Our latest SVMA story involves Channel 4, controlled lift simulations, dire safety warnings and danger. Welcome to the world of lift surfing.
If you haven’t heard of it, lift surfing is a craze that has spread in the UK and the US in the past few years.
Young people basically get their kicks by breaking into buildings and riding, or hanging below, lifts as they move. As you can imagine, the risks are huge and the potential for death and injury very real.
Production company, Parable Works, approached us about our specialist Passenger Release Training as they investigated the effects of lift surfing, not just on the individual carrying out the act but on the people that could also be affected who are using the lifts in the correct way. If you mess around with lifts without the expertise and knowledge of a trained lift engineer, you can cause the lift to catastrophically fail or break down. If it breaks down, the people inside the lift are trapped until specialist help is sought.
It soon became clear that with the wider implications of lift surfing, the production company were keen to hear from our experts. Our Director, John Newbold, and our Associate, Jas Solakovic, were invited to advise and take part in the filming of the documentary.
Jas was able to set up the opportunity for host, George King, to ‘surf’ safely on top of a secret lift location in London and to show how many risks and dangers are present in the lift shaft for the inexperienced and uninformed.
As our Director, John, points out:
For someone who is untrained it really is dicing with death potentially, because there’s all the hazards of falling, crushing and electrocution and lifts are very unpredictable when you are not controlling them.
SVM Associates, as leaders in their industry, are aware of the risks not just to the individual but to the passengers and the building owners. As well as the obvious safety risks, the ripple effect of lift surfing can impact building owners financially if they are unable to meet their lift quotas and incur penalties.
Although lift surfing is not a common problem (yet) as Jas has said, it could, potentially, present a distinct threat to both building users and others:
It can be hard to qualify the impact of lift surfing as there may not always be obvious signs that the lift has broken down, or is faulty, because it has been used for lift surfing. In the documentary, notorious lift surfer Beno does say that he has used hospital lifts for surfing and if these lifts become trapped with patients who need emergency care the lift surfer could have created a potentially life-threatening situation by default.
So, should building owners or management companies be taking actions to minimise the risk of lift surfing occurring on their property?
As an initial starting point Jas recommends:
Double checking the security of your lifts, particularly if they are accessible at street level. Anti-vandal locks and CCTV with signage may also be a deterrent. Due to the potential impact of lift surfing, and the sophistication of the partakers like Beno we would recommend working with reputable lift consultants like SVM Associates to ensure your lifts are continuously monitored, maintained and secure.
