Nearly 100 push toward Lift Inspector certification

Nearly 100 people worked toward Automotive Lift Institute (ALI) Lift Inspector Certification during the “Five Days to Victory” event held on the Cheyenne Campus of the College of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas earlier this month.

The event, sponsored by ALI member manufacturers Challenger Lifts, Mohawk Lifts, Rotary Lift, and Stertil-Koni USA, was designed to help inspectors and inspection companies complete most of the steps required to achieve lift inspector certification in just five days instead of the five months or longer it can take when inspectors undertake the process on their own in their free time.

R.W. “Bob” O’Gorman, ALI president, says there are currently 360 ALI Certified Lift Inspectors available across North America qualified to inspect any vehicle lift, adding demand for ALI Certified Lift Inspectors continues to grow.

“Because it can be challenging for inspector candidates to find the time and resources to complete all of the requirements for certification on their own, several of our members agreed to work together for a second year in a row to provide this opportunity to get multiple steps done at once,” he says. “I’m really proud of these ALI members for temporarily setting aside their competitiveness to focus on creating an event that helps make the vehicle repair industry safer for everyone.”

The participating ALI member manufacturers provided lifts, factory designated trainers and other resources for the event. ALI associate member companies A & B Equipment, Atlantic Auto Suppliers, Current Systems, D & N Equipment, Garage Equipment Plus, Peterson Hydraulics and Weco Automotive Lifts & Equipment also provided trainers and support for the event.

Depending on where they were in the certification process, event participants could attend an orientation workshop, participate in an all-day study group, take the course examination and/or perform the required 12 practical inspections of seven different lift types. A total of 96 people participated over the week, with 72 performing 833 inspections of the lifts on-site.

New this year was a “meet and greet” cookout with food prepared by ALI Board of Directors Associate Class Representative Gary Wainwright of Weco Automotive Lifts & Equipment and his family. During the dinner, O’Gorman presented John Ventura, program director, with a plaque recognizing the College of Southern Nevada Cheyenne Campus for the Transportation Technology Department’s support of the event. ALI also made a $5,000 donation to the Nevada Board of Regents on behalf of the school.

The ALI Lift Inspector Certification Program is the only program in North America that provides third-party qualification of vehicle lift inspectors and certifies those who demonstrate they are capable of properly inspecting any lift in accordance with the ANSI/ALI standard governing vehicle lift inspection. The program is open to anyone with a minimum 12 months experience as a lift inspector. To achieve certification, participants must sign and abide by a code of ethics, attend a six-hour orientation workshop, pass written pre-course and course exams, and properly complete 12 practical lift inspections on a range of vehicle lifts. Additional quality control requirements exist for the inspectors’ employers.

Annual lift inspections help protect technicians by ensuring that the lifts they work under are installed correctly, functioning properly and adequately maintained. The inspections are required by ANSI/ALI ALOIM:2008 (R2013), the national standard covering vehicle lift operation, inspection and maintenance. Companies with at least one ALI Certified Lift Inspector on staff are listed in a searchable directory on the ALI website.