Lift Modernisation in India: What Changed Since 2020

A proper modernisation covers more than a controller — safety, controls, doors, rescue, operating reliability, accessibility and the cabin.

Span assesses before it quotes — what should be retained, what must be replaced, and what the building can improve without tearing out sound equipment.

Lift modernisation in 2026 means renewing the systems that have become unsafe, unsupported, unreliable or unsuitable, while retaining equipment that remains structurally sound. The work should begin with an assessment of the existing lift. It should not begin with a controller brand, a cabin catalogue, or a promise that everything will "run like new."

What Did the 2020 Modernisation Article Get Right? 

The 2020 article identified the right pressure points: obsolete components, rising maintenance costs, demand for better safety, and the need to extend the useful life of an expensive building asset.

It also singled out lifts installed between 1995 and 2005. Those installations are now between 21 and 31 years old. Many still run — which is not the same as saying they remain easy to support. Six years is a long time in lift electronics. Control cards disappear. Drives become unsupported. Door operators accumulate repairs that no longer restore the original performance. A building can spend heavily on breakdowns and still own the same ageing problem at the end of the year.

The 2020 article was also written during COVID-19, when touchless operation and sanitisation sat at the centre of every discussion. Those fixtures survived, but they returned to their proper place in the hierarchy: a touchless button cannot correct a weak brake or rescue a trapped passenger.

What Has Changed in Lift Modernisation Since 2020? 

IS 17900 Part 11:2025 now addresses safety norms for existing lifts through risk assessment and risk reduction. It replaced the earlier IS 17491:2020 after a transition period ending in June 2026. This does not make every recommendation automatic law across India — lift regulation still operates through the applicable state framework — but it does make the engineering conversation around an old lift much harder to keep vague.

Energy performance can now be measured and verified under ISO 25745-1:2023, while ISO 8100-34:2021 provides a method for measuring lift ride quality. "Efficient" and "smooth" are no longer sufficient project descriptions. They can be tested.

The change is easiest to see by comparing what was said then with what a project should answer now.

Latest safety features — the 2026 question: which risks are present, and which protections are missing?

Energy-efficient controls — the 2026 question: what is the present consumption, and what will be verified after the work?

Predictive maintenance — the 2026 question: what data is collected, who responds to it, and which failures can it anticipate?

Smooth ride — the 2026 question: what are the levelling, acceleration, vibration and door-performance results?

Modern cabin — the 2026 question: what does the new interior add in weight, floor thickness and maintenance burden?

What Should a Proper Lift Modernisation Cover?

A proper lift modernisation should address four connected layers: safety, functionality, operations and the cabin. The exact work changes from lift to lift. The sequence should not.

Which Safety Systems Should Be Assessed First?

Safety work comes first. For lifts assessed against the current IS 17900 framework, the review may include door proving and landing-door lock monitoring, Unintended Car Movement protection, ascending overspeed protection, an Automatic Rescue Device or qualifying automatic backup supply, emergency lighting and residual-current protection. These are not accessories. They govern whether the lift stops, remains where it should, opens safely, and responds when the building loses power.

Brakes first. Polish later. 

Major alterations must also follow the applicable regulatory process. In Delhi, work involving systems such as the motor, controller or safety gear can require formal notice and reinspection before passengers use the lift again. Quietly changing major equipment is not a shortcut to compliance.

How Can Modernisation Improve Lift Performance?

A controller and VVVF drive upgrade can improve levelling, starting, stopping, fault response and energy control. Door operators, sensors, encoders, fixtures and position systems may also require renewal. Replacing one component without checking how it interfaces with the rest can trap a modern part inside an old problem.

Ride quality should be examined alongside the mechanical condition of the lift, not blamed entirely on the controller. Worn guide shoes, poor rail condition, incorrect balance and tired suspension components survive behind a new display. A new brain on a neglected body remains a neglected lift.

How Does Modernisation Improve Lift Operations?

Modernisation should reduce the building's dependence on emergency repair, obscure service tools, and parts that have already disappeared from the market. The final handover should include updated electrical drawings, controller parameters and backups, fault and commissioning records, emergency-rescue instructions, a list of replaced and retained equipment, and a credible spare-parts and support plan.

Where remote monitoring is included, the owner should know what is monitored, who receives the alert, and what happens if the connection fails. A dashboard that reports a breakdown after residents have complained is not predictive maintenance.

Can Accessibility Be Improved During Modernisation? 

Yes. Modernisation can improve whether passengers can reach, read, hear and safely respond to the lift's controls and signals. Depending on the building and the existing installation, the work may include controls at more accessible heights, clearer visual indicators, tactile or Braille identification, audible floor announcements, more accurate levelling, revised door-opening and dwell times, and improved handrails and emergency communication.

Accessibility is not achieved by attaching one Braille label to an otherwise unusable panel.

Can the Cabin Be Modernised Without Affecting Safety?

Yes, but cabin refurbishment remains an engineering job. New wall panels, flooring, ceilings, mirrors, lights and handrails change the moving mass of the car and may affect balance, traction, braking, clear dimensions and maintenance access. Stone, glass and metal finishes can add significant weight. A thicker floor can disturb the sill transition. A deeper wall assembly can reduce usable cabin space. A decorative ceiling can restrict access to lighting, ventilation or emergency equipment.

After forty-five years in this trade, I distrust a modernisation proposal that begins with laminate samples. The shaft has not been inspected yet.

Once the engineering is settled, the design can be exact. Walls, ceilings, floors, lighting, handrails and fixtures can be selected around the building rather than imposed as one catalogue package. The cabin should look as though it belongs to the property, not as though a catalogue was pushed through the door.

Should the Lift Be Modernised or Completely Replaced?

Modernisation makes sense when substantial parts of the installation remain sound and can support another operating cycle. Replacement deserves serious consideration when deterioration, obsolescence or statutory requirements affect most of the lift.

Modernisation is usually defensible when: the shaft, guide rails, car frame and retained structures remain sound; safety gaps can be identified and corrected individually; compatible equipment and long-term support remain available; the completed lift will meet the building's capacity and accessibility needs; and the cost preserves meaningful existing value.

Replacement deserves serious consideration when: corrosion, water damage or structural deterioration is widespread; most major systems are obsolete; compatible parts and service tools are unavailable; the building has outgrown the lift's speed, capacity or dimensions; or local law requires replacement, or the modernisation would retain too many old liabilities.

Assess first. Decide second.

How Does Span Modernise an Existing Lift?

Span approaches modernisation as an installer-maintainer, not as a seller trying to force every building into one factory package. The assessment establishes what remains useful before anything is quoted for replacement.

1. Read the lift's history. Span reviews licences, drawings, load data, maintenance records, previous alterations and breakdown history. The file often tells us where to look.

2. Inspect the complete installation.  The assessment covers the structure, guide rails, machine, brake, controller, doors, wiring, rescue systems, levelling, ride and cabin. A glowing controller display is not a condition report.

3. Produce a component-level retention map. Each major component is placed into one of four categories — retain, overhaul, replace or investigate further — and each decision gets a reason.

4. Separate necessary work from optional work. Safety and statutory work is shown separately from performance, energy and aesthetic improvements, so the building can see what must be done, what should be done, and what it is choosing to add.

5. Plan the shutdown and approval process. The proposal states the procurement period, work sequence, expected passenger outage, testing requirements and any regulatory notice or reinspection. In a single-lift building, shutdown planning is part of the engineering.

6. Commission, document and maintain the result. Span's current modernisation scope includes VVVF drive and controller upgrades, ARD and safety-gear retrofits, cabin refurbishment, LED lighting, structural welding and guide-rail checks. Its maintenance operation also covers lifts not originally installed by Span.

The work is not judged on inauguration day. It is judged years later, when the parts remain available, the records still exist, and the lift still behaves as commissioned.

Twenty-five years. More than 2,500 commissioned lifts. Zero safety incidents.

Book a Lift Modernisation Assessment 

Before buying a controller or choosing a cabin finish, find out what the lift is worth keeping. A Span engineer assesses the structure, machine, controls, doors, rescue systems, operating records and cabin, then returns a component-level modernisation plan with the shutdown and regulatory steps built in.

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