Raising the ante on safety01 June 2006

While lifts and lifting operations have generally become much safer certainly than when passenger lifts first made their appearance during the 19th Century handling and lifting are still the largest source of industrial accidents in the UK: 440 in 2003 and well ahead of falls, at 353. As a result, safety regulations are regularly reviewed and tightened.

For instance, the Safety Assessment Federation (SAFed), along with the Lift and Escalator Industry Association and the Health & Safety Executive, has recently updated its Guidance on the Supplementary Testing of Lifts document*. The revised document, previously referred to as LG1, brings the old guidelines into step with current standard legislation, placing a greater emphasis on the role of the competent person.

It covers tests and examinations relating to: earth continuity, electric safety devices, terminal speed reduction systems, door interlocks, lift machinery, overspeed devices, energy dissipation devices, suspension systems, overload detection devices, hydraulic systems, electrical anti-creep devices, brakes, and counterweight systems.

SAFed is also in the process of preparing guidelines for the independent inspection industry on the thorough examination of escalators.

Copies of a basic guide to the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) 1998 , covering the thorough examination and testing of lifts, may be downloaded free from the HSE website at www.hse.gov.uk . They set out the responsibilities of owners and operators to ensure that lifting equipment is "strong and stable enough for the particular use and marked to indicate safe working loads," and that "the lift is thoroughly examined and that it is safe to use".

However, they do not reveal very much as to how actually to fulfil these obligations. Hence, for non-workplace lifts, the old LG1 document was often used as informal guidance for safety-conscious lift operators, in line with best practice principles. Richard Hulmes, SAFed's chief executive, commented at the launch event of the new guidelines, held at the Institute of Mechanical Engineers: "Rather than following a prescriptive testing timetable, as is currently the case, the revised guidance adopts a more risk-based approach to the timing of supplementary testing in support of the thorough examination. Under the new regime, it will be up to the 'competent person' to justify periodicity of the assessment by considering all aspects of each lift's operation, such as its frequency of use, workload and operating environment. Tailoring the timing of each inspection to a lift's usage profile ensures that a more appropriate inspection regime is created. This not only increases the overall level of health and safety, but can bring major cost savings to lift owners."

The LG1 review committee was made up of leading lifting industry experts from SAFed, LEIA, major lift owners, local authorities, professional institutions and industry organisations. The review committee was chaired by the HSE, which, for the first time, has formally endorsed SAFed guidance by placing its logo on the front.

Royal & Sun Alliance Engineering has some additional insight into best practice, as regards lift inspection: "If the competent person makes a request for parts to be dismantled, or tests to be carried out, to enable the thorough examination to be completed, then the competent person may: (1) witness the supplementary examination/test himself, after having the parts dismantled/tests carried out by others, or (2) be presented with satisfactory documentary evidence that the supplementary examination/test has been carried out by another suitably qualified person.

"In either case, the results of the supplementary examination/test must be recorded on the Examination and Test Report(s) contained within Annex A of the Guidelines. In all cases, the records of the supplementary tests should be made available to the competent person. The lift owner can achieve this by ensuring supplementary test report copies are posted in the lift motor room."

Escalators
Escalators are not specified under the LOLER regulations, so they do not require a statutory thorough examination. However, SAFed recommends that escalator owners consider a written scheme of thorough examination as a formal method of discharging the Health and Safety at Work Act responsibility for 'duty of care' to users.

The new document for escalators is being developed in conjunction with a group of institutions and persons similar to those consulted during the preparation of the revised LG1 material. The document will apparently include and update much of the information provided in HSE documents PM34 and PM45, which are no longer in publication. Like revised LG1, it will focus on a risk assessment approach to thorough examinations, and the specific and unique risks associated with escalators, as well as new design technology and emerging legislation and European directives. No date is forecast for publication, but it is expected to appear some time before quarter 3, 2006.

*Copies can be purchased through SAFed's website, www.safed.co.uk, £15 for SAFed and LEIA members, or £25 for non-members, plus p&p. A free 30-page Examination and Test Certificate Report form is also downloadable as a Microsoft Word document.


Springing into action
Broken lift cables no longer result in lifts plummeting downward, since Elisha Otis demonstrated his spring and ratchet safety catch in 1854 on a freight elevator at the Crystal Palace Exhibition in New York. The Otis brake relied on rope tension to deform a wagon spring, so as to keep teeth clear of two racks on each side. Loss of rope tension made the spring push the teeth into the racks. The consequences of that breakthrough speak for themselves: Otis reports no major lift accident involving its own equipment for around 25 years.

While the underlying principle cited above still forms the basis of safety systems in operation today, there remain additional hazards and challenges to overcome, particularly where construction sites are concerned. These include overloaded lifts, running away with sufficient rope tension to prevent operation of emergency brakes; problems relating to people or goods having bad interactions with automatic sliding doors; people not able to get out of lifts that have got stuck between floors; and persons killed by loads falling on them. As for human foolishness and deliberate vandalism, these pose risks that even the best engineers have problems designing out. However, these threats can be kept to a minimum by ensuring that all the safety systems provided in a lift or hoist work as intended.

SOE

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