August 22, 2016 - General, How to Guide For Your Information

Annual Lift Inspection – BIG Safety at a small Price

Why an Annual Lift Inspection?

There’s more riding on your vehicle lifts than cars or trucks. Vehicle lifts support your business. Productivity studies conducted have found that a single vehicle lift can add $100,000 or more to the bottom line. This is in terms of annual profits or reduction in labor overhead. When a lift is down for repair, productivity in that bay is easily cut in half. To keep vehicle lifts operating properly, good maintenance and annual lift inspection practices are crucial.

Read and follow the guidelines in the lift’s owner’s manual. Maintenance and inspection requirements vary for different styles and brands of vehicle lifts.
The owner’s manual will cover the specific needs of each lift.
Schedule annual lift inspections for all vehicle lifts.
This inspection should be performed by a factory-authorized technician.
The lift manufacturer can recommend authorized service companies in your area.

The ALI is a trade association that provides manufactures of automotive lifts. They are throughout the U.S., Canada and North America with the most current regulatory information available.

Whether maintenance is performed in-house or by an outside service company, be sure to insist on genuine OE replacement parts.
OE parts were designed by the lift manufacturer to original design specifications.

Aftermarket parts are reverse-engineered and may not use the same materials or incorporate the latest design changes. ALI recommends using OE parts to ensure proper fit and function. Using aftermarket parts on an ALI-certified lift may void that lift’s certification.

What’s Riding on Your Lifts?

There’s more riding on your vehicle lifts than cars and trucks. You are the technician who relies on a lift to get your job done every day. Your safety rides on it. If you’re the shop owner whose livelihood depends on your technicians’ safety and performance, your business is riding on it. So much is riding on your lifts. It’s crucial that they are properly maintained and inspected regularly to ensure proper performance.

In fact, there is an entire American National Standard. It outlines the safety requirements for proper vehicle lift operation, inspection and maintenance. This standard, ANSI/ALI ALOIM (current edition), covers lift operator qualifications, training and responsibilities; maintenance procedures, documentation, and frequency; and periodic qualified lift inspection.

In addition to regular in-house inspections, the standard requires that all vehicle lifts be inspected at least annually. Only performed by a qualified lift inspector. Risks which may affect the ability of a lift to operate in a safe and reliable manner must be identified.

A lift inspection is a thorough evaluation of:

the operating mechanism(s)
safety system(s)
maintenance
structural integrity
and field modifications

What is a qualified lift inspector?

How do you find one, and what takes place during an annual lift inspection? To get the answers to these questions, we turned to representatives and members of the Automotive Lift Institute (ALI). It is a trade association of North American-based vehicle lift manufacturers. ALI’s mission is to promote the safe design, construction, installation, service, inspection and use of vehicle lifts.

When buying a vehicle lift, you are making an investment. Regular inspection and maintenance is the best way to maximize ROI and to extend the life of the vehicle lift. A properly operating vehicle lift makes the mechanic’s job easier. It also improves performance, revenue and, foremost, safety.

From “Qualified” to “Certified”

For some shop owners, finding a qualified lift inspector to inspect their lifts has been a challenge. The ANSI Standard outlines some lift inspector qualifications. For many years there was no national resource for finding qualified inspectors. In this buyer-beware environment, the best option lift owners had was to get recommendations from the manufacturers of their lifts. That all changed with the launch of the Automotive Lift Institute Lift Inspector Certification Program in October 2012.

OSHA and other health and safety officers have really stepped up enforcement of lift safety and inspection standards. We are leading to a growing demand for qualified lift inspectors.” says R.W. “Bob” O’Gorman, ALI president. “In response, ALI invested several years and more than $700,000 to develop the ALI Lift Inspector Certification Program. This program is the first in North America to independently test and certify vehicle lift inspectors. When lift owners hire an ALI Certified Lift Inspector, they have third-party assurance. The inspector has been proven competent to thoroughly inspect any vehicle lift.”

Becoming certified requires commitment

Candidates must:

Attend an orientation workshop
Study the candidate handbook
Pass a pre-course exam
Study extensive course training materials
Pass the course examination
Perform 12 practical experience (i.e., real world) lift inspections using approved forms
Submit appropriate paperwork

The inspection company also must establish quality assurance procedures and successfully complete an Initial Compliance Audit of this system. After certification is achieved, participation in continuing education webinars and quality audits is required to maintain Certified Lift Inspector status.

The end result is a pool of lift inspectors that shop owners can trust. The ALI Lift Inspector Certification Program provides peace of mind to shop owners. It reduces accidents and improves employee confidence in their equipment. Ultimately this should result in increased throughput of vehicles being serviced.

What Certified Lift Inspectors are looking for when examining car and truck lifts?

adequate clearances
all fastening devices for tightness and proper fit
the lowering speed over the full down travel
all accessible structural components, including welds, for any evidence of overloading, misuse or abuse
electrical components and wiring
lift controls to ensure accessibility.
any possible unobstructed view of the lift
automatic return to the neutral/off position when released
appropriate lift documentation
safety instructions
vehicle lifting information
lift safety labeling
capacity labels
lift through its full cycle and checking the operation of the positive stop

The inspector is looking to confirm that all of the lift’s components are in place and in working order. The inspector is looking at more than just the lift, though. The inspector will survey the lift bay and shop to look for any potential hazards. He or she might make recommendations for other areas of the shop, even though the focus is on the lift.

Safety Starts with You

It is essential to inspect vehicle lifts regularly for three principle reasons:

First, to make absolutely certain that the lift is functioning within its safe design limits.
Second, to preserve and protect the longevity of the equipment.
And third, to maximize the service life of the equipment and minimize the possibility of facility downtime.

ALI Certified Lift Inspectors qualified to inspect any manufacturer’s vehicle lifts

They must be in accordance with ANSI/ALI ALOIM-2008. This is the national standard covering vehicle lift operation, inspection and maintenance. There are even more ALI Certified Lift Inspectors found in Rotary Lift’s RAI network. Comparatively more than in other manufacturer distribution channels. Rotary Lift is the first manufacturer to support the ALI Lift Inspector Certification Program. This includes a certification requirement for its service network, the company claims.

In conclusion, there are approximately 400 RAIs across the United States. 60 percent of them currently have employees enrolled in the ALI Lift Inspector Certification Program. Ron Lainhart, parts and service manager for Rotary Lift and an ALI factory designated trainer. We are requiring the rest of our RAIs to enroll a participant by the end of 2014. That said, Rotary Lift inspectors are fully equipped to meet the changing needs of the vehicle service industry. The ALI Lift Inspector Certification Program has professionalized the vehicle lift inspection process. Start adapting now and don’t be left behind.

Factory-trained RAIs

These are the exclusive providers of Rotary Lift warranty work. Licensed distributors ONLY can be authorized to install Rotary Lifts. Most notable is the SmartLift and MOD series. They are environmentally friendly in-ground lifts and heavy-duty parallelogram lifts. Customers receive enhanced warranties for all lifts installed by RAIs. To ensure fast service, RAIs keep the most common Genuine Rotary Parts in stock.

RAI companies are located in all 50 states. The new requirement put an ALI Certified Lift Inspector close to most lift users. Annual lift inspections are required by ANSI. Codes are enforced by local, regional and national health and safety officials. Annual inspections protect employees, reduce lost days, maintain productivity and lower repair costs.

The ALI Lift Inspector Certification Program provides third-party verification that an inspector is qualified to inspect any vehicle lift. All ALI Certified Lift Inspectors must meet prerequisites and pass two exams to complete the program.

Inspector certification is not easy to achieve. It takes time and dedication

ALI Certified Inspectors have committed themselves to a challenging program. Notably, there is the tremendous value for a lift owner to hire a qualified inspector. Everything about their inspection procedure is standardized. Most of all, being approved by ALI ensures they will not overlook something a non-certified inspector might miss.

FAST Equipment is a Rotary-authorized dealer. We have a solid reputation of upholding to the highest quality standards of Rotary and the ALI.

Rotary Lifts – 4Post

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