Benefits of Platform Lifts for Education

1. Safety

Platform lifts are an incredibly safe and simple tool – there are some great safety features as standard and a range of options to tailor safety for your usage.

A very popular addition for schools and lifts for education is the “School Locking” system – a key switch is used to call the lift instead of a button. This means that only those who have the key can access the lift and prevents any damage from younger people misusing the lift.

As standard our platform lifts have safety stop edges to prevent anything getting stuck (such as fingers) down the edges of the platform. If anything pushes the edge down, the lift stops. The platform controls also have an emergency stop button, and the buttons work similarly to a ‘dead man’s handle’ – when the button stops being pressed, the lift stops.

The lift has to have a communication option – as standard this is an external alarm sounder, but a telephone and auto-dialler option mean if anyone is stuck on the platform they can speak to someone directly. The auto-dialler runs through pre-programmed numbers until someone answers, so you know that no-one will be stuck for long.

Finally, Gartec platform lifts come as standard with handover training for every lift, and a 24hour breakdown line so you know someone is ready and waiting to help when you need them most.

2. Cost

With schools, budgets always a key concern. Gartec understand that although safety and access are the main drivers for installation of a lift, cost is an important factor.

A platform lift costs around 50% less than a conventional lift and doesn’t require any costly building works, scaffolding or preparation of the site in advance.

Platform lifts generally start at around £13,000.

3. Time

Gartec generally find that the school holidays are the most popular time for lifts to be installed as it causes the least disruption.

Gartec platform lifts use a modular structure, and our fully trained, experienced engineers install our lifts in just 2-3 days, meaning even if you want to install during term-time, it won’t cause too many problems (and we even tidy up afterwards!). Most platform lifts will use a similar system and will be installed within a week.

4. Maintenance

Many lift companies will offer maintenance and servicing package following installation for the lift. Gartec provide key packages for schools which include legal requirements such as LOLER certificates, and the cost of the packages is significantly lower than that of a conventional lift (more than a 50% reduction). Over the lifetime of the lift the savings on maintenance are huge.

Platform lifts are also a very simple mechanism, meaning any maintenance can be fairly fast, and is quite easy to diagnose, saving you money and time.

5. Space

Floor space can be a valuable commodity in public buildings, and Gartec understand you want to use as little as possible for your access solution. A platform lift generally has an incredibly small footprint and doesn’t require a pit, so you don’t need to dig down if not possible. A Gartec lift can also be installed externally, saving even more space inside for learning.

Remember the modular structure of a Gartec lift also means you can take it down and move it to a new location if the building layout or usage changes!

6. Project Management

Many platform lift companies will offer some form of project management – for example, Gartec provide a range of services for free with every project:

• Site visits and surveys
• Site specific drawings
• Quotes, documents and revisions
• Fully trained installation engineers
• Commissioning and LOLER certificates
• Handover and training
• Ongoing support and communication