MADISON, Ind. – Rotary Lift® has an important message for technicians and maintenance managers: Remember to inspect your lifts.
“Maintaining a safe and efficient repair shop is everyone’s responsibility,” explains John Rylee, director of marketing. “Technicians should check their lifts every day, and the fleet maintenance manager should schedule professional lift inspections annually. Regular inspections help ensure that all the lifts in the shop are operating properly. After all, you can’t afford to have a lift out of action.”
In addition to daily operator inspections, the Automotive Lift Institute (ALI) recommends that all vehicle lifts be inspected by a qualified lift inspector at least annually, “to ensure reliability and the continued safe operation of the lift.”
The owner’s manual will provide inspection instructions for a specific lift. General guidelines are also available from the Lifting It Right safety manual published by ALI, and ANSI/ALI ALOIM:2008, the industry standard that outlines safety requirements for lift operation, inspection and maintenance. Both publications are available from ALI members (including Rotary Lift) and their distributors, as well as from ALI’s website at www.autolift.org.
At a minimum, technicians should check the following daily:
- Lift controls are working properly.
- All locks and restraints are working correctly.
- There is no deformation or excessive wear of any lift components, including posts, arms, hoses or wiring.
- There is no damage or excessive wear on any of the lift contact points, including adapters.
- There are no hydraulic leaks.
- There are no cracks or loose concrete around floor anchors, if applicable.
If any of these problems exist, or if the lift makes unusual noises or sudden movements, operates erratically, or creates chips or filings during use, the technician should stop using the lift and report the condition to a supervisor immediately so the lift can be repaired by factory-trained service personnel.
Rotary Lift has extended its Inspect to Protect™ program to help maintenance managers find local qualified lift inspectors through the Rotary Authorized Installer (RAI) North American network. Each participating Inspect to Protect company has lift inspectors on staff who meet all of the requirements for a “qualified lift inspector” outlined in the ANSI standard. Rotary also requires that each company attend factory training, maintain insurance coverage and be able to provide customers with lift maintenance and repair service, as well as genuine Rotary replacement parts.
Rotary Lift has produced a new Inspect to Protect video highlighting the importance of vehicle lift inspections. Check it out on Rotary’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/RotaryLiftMedia. (The link to the video is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FypcfA7Gr1g.)
For more information about the Rotary Lift Inspect to Protect program, log on to www.rotarylift.com/inspect, or call (800) 640-5438.
You can also find Rotary Lift on Facebook, www.facebook.com/RotaryLift; Twitter, http://twitter.com/RotaryLift; and Flickr, www.flickr.com/rotarylift.
About Rotary Lift
Rotary Lift is the leading brand of vehicle lifts and equipment designed to increase technician productivity. Founded in 1925 by the inventor of the first automotive hydraulic lift, Rotary offers the broadest line of lifts for use in professional automotive service, commercial truck and transit, and enthusiast/residential customer segments. There are more Rotary Lift products used in vehicle repair shops around the world than any other brand.
With an uncompromising commitment to product quality, testing and safety, Rotary Lift’s products have achieved the reputation as the world’s most trusted lifts. A founding member of the Automotive Lift Institute, Rotary Lift is also the only North American lift manufacturer certified to ISO 9001 quality standards.
Rotary Lift is a Vehicle Service Group (VSG) brand. VSG brings together several top brands of vehicle service and repair equipment, including Rotary Lift and Chief Automotive Technologies. Based in Madison, Ind., VSG has operations worldwide. VSG is part of the Industrial Products segment of Dover Corporation (NYSE: DOV), a multi-billion dollar, global producer of innovative equipment, specialty systems and value-added services.
