Updated: 26 September 2026 | Historical provision with current-law update

Section 28 of the Factories Act 1948 - Hoists and Lifts

Section 28 of the Factories Act, 1948 prescribed safety requirements for hoists and lifts used in factories, including construction and strength, periodic examination, enclosures and gates, safe working load, interlocking devices and additional safeguards for lifts carrying persons.

Current legal status: The Factories Act, 1948 was repealed when the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 came into force on 21 November 2025. Section 28 is therefore reproduced below as a historical provision and remains relevant for understanding earlier obligations, saved actions and legacy compliance. Current factory safety obligations must be read with the OSHWC Code, applicable rules, notified standards and validly saved State rules or directions.

What Section 28 required

Every hoist and lift had to be of good mechanical construction, sound material and adequate strength.
It had to be properly maintained and thoroughly examined by a competent person at least once every six months, with prescribed examination particulars recorded.
Hoistways and liftways had to be protected by enclosures and gates designed to prevent trapping.
The maximum safe working load had to be clearly marked and could not be exceeded.
Passenger hoists and lifts required gated cages and effective interlocking or equivalent safety devices.
Specified passenger hoists and lifts required duplicate ropes or chains, cage-support safety devices and automatic protection against over-running.

Meaning of hoist or lift under Section 28

For Section 28, a lifting machine or appliance was not treated as a hoist or lift unless it had a platform or cage whose direction of movement was restricted by a guide or guides. This explanation was inserted by Act 20 of 1987 with effect from 1 December 1987.

Text of Section 28 - Hoists and Lifts

In every factory:
1. every hoist and lift shall be:
  1. of good mechanical construction, sound material and adequate strength;
  2. properly maintained, and shall be thoroughly examined by a competent person at least once in every period of six months, and a register shall be kept containing the prescribed particulars of every such examination;
2. every hoistway and liftway shall be sufficiently protected by an enclosure fitted with gates, and the hoist or lift and every such enclosure shall be so constructed as to prevent any person or thing from being trapped between any part of the hoist or lift and any fixed structure or moving part;
3. the maximum safe working load shall be plainly marked on every hoist or lift, and no load greater than such load shall be carried thereon;
4. the cage of every hoist or lift used for carrying persons shall be fitted with a gate on each side from which access is afforded to a landing;
5. every gate referred to in clause (b) or clause (d) shall be fitted with an interlocking or other efficient device to secure that the gate cannot be opened except when the cage is at the landing and that the cage cannot be moved unless the gate is closed.
The following additional requirements shall apply to hoists and lifts used for carrying persons and installed or reconstructed in a factory after the commencement of the Act:
1. where the cage is supported by rope or chain, there shall be at least two ropes or chains separately connected with the cage and balance weight, and each rope or chain with its attachments shall be capable of carrying the whole weight of the cage together with its maximum load;
2. efficient devices shall be provided and maintained capable of supporting the cage together with its maximum load in the event of breakage of the ropes, chains or attachments;
3. an efficient automatic device shall be provided and maintained to prevent the cage from over-running.
The Chief Inspector could permit continued use of a hoist or lift installed in a factory before commencement of the Act which did not fully comply with sub-section (1), subject to conditions imposed for safety.
The State Government could, for a class or description of hoist or lift, direct that a requirement of sub-section (1) or (2) would not apply where enforcement of that requirement was considered unreasonable.

Explanation: For the purposes of this section, no lifting machine or appliance shall be deemed to be a hoist or lift unless it has a platform or cage, the direction of movement of which is restricted by a guide or guides.

Current law under the OSHWC Code 2020

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 is now the central parent legislation for occupational safety and working conditions. It came into force on 21 November 2025. Section 143 repealed the Factories Act, 1948, subject to the Code's savings provisions.

Section 18 - Occupational safety and health standards: Section 18 authorises the Central Government to declare occupational safety and health standards for workplaces. The Second Schedule expressly includes "hoists and lifts" among the matters for which such standards may be declared.

Section 6 - Duties of employer: Employers are required, among other duties, to keep the workplace free from hazards likely to cause injury or occupational disease, comply with occupational safety and health standards and maintain, so far as reasonably practicable, a working environment that is safe and without risk to employees' health.

Section 23 - Health, safety and working conditions: The employer is responsible for maintaining prescribed health, safety and working conditions in the establishment.

Central Rules: The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026 were notified on 8 May 2026. Among the reportable dangerous occurrences covered by the Rules is the collapse or failure of a crane, derrick, winch, hoist or other appliance used for raising or lowering persons or goods, or any part of such equipment.

State-specific compliance: Factory regulation also involves rules and requirements for which the State Government is the appropriate government in ordinary State-regulated factories. Saved rules, orders, approvals and directions under the repealed law may continue to operate to the extent permitted by Section 143 of the OSHWC Code until replaced. The applicable State rules and official State Gazette should therefore be checked for technical inspection, certification, testing and register requirements.

Practical safety points for hoists and lifts

Use equipment of adequate mechanical strength and suitable construction for its intended load and service.
Maintain guards, enclosures, landing gates, cage gates and interlocks in effective working condition.
Display and observe the safe working load.
Arrange inspection, examination, testing and certification at the intervals required by the law and rules applicable to the establishment.
Keep required examination, maintenance and safety records.
Report accidents and dangerous occurrences within the applicable statutory time and form.
Check current State rules and notifications before relying on historical Section 28 inspection intervals or forms.

Section 28 and Section 29 - Difference

Section 28 dealt specifically with hoists and lifts having a platform or cage guided in its direction of movement. Section 29 separately dealt with lifting machines, chains, ropes and lifting tackles other than a hoist or lift. The distinction remains useful when reading historical factory records and understanding the safety subjects now carried into the Second Schedule to the OSHWC Code.

Official legal sources

Legal provisions and rules may be supplemented by State-specific notifications and saved rules. Verify the rules applicable to the State and establishment concerned.