DDA-compliant modernisation · BS EN 81-70 & BS EN 81-41 · Equality Act 2010
Accessibility-compliant lift modernisation, written down to the clause.
BASE brings existing platform and passenger lifts up to current UK accessibility standards — BS EN 81-70, BS EN 81-41 and the Equality Act 2010. Every compliance modernisation runs on a clause-by-clause survey, a written gap report and an Accessibility Statement the building owner can publish. Independent of every OEM.
How does a compliance modernisation move from non-compliant to certified?
A compliance modernisation is an engineering project, not a parts list. The journey below is how we run every one — from a senior-engineer accessibility survey, through a clause-by-clause gap analysis, into a fixed-price specification, onto an out-of-hours install programme, and out the other side with an Accessibility Statement and a fresh LOLER report.
01
Accessibility survey
A senior engineer attends site and audits the existing lift — platform or passenger — against the current accessibility envelope. Controls height, button tactility, door clear width, dwell time, cabin dimensions, handrail position, signage contrast, voice announcements, refuge two-way communication. The output is a written gap-analysis report keyed to the specific BS EN 81-70 and Equality Act clauses the lift currently misses.
Senior engineer on site
BS EN 81-70 clause-by-clause
Written gap report
02
Gap analysis & scope
We translate the gap report into an itemised modernisation scope. Each non-compliance maps to a remedial action — replace COP with a tactile-braille panel, fit photocell light-curtain to extend door dwell, add voice synthesiser to landing indicators, lower car operating panel into the 900–1200 mm reach zone, swap entrance to clear 800 mm minimum. We mark each item Statutory · Reasonable adjustment · Best-practice, so the building owner can see exactly what the Equality Act 2010 expects.
Itemised scope
Statutory vs best-practice
Costed by line
03
Specification & quote
A fixed-price specification follows the survey inside 10 working days. Parts are sourced independently — original-equivalent components specified where the OEM has discontinued supply. The quote separates the platform-lift accessibility work from any passenger-lift items, and breaks out the inspection costs (LOLER thorough examination, BS EN 81-70 verification) so the procurement team sees a clean line.
Fixed price
Independent parts sourcing
Inspections itemised
04
Install & commission
Works are scheduled around the building's operating hours — out-of-hours and weekend slots available to keep the lift available during the working day where the brief demands it. Engineers replace the COP, fit the light curtain or extended-dwell timer, install the voice synthesiser, retrofit tactile or braille buttons, rework signage, and verify clear door width to BS EN 81-70 Annex G geometry on the day of commissioning.
Out-of-hours scheduled
Component-by-component sign-off
Photo evidence pack
05
Certify & document
Final certification is the part most modernisation contracts under-deliver on. We issue a written verification report against each BS EN 81-70 clause the survey originally flagged, a LOLER thorough examination report from an independent competent person, a copy of the updated risk assessment, and a one-page Accessibility Statement the building owner can publish under the Equality Act 2010. Every document is filed in plain English, not a forms-and-checkboxes dump.
The references below are the framework an accessibility-compliant lift modernisation has to satisfy in the UK. BS EN 81-70 is the primary engineering envelope on passenger lifts; BS EN 81-41 on platform lifts; the Equality Act 2010 sets the duty; LOLER and PUWER set the inspection rhythm.
Reference
Subject
Scope
Cycle
Role
BS EN 81-70:2018
Accessibility to lifts for persons including persons with disability — passenger and goods passenger lifts
Passenger
On modernisation
Primary
BS EN 81-70:2018 Primary
Accessibility to lifts for persons including persons with disability — passenger and goods passenger lifts
Scope
Cycle
Passenger
On modernisation
BS EN 81-41
Vertical lifting platforms intended for use by persons with impaired mobility
Platform
On modernisation
Primary
BS EN 81-41 Primary
Vertical lifting platforms intended for use by persons with impaired mobility
Scope
Cycle
Platform
On modernisation
Equality Act 2010
Duty to make reasonable adjustments — physical access to services & employment
Platform · Passenger
Continuous
Statutory
Equality Act 2010 Statutory
Duty to make reasonable adjustments — physical access to services & employment
Scope
Cycle
Platform · Passenger
Continuous
BS 8300-2:2018
Design of an accessible & inclusive built environment — buildings
Cabin · Approach
On design
Reference
BS 8300-2:2018 Reference
Design of an accessible & inclusive built environment — buildings
Scope
Cycle
Cabin · Approach
On design
LOLER 1998
Thorough examination of lifting equipment after substantial modification
Platform · Passenger
6 or 12 months
Statutory
LOLER 1998 Statutory
Thorough examination of lifting equipment after substantial modification
Scope
Cycle
Platform · Passenger
6 or 12 months
PUWER 1998
Provision and use of work equipment — competent inspection
Platform · Passenger
On survey
Statutory
PUWER 1998 Statutory
Provision and use of work equipment — competent inspection
Scope
Cycle
Platform · Passenger
On survey
Every modernisation closes with a written verification report against the relevant Annex G clauses of BS EN 81-70 (or Section 5 of BS EN 81-41 for platform lifts), and a fresh LOLER thorough examination filed on completion week.
What changes on the lift
The shopping list, both sides.
Most compliance modernisations boil down to a short list of items the lift currently has, and a short list of items it ought to have instead. The left-hand list is what comes off; the right-hand list is what goes on. The detail — button height, dwell timing, contrast ratio, refuge protocol — lives inside each item, and is itemised line by line in the modernisation specification.
What we replace
Non-tactile push buttonsSub-800 mm landing doorsShort-dwell door timersMirror-only landing signageNon-illuminated COPVoiceless landing indicatorsSingle-wall handrailsTrip-edge threshold platesOut-of-reach key switches
Each item is itemised against its BS EN 81-70 or BS EN 81-41 non-compliance clause in the gap report — no hidden swaps, no quiet upgrades the building owner finds out about in the invoice.
Tactile buttons sit in the 900–1200 mm reach zone. Voice announcements are bilingual where the building requires it. Refuge alarms are GSM-backed so they work when the building telephone system is down.
What Estates teams ask before a DDA modernisation.
Is DDA still the right term, or should we be saying Equality Act?
Strictly, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 was superseded by the Equality Act 2010 in October 2010, and the Equality Act is the statute that now imposes the reasonable-adjustment duty on service providers and employers. Most building owners and Estates teams still use the phrase 'DDA-compliant lift' in everyday speech because the underlying expectation hasn't changed — a lift that a wheelchair user, a visually impaired user, or a hearing-impaired user can use independently and safely. The accessibility envelope the lift has to land in is set by BS EN 81-70 for passenger lifts and BS EN 81-41 for platform lifts, with BS 8300 informing the wider approach geometry.
What does BS EN 81-70 actually require?
BS EN 81-70:2018 is the current European standard for accessibility on passenger and goods-passenger lifts. The headlines: minimum 800 mm clear door opening (Type 1 cabin), minimum cabin dimensions 1000 × 1250 mm for Type 1 use, tactile and braille push buttons sized to a minimum 30 mm square or 40 mm diameter, voice announcements for floor arrival and direction, illuminated and tactile car operating panel between 900 mm and 1200 mm reach height, audible and visual alarm, two-way emergency communication audible to a hearing-impaired user. Our gap-analysis survey runs against every Annex G clause line by line.
Does the same standard apply to platform lifts?
No — platform lifts sit under BS EN 81-41 (the vertical lifting platforms standard), not BS EN 81-70. The accessibility intent is the same, but the engineering envelope is different: travel typically up to 13 m, lower speed (≤ 0.15 m/s), enclosed or semi-enclosed cabin, screw-and-nut or hydraulic drive. Platform lifts are usually the right answer for a stair-rise of 1–3 floors where a passenger lift would be over-specified. We modernise both — many of our modernisation contracts cover one passenger lift and one platform lift in the same building under a single scope.
How long does a typical compliance modernisation take?
On a single passenger lift, a controls-and-signage compliance refit is normally 3–5 working days on site once parts are in. A wider scope that touches entrances, cabin lining and a new COP runs 1–3 weeks. Platform lifts are quicker — most compliance work on a platform lift completes inside 5 working days. We schedule out-of-hours and weekend slots where the building has to stay open during normal business hours.
Will a modernised lift need a LOLER thorough examination immediately?
Yes. LOLER 1998 Regulation 9 requires a thorough examination after the lift has been substantially altered — and most accessibility modernisations qualify. We schedule the independent competent-person examination to land on the commissioning week, and the report is filed with the rest of the handover pack. From there the lift is on the standard 6-month cycle (carrying people) or 12-month cycle (goods-only). See the /services/inspections/loler/ page for the full inspection envelope.
What happens with refuge and the two-way communication if there's a fire?
BS EN 81-70 requires a two-way voice communication system between the lift cabin and a permanently-manned external location, available 24/7, with both audible and visual indication that the call has been registered. We fit GSM-based auto-dial units that work even when the building telephone system is down, and the protocol is wired through to your duty-engineer line so a stranded user gets a real human voice within seconds. For evacuation lifts under BS 9999, the refuge specification is wider and we'll write that into the scope at the survey stage.
Are you fully independent on parts and OEM-free?
Yes. BASE is not tied to any lift manufacturer, has no rebate arrangements with parts distributors, and sources all components independently. Tactile button packs, light-curtain assemblies, voice-synthesiser PCBs, GSM auto-dialers — we specify the right part for the lift, not the part with the best margin for us. Most of our compliance modernisations sit on lifts that originally came from Otis, Kone, Schindler, ThyssenKrupp, Stannah on the passenger side, and Aritco, Cibes, Gartec, Stannah, Vimec on the platform side.
How do you document the Accessibility Statement?
Every compliance modernisation closes with a one-page Accessibility Statement the building owner can publish to staff, tenants, or visitors. The statement is written in plain English — what the lift now does, what it doesn't do, which standards it meets, and the contact route for someone who needs additional adjustment. The Equality Act 2010 reasonable-adjustment duty is best discharged by being explicit; the Accessibility Statement is how we make that explicit on paper.
Talk to a real compliance engineer
Tell us about the lift. We'll tell you what compliance actually costs.
Whether it's a single platform lift in a care home being audited against BS EN 81-41, or a bank of passenger lifts in a commercial block that needs an Equality Act 2010 modernisation across the whole stack — start with a survey. A senior engineer attends, the gap is written down, and the budget is honest.
