Lift Directive 95/16/EC
Permanently Installed Lifts for Use during Building Construction
The following comments were prepared and approved by the members of the CEOC International Technical Committee CML (Machines, Lifts and Cranes) during their meeting in Budapest (Hungary) on 26 and 27 February 2007. The document was approved by the CEOC International Board in March 2007. The document was modified after further clarification by the European Commission – Enterprise and Industry Directorate-General in 2011.
In certain circumstances, lifts may be installed during the period of the construction of a building and used for the lifting of workers and goods before formal commissioning. When the building is finished, these units will then be properly commissioned and used as the permanently installed lifts under the lift directive.
During the period following installation of the lift but before formal commissioning, a conformity assessment of the installation will have to be undertaken with regard to the lift directive, in order to ascertain that safety critical elements of the lift are in place to safeguard the end user. This conformity assessment process should be suitably documented in order to provide a means of proving acceptability.
The CEOC Commission for Machinery and Lifts (CML) also recommends that in accordance with the Use of Work Equipment Directive (89/655/EEC) an initial inspection is carried out by a competent person, prior to putting such lifts into limited service for the use by construction workers. This initial inspection will identify whether the appropriate safeguards are in place and satisfactory. Furthermore, where the time scale for completion of the building is significant then further periodic inspections by a competent person may be required, in accordance with regulations, to ensure the continued safe operation of such lifts.