Goods Lift Maintenance Checklist
Keep goods and service lifts safe and reliable — door/gate and load-control checks, safety gear and rope inspection, levelling, and LOLER examination compliance.
Also available as editable Excel and Word — with asset, sign-off and findings columns.
What is a goods lift maintenance checklist?
A goods lift maintenance checklist is a structured list of the 10 preventive maintenance tasks — covering visual, functional, safety and record-keeping checks — that keep a goods lift running safely and reliably. It groups routine checks by frequency, from daily inspections to annual servicing, so FM teams and building engineers can plan and evidence preventive maintenance.
Core goods lift checks
- Inspect ropes/suspension or hydraulic ram for wear
- Test door/gate operation, interlocks, and any loading-bay protection
- Check the overspeed governor and safety gear
- Confirm LOLER examination is current and record service findings
What is a goods lift?
A goods lift (or service lift) transports goods, equipment, and materials between floors in retail, warehouse, hospitality, and commercial buildings. Ranging from small dumbwaiters to large goods/passenger lifts, they share most of a passenger lift's safety-critical systems but are subject to heavier, rougher use and often carry significant loads. Like all lifts they require regular servicing and a LOLER thorough examination by a competent person. Maintenance focuses on the doors or gates, load controls and overload protection, the drive and safety systems, and levelling — keeping the lift safe and avoiding the operational disruption of a goods lift failure.
This checklist is one of 5 in our lift maintenance checklists, covering passenger, goods and platform lifts and escalators — LOLER thorough examination, entrapment release and door safety.
Typical Goods Lift maintenance checklist
A practical starting point for planned preventive maintenance. Always refer to the manufacturer's O&M manual and site-specific requirements.
Visual Checks
- Inspect ropes/suspension or hydraulic ram for wear
- Inspect the car/platform and any roller shutters or barriers
Functional Checks
- Test door/gate operation, interlocks, and any loading-bay protection
- Check overload detection and load controls operate correctly
- Verify levelling accuracy for safe loading and unloading
- Test the drive, brake, and controller operation
Safety Checks
- Check the overspeed governor and safety gear
- Confirm the emergency alarm/communication (goods/passenger lifts)
- Check buffers, final limits, and pit safety devices
Record Keeping
- Confirm LOLER examination is current and record service findings
Download the free Goods Lift maintenance checklist PDF
Get all 10 tasks as a printable PDF — free, no signup needed. Keep a copy in the plant room, attach it to work orders, or share it with your maintenance contractor.
The PDF is free and needs nothing. The Excel and Word versions add asset details, sign-off and findings columns so you can record the work as you do it — we ask for an email address for those.
Typical maintenance frequency
Suggested intervals for goods lift maintenance. Actual frequencies should follow manufacturer guidance and site-specific risk assessments.
Monthly
- •Routine service
- •Door/gate and levelling checks
- •Lubrication and adjustment
Every 6 Months
- •LOLER thorough examination
- •Safety gear and overload checks
- •Close any defects
Annually
- •Detailed service and rope/ram inspection
- •Controller and drive checks
- •Load and limit verification
Common faults and issues
Issues to be aware of when maintaining goods lift equipment.
Safety and compliance notes
Key safety considerations for goods lift maintenance. This is general guidance only — always follow OEM instructions, statutory requirements, and your organisation's safe systems of work.
Reference standards and frameworks
- United Kingdom
- LOLER 1998 statutory examinations and the BS EN 81 series
- North America
- ASME A17.1 / CSA B44 (safety code for elevators and escalators)
Frameworks commonly referenced when planning goods lift maintenance programmes. Always confirm the requirements that apply to your site and jurisdiction.
Managing Goods Lift documentation with PM Assist
PM Assist helps FM and building operations teams search their O&M manuals and building drawings in seconds. Upload your goods lift documentation and ask questions like “What is the goods lift's rated load?” or “When is the next LOLER examination due?” — and get source-cited answers instantly.
The checklist tells you what to check. The manual tells you the numbers.
Ask a goods lift manual a question and get the answer back with the page it came from. No signup, and you can drop in your own PDF instead of the sample.
“What is the goods lift's rated load?”Runs against a sample chiller manual so you can see the shape of the answer — then try it on one of yours.
Take this checklist with you
Download the branded PDF, generate a custom version for your asset, or run AI search across all your building documentation.
Related free tools
Related maintenance checklists
Passenger Lift maintenance checklist
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Platform Lift maintenance checklist
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Escalator & Moving Walkway maintenance checklist
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Standby Generator maintenance checklist
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Low Voltage Switchgear maintenance checklist
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Inspection checklists for this asset
Maintenance keeps the asset working; a statutory inspection records whether it currently passes. Both usually apply.
Further reading on goods lift maintenance
Compliance & CAFM
Run goods lift maintenance in PM Assist
This checklist is also a planned maintenance programme in PM Assist, included in every paid plan alongside the compliance register and mobile inspections.
- Add a goods lift to a building's asset register and this maintenance programme is created for you, with each task on its frequency in the planner.
- LOLER Thorough Examination — Goods Lift, Lift Maintenance and Lift Emergency Alarm Test are tracked on the compliance register, with the date last done, the date next due and the certificate.
- Contractors can be given a login to see their jobs and upload certificates.
Frequently asked questions
Do goods lifts need a LOLER examination?
Why do goods lifts need frequent maintenance?
What is the difference between a goods lift and a dumbwaiter?
Manage your building documentation with AI
PM Assist gives FM teams instant access to O&M manuals, drawings, and maintenance knowledge — all searchable with AI.
- Upload and organise building documentation
- AI-powered search across all your manuals
- Source-cited answers for maintenance queries
- Team collaboration and access control
- No credit card required to start