In the wake of an accident in a lift involving an elderly woman – she was badly injured after the cable snapped – the spotlight has turned on the regulation, safety standards and control of lifts in Malta.
The Malta Lifts Association, a self-regulating membership body whose object is to provide information about lift safety requirements, certification and installation of lifts, made the startling revelation that about 8,000 lifts in Malta are deemed “potentially unsafe” because they are unregistered and not regularly inspected.
It appears that many lift installers choose to operate outside the system, putting the lives of users at risk.
The law on the safety of lifts is clear. All owners of lifts are responsible for the safety of their lifts and consequently for any accidents caused by non-conformity with regulations or poor maintenance.
Home owners, or the ‘Administrator’ in the case of condominiums, and workplace owners are ultimately responsible for ensuring their lifts are safe and properly maintained. There is no legal obligation per se for owners to maintain lifts, but clearly they take the legal consequences if death or injury occur as a result of poor maintenance.
At first blush, the association’s worrying revelation about unregistered lifts appears to have exposed another corner of Maltese life where a laissez faire attitude to safety and its regulation is the order of the day. But is this really the case, or is there an element of special pleading, possibly on commercial grounds, behind the association’s allegations?
The issue raises two key questions. First, are unregistered lifts by definition “potentially unsafe” as the association alleges? Secondly,while legal responsibility for lift safety clearly lies directly with their owners, what over-arching health and safety regime is being applied to this whole area to ensure proper compliance?
On the question of registration, all lifts have to be registered with the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority.
It is not immediately apparent why registration has to be made with this body and not – more logically – with the Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA), which is ultimately responsible for policing all aspects of lift safety.
While this would still not remove the risks posed by unregistered cowboys, it would at least place the policing responsibility where it rightly belongs, albeit still leaving unresolved why unregistered lifts should necessarily lead to their being “potentially unsafe” – unless it is that OHSA only inspects those that have been formally registered.
As to the overall policing of lifts safety by the OHSA, we are left with the nub of the problem of an authority which is grossly over-stretched. It has only two officers and one engineer to cater not only for lifts, but also for all machinery, equipment and plant installations in Malta and Gozo.
While last year 200 inspections on hoists and lifts were carried out, and 74 inspections and 800 lift certificates were issued in the first four months this year, it is patently clear that the resources available are inadequate for the task. The OHSA’s capacity in this and other areas needs to be increased.
However, it is crucial on an issue of such safety importance that the association and the OHSA and other stakeholders should work hand in hand to find practical solutions to the tighter regulation and control of lift safety and their installation where a gaping hole has been exposed in current procedures.
The consequences of a lack of cooperation could be tragic.