Lift Inspection in Bangladesh

Last updated: 7 October 2026

Lift inspection in Bangladesh is an independent examination of a passenger or goods lift to confirm it is safe to carry people and loads. An engineer checks the machine, brake, ropes, governor, safety gear, doors, alarms and rescue equipment, then load tests the car with test weights and issues a report listing any defects that need correction.

Part of our Testing & Inspection Services.

Lifts are now standard in multi-storey factories, office blocks, hospitals and apartment buildings across Bangladesh. They move thousands of people and many tonnes of goods every day, and most users never think about the brake, ropes and safety gear that keep the car under control. When those parts wear or are poorly maintained, the results can be serious: doors that open without a car behind them, cars that drift away from the floor, or cars that overrun at the top or bottom of the shaft.

Veritas carries out third-party lift inspection for passenger lifts, goods lifts and combined service lifts. This page is about lifts (elevators) with an enclosed car. Overhead cranes, gantry cranes, hoists and lifting accessories are a different type of equipment and are covered on our crane load test and lifting equipment inspection page.

What Is Lift Inspection and How Is It Different from Crane Inspection?

Lift inspection is the systematic examination and testing of a lift installation against recognised safety requirements and the manufacturer's data. It covers the whole system: the machine and controller, the suspension and its traction, the protective devices that stop the car if something goes wrong, and the doors and communication equipment that protect passengers.

Lifts and cranes are sometimes grouped together as lifting equipment, but they are not inspected in the same way. The table below explains the distinction so that you book the right service.

Who Needs a Lift Inspection Company in Bangladesh?

Any owner who is responsible for a lift should arrange periodic independent examination. Those who most often appoint a lift inspection company in Bangladesh include:

• Factory owners and compliance managers with goods lifts and passenger lifts in RMG, textile and other industrial buildings.
• Facility managers of offices, shopping centres, hospitals and hotels.
• Apartment owners' associations and real estate developers at handover.
• Building owners who have installed a new lift or modernised an old one and need commissioning tests.
• Owners preparing for a buyer audit, insurance survey or safety assessment.
• Anyone whose lift has had an incident, a breakdown with trapped passengers or a major component replacement.

What Is Checked During a Lift Inspection?

The exact checklist depends on the lift type (traction or hydraulic, with or without a machine room) and on its age. A typical examination of a traction lift covers the following areas.

Machine room or MRL machine space

• Access, lighting, ventilation, locking and clear working space.
• Traction machine, gearbox (where fitted), motor and sheave condition and wear.
• Brake: linings, springs, operation, and its ability to stop and hold the loaded car.
• Controller, main switch, emergency stop and manual rescue tools.
• In machine-room-less (MRL) lifts, the machine in the shaft head and the inspection and emergency panel at the landing.

Suspension and protective devices

• Suspension ropes or belts: wear, broken wires, corrosion, terminations and equal tension.
• Overspeed governor: tripping speed, governor rope and switch.
• Safety gear on the car (and counterweight where fitted): mechanism condition and operation.
• Buffers in the pit: type, fixing, oil level for oil buffers and clearances.
• Final limit switches, pit stop switch and overtravel clearances at the top and bottom.
• Unintended car movement and ascending car overspeed protection on lifts designed with them.

Doors, car and passenger safety

• Landing door interlocks: the lift must not move unless all doors are closed and locked.
• Car door contact, door protection devices such as light curtains, and closing force.
• Emergency unlocking of landing doors with the special key.
• Car levelling accuracy at each floor, car lighting and emergency lighting.
• Emergency alarm and intercom to a staffed location, and its backup power.
• Load plate, capacity and passenger notices, and the condition of car walls and floor.

Rescue operation and ARD

We check that trapped passengers can be released safely during a power failure. This includes the written rescue procedure, trained personnel and tools, and the automatic rescue device (ARD) where fitted. An ARD uses a battery or UPS to move the car to the nearest floor and open the doors; we test that it does so and that its batteries are in service.

How Is a Lift Load Test in Bangladesh Done?

A lift load test in Bangladesh confirms what a visual check cannot: that the lift behaves safely with weight in the car. Certified test weights are carried into the car in stages, and the following tests are carried out as appropriate to the lift type and the standard applied.

• Balance check: the car is run with a partial load to confirm the counterweight is correctly balanced, usually by comparing motor current up and down.
• Brake test: the brake must stop the car and hold it with the specified load, including the overload condition set by the applicable standard.
• Traction check: the ropes must not slip on the sheave when loaded or when the car or counterweight is stalled on its buffers.
• Safety gear test: the governor is tripped and the safety gear must stop and hold the loaded car on the guide rails.
• Buffer test: the car and counterweight are run onto their buffers at the specified speed to check correct operation.
• Overload device check: weights are added until the device should activate, confirming the alarm sounds and the lift will not depart.

Each test is witnessed and recorded. The lift is returned to service only after safety devices are reset and checked.

What Does Lift Calibration and Certification in Bangladesh Really Mean?

Owners often ask for lift calibration and certification in Bangladesh. It is worth being clear about what that means. A lift is not calibrated like a measuring instrument. In practice, calibration means verifying and, where necessary, having the maintenance contractor adjust the parts that respond to a set value: the load-weighing or overload device, the governor tripping speed, the levelling accuracy and the door closing force.

Certification is the engineer's written record that the lift was examined and tested on a stated date and found safe to operate, or safe subject to listed conditions. It is not a guarantee about future condition. Its value depends on regular maintenance and on repeating the examination at sensible intervals.

Routine Maintenance, Third-Party Inspection and Load Test: What Is the Difference?

These three activities are complementary and none replaces the others.

How Often Should a Lift Be Inspected?

The interval should be based on the applicable rules and the risk. Factors that call for more frequent inspection include:

• Heavy daily use, such as goods lifts serving production floors.
• Age of the installation and availability of genuine spare parts.
• Frequent breakdowns, trapped-passenger events or nuisance trips.
• Dust, humidity or water entry into the pit or machine space.
• Recent modernisation, controller replacement or change of rated load.
• Requirements of buyers, insurers or the building owner's own safety policy.

Which Standards and Regulations Apply to Lifts in Bangladesh?

The Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 and the Bangladesh Labour Rules 2015 require hoists and lifts in factories to be of good construction, properly maintained and examined periodically by a competent person, with the results recorded. The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) enforces these provisions, and buyer safety programmes commonly ask to see recent lift examination reports. Check the current rules for the exact examination interval and register format that apply to your premises.

BNBC 2020 includes provisions for lifts in its building services requirements, covering matters such as lift provision, lift wells, machine rooms and fire-related operation. For the detailed safety of the lift itself, EN 81-20 (construction and installation of passenger and goods passenger lifts) and EN 81-50 (design rules, calculations, examinations and tests of lift components) are internationally recognised standards, and many lifts installed in Bangladesh are built to them. We state in each report which standard the examination was based on.

How Does Veritas Carry Out a Lift Inspection?

1. Collect lift details: make, type, rated load, speed, number of stops, installation year and maintenance contractor.
2. Agree a date and time window, and arrange for the maintenance contractor's technician to attend for access and resets.
3. Visual and functional examination of the machine space, car, shaft, pit and every landing.
4. Tests of door interlocks, emergency stop, alarm, intercom, emergency lighting and ARD.
5. Governor and safety gear tests, buffer and limit switch checks.
6. Load test with certified test weights, including brake, traction and overload device checks.
7. Return of the lift to service and a verbal briefing on urgent findings.
8. Issue of the written report and certificate, with defects ranked by priority.

What Do You Receive After the Inspection?

• Lift inspection report with lift identification, data plate details and photographs.
• Checklist of every item examined with its condition.
• Load test certificate stating the test load, tests performed and results.
• Calibration references for test weights and instruments used.
• Defect list classified as immediate, short-term or advisory, with recommended actions.
• Recommendation on the next examination date.

Defects can be tracked to closure through our corrective action plan (CAP) management service, and lift findings are often reviewed together with an electrical safety assessment of the lift supply and machine room.

What Does Lift Inspection Cost in Bangladesh?

We quote each job after understanding the installation. The main cost factors are the number of lifts, rated load and the quantity of test weights needed, the number of floors, whether a full load test is required or only a periodic examination, site location and access for moving weights, and any out-of-hours work. Send us your lift details and we will reply with a written quotation.

Frequently Asked Questions