Remember to Inspect Your Vehicle Lifts

Rotary Lift has an important message for technicians and shop owners: Remember to inspect your lifts. In addition to daily operator inspections, the Automotive Lift Institute (ALI) recommends that all vehicle lifts be inspected by a qualified lift inspector at least annually, "to ensure reliability and the continued safe operation of the lift."

Rotary Lift has an important message for technicians and shop owners: Remember to inspect your lifts.

“Maintaining a safe and efficient repair shop is everyone’s responsibility,” explains John Rylee, director of marketing. “Technicians should check their lifts every day, and the shop owner should schedule professional lift inspections annually. Regular inspections help ensure that all the lifts in the shop are operating properly. After all, you can’t afford to have a lift out of action.”

In addition to daily operator inspections, the Automotive Lift Institute (ALI) recommends that all vehicle lifts be inspected by a qualified lift inspector at least annually, “to ensure reliability and the continued safe operation of the lift.”

The owner’s manual will provide inspection instructions for a specific lift. General guidelines are also available from the Lifting It Right safety manual published by ALI, and ANSI/ALI ALOIM:2008, the industry standard that outlines safety requirements for lift operation, inspection and maintenance. Both publications are available from ALI members (including Rotary Lift) and their distributors, as well as from ALI’s website at www.autolift.org.

At a minimum, technicians should check the following daily:
• Lift controls are working properly;
• All locks and restraints are working correctly;
• There is no deformation or excessive wear of any lift components, including posts, arms, hoses or wiring;
• There is no damage or excessive wear on any of the lift contact points, including adapters;
• There are no hydraulic leaks; and
• There are no cracks or loose concrete around floor anchors, if applicable.

If any of these problems exist, or if the lift makes unusual noises or sudden movements, operates erratically, or creates chips or filings during use, the technician should stop using the lift and report the condition to a supervisor immediately so the lift can be repaired by factory-trained service personnel.

Rotary Lift has extended its Inspect to Protect program to help shop owners find local qualified lift inspectors through the Rotary Authorized Installer (RAI) North American network. Each participating Inspect to Protect company has lift inspectors on staff who meet all of the requirements for a “qualified lift inspector” outlined in the ANSI standard. Rotary also requires that each company attend factory training, maintain insurance coverage and be able to provide customers with lift maintenance and repair service, as well as genuine Rotary replacement parts.

Rotary Lift has produced a new Inspect to Protect video highlighting the importance of vehicle lift inspections. Check it out on Rotary’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/RotaryLiftMedia. (The link to the video is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FypcfA7Gr1g.)

For more information about the Rotary Lift Inspect to Protect program, log on to www.rotarylift.com/inspect, or call (800) 640-5438.

You can also find Rotary Lift on Facebook, www.facebook.com/RotaryLift, and Twitter, http://twitter.com/RotaryLift.

When Your Shop Is Worth Much More Than You Thought

Although every sale of a shop in which I am involved has its own unique set of circumstances, which makes my job both very interesting and very challenging, Cowden Automotive stands out as particularly memorable because I was able to demonstrate to the long-time owner, Paul Cowden, that his business was worth about three times what he had initially thought.

Case Study: Owner of San Francisco-based Import Service Shop Delighted to Discover Just How Valuable His Business is to Qualified Buyers
I sometimes share case studies of the clients I have been able to assist in my role as an aftermarket business broker and provider of intermediary and advisory services. I do that when I think the story will provide a reader in similar circumstances with new insights or helpful information.
In the case of Cowden Automotive, Inc., I acted in a consulting capacity assisting the owner and his broker in valuing the business, creating a marketing plan, finding a qualified buyer, and arranging financing for the sale.
Although every sale of a shop in which I am involved has its own unique set of circumstances, which makes my job both very interesting and very challenging, Cowden Automotive stands out as particularly memorable because I was able to demonstrate to the long-time owner, Paul Cowden, that his business was worth about three times what he had initially thought.
Needless to say, delivering that kind of good news to a shop owner is a rewarding experience. Discovering that the sale of his business would result in his retirement nest-egg being substantially larger than he had ever thought was a fitting tribute to someone who had spent his entire working career as a busy automotive service shop owner.

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