A letter from John Bentley, LECS UK:

The Lift Industry Mental Health Charter founded by Mark Harding is working towards a number of events to promote the charter and LECS UK is committed to assist.

As luck would have it, I recently took a call from The Samaritans in Manchester (this could easily have been the other way round!). The staff in their Manchester office are currently restricted from full attendance due to their lift being out of service for some considerable time. Dave Cooper, LECS UK CEO, and I visited site and carried out a survey. It very soon became apparent that the lift needed considerable investment and no little TLC. To this end we are launching an appeal to the industry for investment by means of components, expertise and where required, labour. Our aim is to restore a safe and reliable service to The Samaritans building (which they own) and to demonstrate that the Lift Industry can work together and to put something back into the country’s foremost mental health charity.

The Project:

We have an 1993; 8 person/630Kg hydraulic passenger lift; 4 stops; single entry; Selcom two panel side opening doors; Electra Vitoria control panel (1993); Electrohidraulica tank, pump and motor with a Blain Valve block; Original EV ‘TV’ style landing and car fixtures.

As you will see from these pictures our immediate investment needs to be a skip!

We have compiled a list of components we are looking to secure from signatories to the charter and also any assistance your company may wish to offer in ensuring this project restores the lift to a safe and reliable condition.

It is our intention to present the finished product as a joint venture from The Lift Industry. We hope to commence the work from early May and complete by end of June. We already have some commitments for labour and ongoing maintenance on completion. We are open to any offers of assistance, especially with regard to the major components. Our wish list is:

  • Control Panel & shaft switch kit
  • Tank & Power Unit
  • Hydraulic Oil & Ram seals
  • Car top control unit
  • Selcom Door operator conversion kit (Hydra Arm to a Hydrabelt mod kit)
  • Selcom air cords, door rollers & door shoes
  • Safety edge kit
  • Landing pushes & indicators (4 stop simplex)
  • Car operating panel; pushes, indicators (4 floors, alarm, DO, key switches, AL)
  • Auto-dial unit inc pictograms and inductive loop
  • GSM unit
  • Trailing cables and shaft wiring including trunking and tubing
  • Suspension ropes and fittings
  • Shaft lighting LED kit
  • Pit ladder
  • Pit prop
  • Polyurethane buffers
  • Safety signage pack
  • LED car lighting unit
  • Vinyl wrap for the doors and car interior (nice to have)
  • Paint!

If your company can assist with any of the above we would be extremely grateful. Full technical detail of the requirements will be given as we receive responses. We will publicise the progress but we must emphasise this intended to be a joint gesture from the Lift Industry.

My contact details are:John Bentley, Director E:  john.bentley@lecsuk.co.ukM: 07968 764414