Installing a makeshift or homemade elevator lifting device in a workplace poses risks and serious danger due to lack of structural integrity as it could fail at any moment which may result in a fatality, warned the Safety, Health and Environment National Authority (SHENA) in a press statement.
Standard Lifts are generally designed to international standards such as (EN81-20 and EN81-50 or equivalent) and fitted with several safety features like multiple lifting ropes/chains safety brakes, door sensors, door closing devices, emergency evacuation features, emergency lighting, emergency power and fire emergency systems, among other safety considerations.
SHENA said that in April this year, a fatality occurred when a worker fell from a height of approximately 4 meters together with the makeshift cargo lift and its load. Another similar incident occurred in 2020 when a worker, loading items into a makeshift cargo lift, fell to his death caused by the breakage of the lift’s wire rope cable.
SHENA recently released a Workplace Safety Health Notice (WSHN) titled “Safe Operation of Passenger and Cargo Lifts” which highlights the legal duties of lift owners and other persons such as principals, occupiers, and employers, persons responsible for the safe operation of any lift used to carry goods or passengers at a workplace as required under the Workplace Safety Health Order, 2009 and its regulations thereunder. The WSHN further urges to use of lifts that comply with the regulations and proper standards to avoid similar incidents from occurring.
SHENA added that its inspectors will continue to carry out inspections and monitoring visits to workplaces across the country to verify compliance with the Workplace Safety Health Order, 2009, and its regulations. Appropriate enforcement action will be taken against non-compliance.
