Lifting
The Standard

Meeting Otis's need for enhanced safety measures is not simply about being a good hire business. It also underlines our commitment to developing service value and to playing a crucial role in a robust supply chain.

THE CHALLENGE
HSS Hire has an exclusive contractwith Otis, the UK’s leading manufacturer and maintainer of lifts and escalators.

Recently, Otis issued a new global health and safety directive setting specific standards that all operations must meet. The company here in the UK turned to us for assistance: could we offer enhanced safety features on our lifting equipment to assure compliance with the improved standards set by Otis World Head Quarters?

THE SOLUTION
The answer was 'yes' - and moreover, we were prepared to spend several hundred thousand pounds on upgrading equipment to make it some of the safest available in the industry.

To meet the improvements set by the Otis safety directive, a new self-locking load-bearing hook was incorporated into the majority of HSS lifting equipment, replacing the standard lifting hook with keep. The modification involved fitting a positive self-locking mechanism that requires manual pressure for release. This reduces significantly the possibility of a load slipping or dropping.

Otis Managing Director Didier Michaud expressed his thanks for our quick response in a letter to HSS Chief Executive Chris Davies. "This action is part of our continual drive to improve safety and eliminate workplace incidents," Mr Michaud wrote. "The positive self-locking hooks further enhance the safety of lifting operations in our company and for your other customers. We are pleased to be working with a company that shares our values in ensuring safety is a number one priority."

THE BENEFITS
Partnering with HSS further assists Otis to operate smoothly and efficiently throughout the UK, drawing on our national network of service centres for supply of the tools and equipment.

Our response to Otis's need for enhanced safety measures is not simply about being a good hire business. It also underlines our commitment to developing service value and to playing a crucial role in a robust supply chain. We know that customers like Otis can deliver on their promises because they can count on us to deliver on ours.

The safety of the products we offer is of paramount importance. In this case enhancements brought direct benefits to Otis, as well as to all users of our lifting equipment - one more advantage of dealing with HSS, the UK’s best known name in tool and equipment hire.