Why routine preventive maintenance matters
Goods lifts often perform hundreds of operating cycles while carrying heavy or awkward loads. Normal use places repeated stress on mechanical components, door systems, electrical controls and hydraulic equipment. Dust, moisture, corrosion, vibration, heat, impact damage and unauthorised adjustments can also affect reliability and safety.
A lift may continue operating even when an important component is deteriorating. A door sensor may become intermittent, a lock may no longer engage correctly, hydraulic oil may be contaminated, or a cable may show early signs of wear. Waiting for a complete breakdown can turn a manageable repair into extended downtime and may expose operators, maintenance personnel and nearby workers to unnecessary risk.
Preventive maintenance is not simply about keeping the goods lift moving. Its first purpose is to confirm that the lift stops, locks and protects people correctly whenever a fault or unsafe condition occurs.
Door sensors, locks and interlocks
Landing doors protect people from the lift shaft and moving carrier. Their sensors, locking devices and interlocks must prevent lift movement unless every relevant door is safely closed and locked. They should never be bypassed to keep the lift operating.
Maintenance should consider:
- The condition, alignment and secure mounting of door sensors, switches and actuators.
- Correct engagement and release of mechanical and electrical door locks.
- Damaged hinges, rollers, guides, handles, guards or door-closing mechanisms.
- Intermittent signals caused by loose terminals, damaged flexible wiring or poor adjustment.
- Correct stopping of the lift if a safety circuit is interrupted.
- Evidence that an interlock, safety relay or protective circuit has been altered or bypassed.
A door that appears closed is not necessarily safely locked. Functional testing is needed to verify the complete sequence between the physical lock, its electrical confirmation and the lift controller.
Cables, wire ropes, chains and lifting components
The lifting arrangement depends on the type of goods lift. It may use wire ropes, chains, cables, a hydraulic cylinder or a combination of components. Inspection must follow the lift manufacturer’s instructions and the criteria applicable to that design.
Checks may include visible wear, broken strands, corrosion, deformation, poor lubrication, abnormal noise, uneven tension, insecure anchorage and damage at pulleys, sheaves, sprockets or terminations. Guides, rollers, bearings, fasteners, buffers and structural attachment points should also be checked for deterioration, movement or impact damage.
Worn lifting components should not be judged only by whether the lift can still raise a load. Replacement limits and competent technical assessment matter. The lift should also display its rated load clearly and must never be loaded beyond that capacity.
Hydraulic oil and related equipment
For hydraulic goods lifts, the condition of the oil affects lubrication, valve operation, temperature and the reliability of the complete hydraulic system. A low oil level may indicate leakage, while dark, cloudy, aerated or contaminated oil can point to overheating, water ingress, wear or unsuitable maintenance practices.
A preventive service should consider the reservoir level and condition, filters, pump and motor, valves, hoses, pipes, fittings, cylinders, seals and connections. Oil leaks should be traced and corrected rather than repeatedly topping up the reservoir. The correct hydraulic fluid and replacement interval must be based on the manufacturer’s information and the actual operating conditions.
Unexpected lowering, poor levelling, jerky travel, slow operation, unusual pump noise or excessive oil temperature should be investigated promptly. These symptoms can have several causes and require systematic diagnosis.
Electrical controls and safety devices
The control panel coordinates the movement of the goods lift and monitors its safety circuit. Loose connections, worn contactors, damaged relays, unreliable limit switches, ageing power supplies and undocumented modifications can cause intermittent faults or prevent a safety function from operating as intended.
Depending on the lift, planned checks may cover:
- Emergency-stop and stop controls.
- Upper and lower travel limits, final limits and levelling sensors.
- Door interlocks and the complete safety circuit.
- Motor protection, overload protection, brakes and controlled stopping.
- Contactors, relays, PLC inputs and outputs, power supplies and drive fault history.
- Alarm, communication or trapped-person provisions where fitted and applicable.
- Control stations, call buttons, indicators, warning signs and rated-load markings.
- Earthing, bonding, cable condition, enclosures and protection against the working environment.
Any safety-related fault should be treated according to its risk. Where safe operation cannot be confirmed, the lift should remain isolated until the fault has been properly corrected and tested.
Does the goods lift meet current safety requirements?
The answer depends on the lift’s design, speed, intended use, accessibility, date of installation and modification history. In EU law, some lifts intended to carry goods fall within the Lifts Directive when the carrier is readily accessible to a person and controls are inside or within reach. Other goods-lifting equipment may fall under machinery legislation. Maintenance and modernisation of lifts are also subject to national requirements, and a substantial modification can create additional conformity obligations.
For this reason, an older goods lift should not be declared compliant merely because it operates. The equipment, documentation, risk controls, guarding, access arrangements, safety functions and previous modifications should be reviewed against the requirements applicable to that specific installation. A competent assessment may identify targeted improvements such as renewed interlocks, additional position monitoring, improved stopping control, updated guarding, modern safety components, rewiring or replacement of an obsolete controller.
Important: A goods lift intended only for goods must not be used to carry people unless it was designed, assessed and approved for that purpose.
Maintenance is separate from statutory examination
The Occupational Health and Safety Authority states that the owner or occupier of a workplace in Malta with a goods lift must submit an Examination Report compiled by a competent person—a warranted Mechanical or Electrical Engineer—once every six months. The report must be sent to OHSA within 28 days of the examination.
Routine maintenance supports safe and dependable operation, but it does not replace this statutory examination. Equally, the six-month examination does not remove the need for servicing between examination dates, prompt attention to reported faults or checks required by the manufacturer and the site’s risk assessment.
View OHSA workplace lift certification guidance →
Keep a clear maintenance history
Each visit should leave a useful record. The lift owner should be able to see what was inspected, what was tested, which faults were found, what repairs were completed and which recommendations remain outstanding. Records of breakdowns, recurring faults, oil changes, component replacements, controller settings and examination reports help future technicians make safer and faster decisions.
Operators should also have a simple way to report unusual noises, poor levelling, slow movement, damaged doors, leakage or unreliable controls. A developing problem discovered early is usually easier to plan and repair than a failure reported only after the lift stops completely.
Official safety references
Requirements should always be confirmed for the particular installation. Useful official references include the OHSA workplace lift guidance, Malta's Work Equipment Regulations (S.L. 646.24) and the EU Lifts Directive 2014/33/EU. Applicable requirements can differ according to the equipment's classification and history.
How JPC can support your goods lift
JPC Electrical & Automation Services provides structured fault-finding, repair, preventive maintenance and control-system upgrades for goods lifts in industrial and commercial premises. Support can include electrical diagnosis, safety-circuit checks, sensor and limit-switch replacement, control-panel rewiring, PLC or relay-control modernisation, hydraulic-system observations and corrective work arising from a statutory examination.
Where a lift has an obsolete, unreliable or heavily modified control system, JPC can assess the existing operation and propose practical upgrade options. The goal is a safe, maintainable and dependable system with clear controls, traceable wiring and components that can be supported in the future.
Does your goods lift need attention?
Contact JPC to arrange an on-site assessment, report a breakdown or discuss a preventive-maintenance programme for your workplace goods lift.
