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Elevator Maintenance Risk Assessment

Elevator Maintenance Risk Assessment

  • • 100% Compliant with Australian WHS Acts & Regulations
  • • Fully Editable MS Word & PDF Formats Included
  • • Pre-filled Content – Ready to Deploy Immediately
  • • Customisable – Easily Add Your Logo & Site Details
  • • Includes 2 Years of Free Compliance Updates

Elevator Maintenance Risk Assessment

Product Overview

Identify and control organisational risks associated with Elevator Maintenance at a management and systems level, ensuring your maintenance program, contractors and plant are governed by robust, documented controls. This Risk Assessment supports WHS Act due diligence, strengthens WHS Risk Management across your portfolio, and helps protect your business from operational and legal liability exposure.

Risk Categories & Hazards Covered

This document assesses risks and outlines management controls for:

  • WHS Governance, Legal Compliance & PCBU Duties: Assessment of senior management responsibilities, consultation duties, and oversight arrangements for elevator maintenance activities across all sites.
  • Contractor Selection, Competency & Licensing: Management of elevator service providers, verification of licences, insurances and competencies, and controls for contractor onboarding and performance review.
  • Design, Engineering Controls & Plant Integrity: Evaluation of lift design features, safety interlocks, guarding, emergency stop systems, and long-term asset integrity strategies for elevators and associated plant.
  • Maintenance Strategy, Inspection & Testing Regime: Development of planned preventive maintenance schedules, statutory inspection programs, testing frequencies, and defect rectification processes.
  • Isolation, Lock-out Tag-out & Unintended Movement Control: Protocols for energy isolation, lock-out/tag-out, securing cars and counterweights, and preventing unexpected elevator movement during maintenance.
  • Work at Height, Fall Prevention & Access to Pits/Shafts: Management of access to lift shafts, pits and machine rooms, including fall prevention systems, safe access routes, and structural edge protection requirements.
  • Electrical Safety, Control Systems & Automation: Assessment of electrical hazards, control panels, drives, automation systems, and safe testing/commissioning practices for elevator electrical components.
  • Mechanical Lifting, Cables, Ropes & Components Handling: Controls for handling and replacing ropes, sheaves, doors, motors and other heavy components, including mechanical aids, manual handling and lifting equipment selection.
  • Housekeeping, Environmental Conditions & Confined Spaces: Management of slip, trip and housekeeping risks, thermal and ventilation issues in machine rooms, and confined space considerations in pits and shafts.
  • Public Interface, Building Occupant Safety & Site Security: Strategies to separate maintenance work from public areas, manage lift shutdowns, signage, barricading, and secure access to restricted plant rooms.
  • Planning, Scheduling, Fatigue & Resource Management: Oversight of maintenance scheduling, after-hours work, resourcing levels, fatigue management and coordination with building operations.
  • Documentation, Procedures, Training & Communication: Development and control of maintenance procedures, training and competency matrices, toolbox talks, and communication pathways between PCBU, contractors and building management.
  • Emergency Preparedness, Rescue & Incident Management: Planning for lift entrapments, rescue arrangements, emergency response integration with building systems, and post-incident investigation and corrective actions.

Who is this for?

This Risk Assessment is designed for Business Owners, Property Managers, Facility Managers and Safety Officers responsible for planning, procuring and overseeing Elevator Maintenance across buildings and portfolios.

Hazards & Risks Covered

Hazard Risk Description
1. WHS Governance, Legal Compliance & PCBU Duties
  • • Lack of clearly defined WHS responsibilities for elevator and escalator maintenance under the WHS Act 2011 and WHS Regulations
  • • Failure to identify plant as ‘registrable’ and subject to specific designer, manufacturer, supplier and installer duties
  • • Inadequate consultation, cooperation and coordination between building owner, lift contractor, tenants and other PCBUs
  • • No documented WHS policy specific to elevator, lift shaft and escalator maintenance activities
  • • Failure to ensure safe systems of work when adjusting elevator speed controls, set elevator floor levels or test elevator brakes
  • • Poor oversight of contractors performing installation or repair of elevators or escalators, including removal of existing elevators
  • • Non-compliance with Australian Standards (e.g. AS 1735 series, AS 1657, AS 2550.6, AS/NZS 4801 / ISO 45001) and plant registration requirements
  • • Inadequate review of statutory notices, improvement notices or incident findings related to lift systems
  • • Failure to ensure consultation with workers about changes to systems of work, including new load test or non-destructive testing regimes
2. Contractor Selection, Competency & Licensing
  • • Engagement of lift maintenance providers without appropriate licences, registration or accreditation
  • • Inadequate verification of technician competence to service elevator motors, fix elevator doors, deal with unexpected elevator movement or inspect traction of the sheave
  • • Use of inexperienced personnel for complex tasks such as replace elevator cables, replace suspension ropes or secure elevator cab to building
  • • No verification of high-risk work licences or electrical licences where required
  • • Lack of competency in working in lift shafts, on elevator car tops or in pits, including clean elevator pit and lift shafts cleaning
  • • Insufficient knowledge of specific manufacturer systems and software for speed control adjustment and brake testing
  • • No process to ensure subcontractors meet the same WHS and training standards as primary contractors
3. Design, Engineering Controls & Plant Integrity
  • • Elevator or escalator design not meeting current Australian Standards or safety category requirements
  • • Inadequate machine guarding or fixed barriers around sheaves, pulleys, elevator motors and drive components
  • • Lack of compliant safe access to elevator pits, lift shafts and top-of-car workspaces (e.g. no compliant ladders, platforms or guardrails)
  • • Insufficient engineering controls to prevent unintended elevator movement during maintenance or when elevator cab is secured to building
  • • Inadequate fall protection anchorage points when workers climb to top of elevator cabin or access lift shafts
  • • Poor design of control panels for speed control adjustment, floor levelling and brake testing, increasing risk of human error
  • • Underspecified buffer springs, cables or suspension ropes not suited to loads identified in load test of elevator
  • • No redundancy or fail-safe features for braking systems or traction sheaves during testing or commissioning
  • • Incompatible or poorly integrated components when installing or repairing elevators or escalators, or when removing existing elevator and installing new systems
4. Maintenance Strategy, Inspection & Testing Regime
  • • Absence of a structured preventive maintenance program for elevators, lifts and escalators
  • • Reactive-only maintenance leading to deterioration of cables, suspension ropes and buffer springs
  • • Inadequate frequency of inspections for elevator motors, pulleys, sheaves and braking systems
  • • No formal system for non-destructive testing of lifts and key components such as hooks, shackles and structural supports
  • • Poorly planned or undocumented load test of elevator activities, risking overload or failure
  • • Failure to schedule and verify periodic inspection of lift shafts, car tops, pits and safety gear
  • • Inadequate systems for identifying and managing end-of-life components such as elevator cables, ropes and escalator drive chains
  • • Lack of documented test procedures for unexpected elevator movement mitigation, brake testing and overspeed protection verification
  • • No process to verify integrity of systems after major work such as remove existing elevator or replace suspension ropes
5. Isolation, Lock-out Tag-out & Unintended Movement Control
  • • Unexpected elevator movement while technicians are in the pit, on the car top or working within the lift shaft
  • • Failure to isolate power, control circuits or hydraulic energy prior to work such as adjust elevator speed controls, test elevator brakes or service elevator motors
  • • Inadequate control of stored energy in counterweights, tensioned ropes, suspension systems and buffer springs
  • • Incorrect bypassing of safety circuits during installation or repair of elevators or escalators
  • • Uncontrolled release of mechanical loads during remove existing elevator or secure elevator cab to building
  • • Lack of clear status indication (in service/out of service) for elevators and escalators during maintenance
  • • Multiple contractors working simultaneously on same lift system without coordinated isolation procedures
6. Work at Height, Fall Prevention & Access to Pits/Shafts
  • • Falls from height when workers climb to top of elevator cabin or access equipment in lift shafts
  • • Slips, trips and falls while entering or exiting elevator pits during clean elevator pit or lift shafts cleaning
  • • Unprotected openings at floor landings when lift doors or landing doors are removed during fix elevator doors or remove existing elevator
  • • Inadequate fall protection when working on overhead machinery, pulleys or sheaves
  • • Improper use or absence of anchor points for fall-arrest systems on car tops or in machine rooms
  • • Restricted or awkward access increasing manual handling, fall and entrapment risks
  • • Lack of safe egress from pits in the event of flooding, unexpected movement or emergency
7. Electrical Safety, Control Systems & Automation
  • • Electric shock or arc flash from elevator motors, control cabinets and escalator drive systems
  • • Incorrect wiring or control system modifications when adjusting elevator speed controls, setting floor levels or testing elevator brakes
  • • Uncontrolled software or firmware changes to lift controllers leading to unexpected elevator movement
  • • Lack of segregation between power and control circuits, increasing risk of energisation during maintenance
  • • Defective earthing, insulation or circuit protection in motor rooms and control panels
  • • Inadequate labelling of circuits, fuses and isolation points causing errors during fault-finding
  • • Use of non-compliant electrical components or temporary wiring during installation or repair of elevators or escalators
8. Mechanical Lifting, Cables, Ropes & Components Handling
  • • Failure or snap of elevator cables, suspension ropes or buffer springs during replacement, testing or normal operation
  • • Mechanical overload or collapse of lifting equipment used to remove existing elevator components or secure elevator cab to building
  • • Crushing, entanglement or amputation hazards around sheaves, pulleys and rotating shafts during inspect traction of the sheave or inspect elevator pulley system
  • • Inadequate handling and storage of heavy components such as elevator motors, drive units, guide rails and counterweights
  • • Use of incompatible or non-certified lifting gear, slings or attachments during installation or repair of elevators or escalators
  • • Poor torque control on fasteners affecting structural integrity of pulleys, brakes and suspension systems
  • • Inadequate verification of rope terminations, clamps and socketing after replace suspension ropes or replace elevator cables
9. Housekeeping, Environmental Conditions & Confined Spaces
  • • Accumulation of debris, oil, water or rubbish in elevator pits and lift shafts creating slip, trip, fire or biological hazards
  • • Poor ventilation or limited airflow in pits, shafts or machine rooms leading to heat stress or accumulation of fumes
  • • Confined space–type risks when workers enter deep pits or enclosed lift shafts during clean elevator pit, lift shafts cleaning or inspection tasks
  • • Ingress of water into pits causing electrical hazards, corrosion and risk of drowning in extreme cases
  • • Exposure to hazardous substances such as lubricants, cleaning agents and corrosion inhibitors
  • • Inadequate lighting in pits, shafts or around escalator machinery increasing error and injury risk
  • • Noise and vibration exposure from elevator motors, gearboxes and escalator drives
10. Public Interface, Building Occupant Safety & Site Security
  • • Unauthorised public access to lift shafts, pits or escalator machinery areas during maintenance or removal of existing elevators
  • • Building occupants exposed to falls through open lift openings when doors are removed during fix elevator doors or installation activities
  • • Public using lifts or escalators that are under test, including during load test of elevator or after adjustments to elevator speed controls or floor levels
  • • Interference with barricades, lockable doors or isolation devices by building occupants or other contractors
  • • Lack of communication with building management about operational status of lifts and escalators during major works
  • • Inadequate emergency egress arrangements when multiple lifts or escalators are removed from service
11. Planning, Scheduling, Fatigue & Resource Management
  • • Fatigue and reduced alertness due to after-hours work or extended shifts during major installation or repair of elevators or escalators
  • • Rushed work, shortcuts or inadequate testing when lift systems are returned to service under time pressure
  • • Insufficient staffing levels or supervision for complex tasks such as remove existing elevator, replace suspension ropes or load test of elevator
  • • Poor coordination of multiple trades working concurrently in lift shafts, machine rooms or plant areas
  • • Inadequate planning for access equipment, lifting devices and specialised tools leading to unsafe improvisation
  • • Failure to allocate sufficient time for thorough inspection, non-destructive testing of lifts and commissioning following significant modifications
12. Documentation, Procedures, Training & Communication
  • • Lack of clear, task-specific procedures for critical activities such as adjust elevator speed controls, set elevator floor levels and test elevator brakes
  • • Outdated or inconsistent documentation for different models or generations of lift and escalator plant
  • • Inadequate training for workers on new technologies, control systems or safety features introduced during upgrades
  • • Informal communication of hazards, changes or lessons learned leading to repeated incidents
  • • Poor recordkeeping for inspections, non-destructive testing of lifts, maintenance and defects
  • • Language or literacy barriers affecting understanding of critical safety information
13. Emergency Preparedness, Rescue & Incident Management
  • • Delayed response to technicians trapped in pits, on car tops or within lift shafts due to unexpected elevator movement or mechanical failure
  • • Inadequate procedures for rescuing persons trapped in elevator cars during testing, speed adjustments or floor levelling work
  • • Lack of awareness among building management and contractors of emergency roles, contacts and procedures
  • • Insufficient first aid resources for injuries arising from work at height, electrical shock, crushing or entanglement
  • • Poor incident reporting and investigation processes leading to repeated system failures

Need to add specific hazards for your workplace?

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Legislation & References

This document was researched and developed to align with:

  • Work Health and Safety Act 2011
  • Work Health and Safety Regulations 2017
  • AS/NZS ISO 31000:2018: Risk management — Guidelines
  • Safe Work Australia – Managing the Risk of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice: Guidance on managing risks associated with plant, including elevators and lifting equipment.
  • Safe Work Australia – How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice: Framework for systematic identification, assessment and control of WHS risks.
  • AS 1735 (Series) – Lifts, Escalators and Moving Walks: Technical and safety requirements for the design, installation and ongoing safety of lifts and associated equipment.
  • AS/NZS 3000:2018 – Electrical Installations (Wiring Rules): Requirements for safe electrical installations relevant to lift machinery spaces, control systems and associated equipment.
  • AS 2550.1 & AS 2550.6 – Cranes, Hoists and Winches – Safe Use: Principles for safe use, inspection and maintenance of lifting components and hoisting systems applicable to elevator equipment handling.
  • AS 1657 – Fixed Platforms, Walkways, Stairways and Ladders: Requirements for safe access to lift machine rooms, shafts and roof spaces.
  • AS 3745 – Planning for Emergencies in Facilities: Guidance on emergency planning, occupant safety and coordination of lift-related emergency procedures.
Standard Risk Assessment Features (Click to Expand)
  • Comprehensive hazard identification for all activities
  • Risk rating matrix with likelihood and consequence analysis
  • Existing control measures evaluation
  • Residual risk assessment after controls
  • Hierarchy of controls recommendations
  • Action priority rankings
  • Review and monitoring requirements
  • Consultation and communication records
  • Legal compliance references
  • Sign-off and approval sections

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