustment and statutory inspection of a lift must be carried out by a competent, licensed lift technician or registered service provider under a maintenance contract. This checklist is not that. It is an operator-side awareness and log routine that a facilities team can run between contractor visits to notice problems early, keep the lift safe to use and presentable, and maintain a clear record. Anything that fails here is reported to your lift contractor, not fixed in house.
Treat the items as practical guidance and follow applicable standards and your service provider’s advice for intervals and any specific requirements. Do not open machine rooms, controllers or pit areas, or interfere with lift equipment, unless you are a qualified lift person.
Before you start
- Confirm you are doing an operator-side check only, not lift maintenance.
- Open the asset record in Cohiva Control and confirm you are working on the right lift.
- Review any faults, breakdowns or user complaints reported since the last check.
- Check that the current maintenance and any statutory inspection records are up to date with your contractor.
Check the doors and entrances
- Confirm the doors open and close smoothly and fully at each landing.
- Check the door reversal or detection feature stops and reopens on an obstruction.
- Inspect door tracks and sills for debris and damage from where you can safely see.
- Check landing call buttons illuminate and respond.
Check ride and levelling
- Ride the lift through the floors it serves and listen for unusual noise or vibration.
- Confirm the car stops level with each landing, with no significant step.
- Check the car responds correctly to car buttons and the floor indicator.
Check emergency communication and safety features
- Test the emergency phone or intercom connects and is answered.
- Confirm the alarm button sounds.
- Check the emergency and normal lighting in the car operates.
- Confirm any out-of-service or fault signage is correct and the lift is not in use if it should not be.
Check presentation and the logbook
- Inspect the car interior, lighting, mirrors and handrails for cleanliness and damage.
- Confirm the load plate, certificate and any required notices are present and legible.
- Check the lift logbook is up to date and that recent contractor visits are recorded.
- Confirm machine-room and pit access doors are secure and only accessible to authorised people.
Log and close out
- Mark each item pass or fail in the inspection.
- Attach photos of any damage or fault.
- For anything that fails, raise a work order to your licensed lift contractor and note the lift’s status.
- Update the operator log.
In Cohiva Control, a failed item can raise a work order automatically and route it to your lift maintenance contractor, so a faulty emergency phone or a levelling problem becomes a tracked job rather than a note that gets lost. Inspection records are versioned and immutable once submitted, giving you a clear operator-side history alongside the contractor’s service record. Build it as an inspection template on a preventive maintenance schedule, and use the contractor compliance gate so only a compliant lift contractor can be assigned the resulting work. See also how inspections and audits work.
Part of the Cohiva platform
Cohiva Control is part of the Cohiva platform. Leisure operators often run it with Cohiva Complex, and finance teams connect it to Cohiva Crunch for the general ledger. Explore the platform at www.cohiva.app.