A recent incident that took the life of a veteran mechanic should remind us all of the importance of lift safety.

While there is no word on precisely what caused a vintage VW Beetle to slide of a lift, but we do know that Pennsylvania mechanic and shop owner Adolph Mair, 78, died of his injuries as a result of the accident June 6.

Mair was working alone when the car slid off the lift. He was found injured but responsive some time later by an employee who had been working at another location owned by Mair, and came to check on him after Mair couldn’t be reached by phone.

When he was found he was bleeding from the head and able to answer first responders questions but died of internal injuries in hospital.

It is a tragic end to a 40-plus year-career and highlights the need to ensure safe lift operation at all times.

Certainly lifts should always be inspected by a certified inspector on a regular schedule and kept in good working order.

In addition, all those using lifts should be aware of proper lift safety practices.

The Automotive LIft Institute (ALI) recently updated its “Lifting it Right”  online lift safety training.

The interactive course covers safe lifting practices for all types of automotive lifts. The course is now offered in English or Spanish.

While the core focus on lift safety is unchanged, the updated course is thoroughly modernized, both in content and delivery. The course can be taken online with a desktop or mobile device. Most people finish it in an hour or less, according to ALI. At the end, a certificate of completion is stored online for easy access if a shop needs to produce training records.

In addition to updated technical content, ALI has added professional narrators, real-world scenarios, and all-new 3-D animations to make the program more engaging.
Lifting It Right is available to order from ALI at www.autolift.org/ali-store/. It is administered by enterprise risk management firm KPA. While the previous version of the course cost $29 per person, it is now available for just $16 USD for English and $24 USD for Spanish. Once registered, the trainee can take up to 90 days to successfully complete the program, including an online test.

For more information about ALI and its lift safety initiatives and materials, visit www.autolift.org or call (607) 756-7775.

You can also connect with ALI on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/LiftInstitute, on Twitter at www.twitter.com/LiftInstitute, and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/LiftInstitute.