Item 14 - Crescent Court Lift - Information and Timeline
West Dunbartonshire Council · 25 March 2026
Back to West Dunbartonshire Council — 25 March 2026 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Page 1
WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by Chief Officer – Housing West Dunbartonshire Council 25 March 2026 Subject:Crescent Court Lift; Information and Timeline 1 Purpose The purpose of this report is to provide Council with the information on events, timeline, challenges and learning in relation to the breakdown of the Crescent Court lift. 2 Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that Council note the contents of this paper. 3 Background 3.1 The Council is responsible for the maintenance of approximately 80 lifts. Many of these are in multistorey buildings owned or factored by the Council’s Housing Department. 3.2 These blocks each contain two lifts. The most common structure, including at Crescent Court, is that one lift services all odd number floors and the other services all even floors. 3.3 The Council committed to substantial investment in renewal of lift equipment in the latter part of the 2000’s and these lifts and some of their core components are now approaching end of life. Ad-hoc repairs, renewals and replacement of components have taken place in the intervening years but the average age of much of the infrastructure is towards the end of its operational life. 3.4 On 4 August 2025 the Council’s lift maintenance contractor KONE, was called to attend the even lift at Crescent Court as the lift was operating but making excessive noise. The lift was put out of service and investigations were undertaken. It was determined the gearbox was failing and required it to be disassembled for further investigations to occur. It became apparent the lift would be out of service for an extended period of time given the failure of such a major component of the infrastructure, its age, and the ‘sealed’ nature of the gearbox. 3.5 By the end of August, following investigation and discussion with the contractor, it was agreed the most effective solution was to commission the manufacture of a new gearbox to replace the failed unit. Although repairing the existing gearbox remained a theoretical option, it would have required additional time for removal, inspection, and assessment, with no guarantee a ITEM 14
Page 2
repair would be viable. Given the urgency of reinstating the lift and the likelihood the cost and timescale would be comparable to installing a new unit, the decision was taken to proceed with full replacement. A new gearbox was also expected to provide greater long-term reliability. 4 Main Issues 4.1 The instruction was received by KONE who provided terms and conditions for the supply of the new component and once agreed by the Craft Supervisor, they started on preparatory works. The first part was weighing the existing lift car in order to determine the exact specifications and capabilities required of a new gearbox. 4.2 Following this process, and with the manufacturing requirements set, the invoice for the first portion of the works was provided to the Council. However, the officer who was the primary contact for KONE and who had instructed the works had now left the Council. 4.3 While the maintenance and repair works undertaken by the contractor under the terms of their contract was invoiced in arrears, the manufacture of the new components required payment in advance of manufacture. 4.4 An invoice was sent to the Council’s Craft Supervisor’s email address after he left the organisation, the invoice was not known about by any other officer in the Council, and the delay was not picked up by another Council officer. 4.5 This communication breakdown caused the only major avoidable delay of the project. The timeline for delivery of a new gearbox was estimated at around 12 weeks and so no action was taken by any remaining officer of the Council as it was wrongly assumed the order was in progress. With two key posts responsible for the oversight of this contract vacant, no Council officer was aware that there was any problem. The only Officer aware that there was an invoice that required payment in advance had left the organisation and KONE took no action to make any other Council Officer aware of any issue. 4.6 KONE made us aware of an issue with invoicing in the last week in October, following contact from WDC requesting an update on the progress of the project. 4.7 KONE were tasked with immediately restarting works and reviewing timelines for production and installation. Unfortunately, it became apparent the initial 12 week timeline, was also impacted by the Christmas period shutdowns creating logistical challenges which would further delay completion of the project.
Page 3
4.8 New timelines were produced in the second and third week of December 2025 following an update from KONE’s supplier on the shipping date of component parts. This final timeline proved to be accurate and the works were completed on 13 February 2026. 4.9 The only significant avoidable delay resulted from inadequate contract management and insufficient Council staffing to oversee and track the project as set out in paragraph 4.4 above. By August 2025, the senior Coordinator post had been vacant for over 18 months, and the subsequent departure of the relevant officer left no dedicated staff to manage the work, increasing the risk of service failures. Both roles were filled in early January 2026. While staff turnover cannot be prevented, stronger arrangements for continuity and handover have been put in place to avoid similar issues in future. 4.10 Although the gearbox could have failed at any point, the age of the equipment was a significant factor in both the failure itself and the Council’s limited ability to restore the lift quickly. While the Housing service aims to renew assets only when necessary, the critical role of lifts and the lengthy timescales involved in replacing major components have prompted a full review of lift condition across the high-rise stock. This review will inform a planned investment in lift cars and other essential equipment to improve reliability and reduce the risk of prolonged unplanned outages in future. 4.11 Whilst not a contributor to any of the delays in this instance, the lift protocol document, (the inter-departmental action plan to follow in case of failure of a lift) has been reviewed which updates roles/duty holders and recirculated in various forums over and above those who are responsible for undertaking tasks on this document. 4.12 While this failure was unforeseen and the contract should have been managed better, the issue has served to highlight the wider issues associated with lift infrastructure at high rise flats owned or operated by West Dunbartonshire Council’s Building Services/Housing teams. Efforts have been made to avoid, reduce or mitigate any future events with faster reactions, better forward planning and maintaining appropriate resources and continuity to deal with issues as they arise. 5. Options Appraisal 5.1 There are no options to present in relation to this paper. 6. People Implications 6.1 There are no people implications to present in relation to this paper, other than the staffing issues already mentioned and resolved. 7. Financial and Procurement Implications 7.1 There are financial and procurement implications related to the ongoing maintenance and continued renewal of the lift infrastructure, however these are not the subject of this paper.
Page 4
8. Risk Analysis 8.1 While the age of the lift infrastructure presents ongoing service risks, these matters fall out with the scope of this paper. 9. Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) 9.1 While there are equalities issues related to the function of lift infrastructure, these matters fall out with the scope of this paper. 10. Environmental Sustainability 10.1 There are sustainability implications to present in relation to this paper. 11. Consultation 11.1 There are no consultation requirements in relation to this paper. 12. Strategic Assessment 12.1 There is no strategic assessment to be made in relation to this paper. Chief Officer: Peter Barry Service Area: Housing Date: 06 March 2026 _____________________________________________________________ Person to Contact: Craig Wilson Building Services Manager craig.wilson@west-dunbarton.gov.uk Appendix: 1. Timeline of Events Background Papers: None Wards Affected: All