The Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority has listed requirements which all owners of lifts need to satisfy.
in a statement, it said all passenger lifts in use in Malta need to be registered with it.
All lifts have to be adequately and regularly maintained according to the manufacturer’s and installer’s instructions. The responsible person, who should be identified for each lift, has to ensure that maintenance is carried out on the lift accordingly and within the stipulated timeframes.
Apart from maintenance, regular ‘Preventive Inspections’ by an Authorised Conformity Assessment Body (ACAB) have to be carried out on each passenger lift. This inspection is to be carried out so as to ensure that lift installation is kept safe at all times. The ACAB will be selected by the responsible person himself from a list of authorised bodies provided by the Authority on its website.
In the case of lifts installed in a residential building, a preventive inspection needs to be carried out at least every year, whereas for a lift installed in a workplace, a preventive inspection needs to be carried out at least every six months.
The ACAB carrying out the preventive inspection will issue a report and send it to the administrator/responsible person who is then required to send a copy of this report to the MCCAA within 28 days and keep a copy in his records.
The administrator/responsible person will ensure that the necessary works indicated in the report are carried out within such timeframes, and will then proceed to notify the MCCAA in writing that such repairs have been completed.
Moreover, Responsible Persons will also ensure that all lifts undergo a ‘Thorough Examination’ at least every 10 years. This thorough examination is to be held by an ACAB and differs from a regular maintenance procedure and ‘Preventive Inspection’ explained above. The aim of a thorough examination is to ensure that the lift continues to comply with current standards applicable at the time.
Should the Market Surveillance Directorate within the TRD encounter a lift which does not comply with legal requirements, it may take enforcement action according to the remit of the law so as to ensure that the lift is brought to full legal compliance.