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I T has been a busy start to Kevin Taylors Presidency of LEIA. As he said last year in his interview for LEIA Focus maintenance matters are close to his heart and he has taken on the complex task of clarifying and streamlining equipment maintenance and warranty agreements. Understanding all the implications in terms of responsibility for the equipment is essential so LEIA is gathering legal and technical advice to ensure that the guidance proposed is robust. The list of issues is a long one particularly for a new installation when a third party is undertaking maintenance of equipment which is still under warranty and where the common practice is to respond to issues within a year following completion. The snagging list payment conditions and retention all need to be addressed says Kevin together with potential fit out moving in by new tenants or owners. Not to mention dealing with the final account agreements and payment retention MANAGEMENT Following discussion with the LEIA Board and Council the change was approved and drafting of the guidance paper undertaken with the assistance of Professor Rudi Klein of the SEC Group. See box. Ensuring that companies demonstrate required levels of competence and show that they are using original manufacturers components is important for all LEIA members regardless of size says Kevin. But I want to ensure that all members are fully aware that the maintenance contracts being devised in the market require close attention to legal responsibilities. Bigger companies have the resources to ensure that they are up to date with contract matters but everyone needs to be familiar with the complexities of terms and conditions for new lifts and for maintenance. The LEIA legal tips on contractual issues are excellent and we need to build on this work he continues. The LEIA seminar in 2015 was LEIAANNUALREVIEW2016PAGE2 KEVIN TAYLOR LEIA PRESIDENT POST HANDOVER MAINTENANCE a LEIA guide to managing warranties Key points from the forthcoming LEIA guidance on post handover maintenance where the installers warranty is still in place. Company X has installed and handed over a lift for ClientY. There now commences a 12 month warranty period. During the course of the 12 months ClientY approaches Company Za lift contractorto service the lift installed by Company X. This arrangement immediately gives rise to a number of legal contractual issues that require careful consideration by all three parties. The main issues are If Company Z has serviced the lift this may give rise to questions of responsibility in the event that the lift proves to be defective during or at the end of the warranty period. ClientY will be caught between Company X disclaiming responsibility on the ground that the defects was the result of inadequate servicing whilst Company Z willno doubt claim that the defect resulted from shortcomings in the installation. The above will also have similar implications for any warranties that Company X may have provided to third parties. Company X is likely to have contributed to the health and safety file which ClientY is required to have under the ConstructionDesign and Management CDM Regulations 2015. This is for the purpose of managing health and safety risks during maintenance and repair. Unless Company Z is completely familiar with the content of the fileboth Client Y and Company Z could be in breach of the CDM Regulations. In servicing the lift during the warranty period Company Z may be unaware of the potential liability. In some cases Company Z may not appreciatefor examplethat during the course of the warranty period there may be some movement in the building structure. If Company Z has not factored this into the maintenance agreementthen it may not be able to pass on all the resultant cost to ClientY. If Company Z has chosen to ignore this problemwhich is then discovered by ClientYit could face a claim for breach of contractnegligence having failed to warn of the problem. Servicing by Company Z could cut across warranties given by partscomponents manufacturers. These may be invalidated in the event that such partscomponents are servicedrepaired by a third party. More fundamentallyin enabling servicing by Company ZClientY may be in breach of the contract with Company X for the installation. The warranty period is generally for the purpose of providing the installer with exclusive access to the installed lifts for the purpose of testinginspection and carrying out any remedial work to ensure that the installation accords with the specification and contractual requirements relating to operational performance levels. Professor Rudi Klein SEC Group Talking with the President release and any collateral warranties in place. After detailed review the LEIA Board proposed that the Association rule relating to twelve month warranty would be better dealt with by providing a practical and robust guidance document dealing with the various issues.