Northern Irish MOT lifts different to UK models

In addition to the news that the Maha Duo+1 scissor lift if the model behind the Northern Ireland MOT crisis, GEA chief executive Julian Woods has pointed out that these Irish lifts are different to UK equivalents: “Vehicle lifts used for performing MOT tests in Ireland are of a different design/specification to those required in the UK MOT market and as such we cannot compare the situations.”

Instead, Woods took the opportunity to highlight current health and safety legislation: “I would like to remind all owners of vehicle lifts, Under UK H&S regulation (LOLER) all lifts require a Thorough Examination by a suitably competent person, guidance every 6 months, also under H&S regulation (PUWER) requiring a duty of care from the garages owner to have in place suitable arrangements for maintenance and inspections of equipment including vehicle lifts.

“And finally, the operator of the equipment should perform their own daily/weekly check as per the lift manufacturer’s guidelines. The GEA have accredited over 500 engineers from 55 different companies through its lift assessment programme to ensure that service engineers have the correct knowledge and skills to correctly maintain and inspect all vehicle lifts, check out the GEA website for a list of accredited lift service providers in your local area.”

Complete coverage of the MOT crisis on the island of Ireland can be found here.