Elevator Maintenance Checklists

Effectively and safely perform maintenance checks and tasks using elevator maintenance checklists.

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Elevator Maintenance Checklist

An elevator/lift maintenance checklist is used to identify potential risks caused by equipment defects. Ensure elevator is operational and safe with the use of this checklist. The template has been built to guide the building maintenance personnel to perform the following:

  1. Conduct an inspection of the equipment inside of car, top of car and the machine room
  2. Report any defects found and capture photo evidence
  3. Add comments and recommendations
  4. Complete the inspection by providing name and signature
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Elevator maintenance checklist

Published 5 June 2024 Article by Jona Tarlengco | 4 min read

What is Elevator Maintenance Checklist?

An elevator maintenance checklist is an essential tool for service technicians to ensure the safety and proper functioning of elevators. This checklist guides technicians through a thorough inspection process, covering all critical areas, including the interior of the elevator car, the top of the car, and the machine room. It helps assess potential risks that could cause equipment defects and malfunctions.

What is Elevator Maintenance?

Elevator maintenance is a systematic inspection carried out by service technicians to keep elevators in good working condition. The process involves finding, diagnosing, and fixing problems before they cause system breakdown, malfunction, or shutdown. Elevator maintenance is usually performed at least once a month to prevent costly repairs and sustain asset’s lifespan.

Why is Elevator Maintenance Important?

Elevators, or lifts, are crucial investments for multi-story buildings as they play a significant role in transporting people and freight as quickly as possible between floors. According to the National Elevator Industry, Inc. (NEII) report, there are 18 billion trips on elevators in the US every year. With all those passengers utilizing this equipment, regular elevator or lift maintenance is imperative.

Elevator preventive maintenance inspections are critical in ensuring compliance with building regulations and ensuring all equipment is in good working condition. Elevator malfunctions can inconvenience tenants, cause costly repairs and create safety hazards.

Regular maintenance checks provided by elevator inspection companies help ensure public safety and guarantee smooth and efficient building operations. Further, elevators that are well maintained also significantly increase the marketability of properties and lessen the risk of liability issues and tenant dissatisfaction.

What to Include on Your Elevator Maintenance Checklist

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) work in conjunction to establish maintenance requirements for elevators. Below are the following requirements to include on your elevator maintenance checklist:

Elevators should be inspected on a periodic basis and preventive maintenance can be done monthly, depending on the usage of the elevator.

How Do You Inspect an Elevator Using a Checklist?

Here are the top 5 tips for elevator maintenance inspection:

1. Communicate with Tenants

Let tenants know that scheduled maintenance is occurring, use signs and notices. Avoid high foot traffic periods and always ensure alternative elevators or stairs are available. Include signage on all key floors that the elevator stops at.

2. Automate Regular Inspections

Improve productivity by transforming paper-driven elevator inspections into an automated digital process. Equip elevator inspectors with smart checklists to help them efficiently perform maintenance activities and easily attach media for precise details. Automate workflows to notify elevator inspectors of their assigned work order.

3. Perform the Inspection

Performing an elevator equipment audit helps determine the condition of equipment, the types of necessary repairs, and other services needed. Inspect below major parts to ensure elevator safety:

Utilize ready-to-use elevator maintenance checklist that is customizable according to your inspection needs.

4. Conduct Inspections on the Go

Perform elevator maintenance on your handheld device anytime, anywhere, even if you’re offline. Capture photo evidence of equipment defects, take detailed repair notes to clarify the elevator system damage, and assign corrective actions according to the priority level to immediately mitigate the risks.

5. Prepare Accurate Reports

Complete a comprehensive report of the inspection including photos of any equipment defects and a description of any operational issues. Well-documented reports are required for regulatory compliance, fire safety requirements, and maintenance logs.

FAQs About Elevator Maintenance

How often do elevators need maintenance?

Elevators in general need quarterly maintenance but for other types like commercial lifts, conducting maintenance at least twice a year is ideal. Scheduled elevator maintenance can help proactively catch issues before they lead to elevator breakdowns that can be costly to repair.

How much is elevator maintenance?

Elevator maintenance can cost from $3,500 to $10,000 depending on the number of elevators to be maintained. The types of elevators and can also affect the maintenance cost as well as the type of building where the elevators are located.

How often do elevators get replaced?

Regardless of how often elevators are used, they need to be replaced when they reach their 20th to 25th year. The reason for the need to replace elevators when they reach this number of years in service is that they have parts that inevitably breakdown.

Manage Elevator Maintenance Inspections with SafetyCulture

Organizing and managing paper-based elevator maintenance reports are burdensome to elevator service technicians as they consume too much energy and time. Generate faster and more comprehensive elevator maintenance reports using a mobile app like SafetyCulture. Make elevator maintenance inspections easier with SafetyCulture with the following advantages:

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Jona Tarlengco

Article by SafetyCulture Content Specialist

Jona Tarlengco is a content writer and researcher for SafetyCulture since 2018. She usually writes about safety and quality topics, contributing to the creation of well-researched articles. Her years of experience in one of the world’s leading business news organisations helps enrich the quality of the information in her work.

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