Owners ask this question expecting a single number, and the honest answer is that servicing an elevating work platform is layered rather than a once-a-year event. A machine is looked after through a hierarchy of checks that build on one another, each with its own purpose, depth and interval. Understanding how those layers fit together — and why the hardest-worked unit in a yard needs attention more often than the calendar alone suggests — is what keeps a fleet both available and legally able to work. This guide walks through each tier in turn and explains where usage, not just time, decides how often a machine sees a spanner.
The pre-start: the check that happens every shift
The most frequent servicing action is the one an operator performs before every use. It is a visual look-over and functional test carried out at the start of a shift or whenever the machine changes hands, and it exists to catch the obvious problems before anyone is lifted into the air.
A pre-start is not maintenance in the workshop sense, but it feeds the maintenance process directly. When an operator notes a weeping fitting, a soft control response or a guardrail that is not sitting right, that observation becomes the trigger for the next tier of work. A fleet that treats pre-starts as a box-ticking ritual loses its earliest warning system.
Routine servicing while the machine is in service
Above the daily check sits routine inspection and maintenance, carried out by a competent person at the intervals set by the machine's maintenance schedule — the frequencies the manufacturer specifies and the applicable standard requires while a unit is in service. This is where greasing, fluid checks, filter attention and the closer look at wear items happen.
Routine work is the backbone of keeping small problems small. It is the point at which a hose showing age is replaced before it splits, a pivot that has started to squeak is greased before it scores, and a control fault reported at pre-start is properly diagnosed. Treat the scheduled interval as the outer edge rather than a target; a machine on heavy duty benefits from being seen sooner.
The periodic inspection
At the frequency set by the applicable standard and the manufacturer's schedule, a competent person carries out a periodic inspection. This is a broader and more formal assessment than routine servicing, examining structure, safety devices, hydraulics and controls against the machine's requirements and recording the outcome in the logbook.
The periodic is the check that most people picture when they think of an EWP being certified for another stretch of work. As a machine ages, the standard expects this scrutiny to intensify, so an older unit approaching the end of its service life receives an enhanced version of the periodic that looks harder at components nearing their limits.
The major inspection: the deep re-verification
At the top of the hierarchy is the major inspection, the deep tear-down check that goes after what the eye cannot see. It typically involves stripping the machine down far enough to reach the load-bearing structure, then applying crack-detection methods to welds and members so that hidden cracking, wear and fatigue can be found and measured.
Crucially, the major is not a universal annual-style interval. Under AS 2550.10 it falls due at either five years or ten years depending on the equipment class the machine belongs to, and then recurs on the cycle set for that class. The clock runs from the date of manufacture, not the date you bought the unit, so a used purchase may be closer to its major than its condition suggests. Knowing which class each machine falls into is the only way to forecast the major correctly.
Why usage moves the goalposts
The intervals above are maximums, and a well-run program schedules within them rather than drifting up to the line. The reason is that servicing need is driven by how a machine is used, not simply by how long it has existed.
Factors that pull servicing forward include:
- High duty cycles — a hire unit or a production machine racks up lifts, slews and travel far faster than a lightly used one, so its wear items reach their limits sooner.
- Harsh environments, where coastal salt air, dust or repeated washdown attack seals, coatings and electrical connections between scheduled visits.
- Work at or near rated capacity, which loads the structure and hydraulics harder and accelerates fatigue on the components that carry the moment.
- Rough terrain and travel, where vibration and shock loosen fasteners and fatigue the frame more quickly than smooth-ground operation.
Turning the hierarchy into a plan
Servicing an EWP well means running all the tiers together: pre-starts every shift, routine work at the scheduled frequency, a periodic with enhanced scrutiny as the unit ages, and the major when the machine's class says it falls due. Skipping a tier does not save money — it simply moves the cost into unplanned downtime or a failure in the field.
For a fleet, the practical task is visibility: knowing the manufacture date and class of every machine so the next-due dates can be forecast and the majors staggered rather than colliding. If you are unsure when a particular unit's major falls due or want its servicing brought up to date, EWP Australia can assess it and set out a schedule; the number to reach the team is 0416 689 689.
This guide is general information prepared by EWP Australia and is grounded in publicly available Australian Standards and Safe Work Australia material. It is not a substitute for the current published edition of the relevant standard or for site-specific engineering advice. Always work from the current standard and consult a competent person for your specific equipment and application.