Course 5 of 7
Faults and breakdowns.
What happens behind the scenes when a lift stops, and what building teams should and should not do.
The lessons.
Work through them in order, or start with the one you need.
- How engineers diagnose lift faultsFollowing the safety circuit to find where and why a lift stopped.10 min
- What lift fault codes meanWhat controller codes are, and why they are a starting point rather than a diagnosis.7 min
- Water in a lift pitCauses, risks and what to do if you find water in a pit.8 min
- Power cuts and liftsWhat happens to a lift when the power fails, and how rescue devices work.9 min
Core reading.
Our main guides on these topics. The lessons link to them wherever they go into more depth.
Questions about your lifts?
Talk to an engineer about maintenance, repairs, examinations or a lift that is giving you trouble.
Common questions.
Practical answers about this course and its topics.
Should building staff try to reset a lift?
Only if your maintenance provider has trained and authorised them to do so for that lift. Never open lift doors, enter the shaft or release trapped passengers without training. Call your maintenance provider, or 999 if someone is in danger.
What should I do if a lift breaks down?
Make sure nobody is trapped, keep people away from the lift, and report the fault to your maintenance provider with the lift number and what happened. Our breakdown response plan sets out the steps.