THE ELEVATOR Know him better to manage it and use it properly

pubblicato: Wednesday, 18 December, 2013

Legislative references

The reference standard for everything concerning the construction, installation, commissioning, maintenance and control of the elevators is the “Regulations for the implementation of Directive 95/16 / EC on lifts and simplification of the provisions for granting clearance for lifts and elevators, as well as of its operating license “approved by the decree of the President of the Republic 30 April 1999, n. 162.

In Chapter I of the Regulation is implemented the Directive 95/16 / EC on lifts, with which are defined the procedures for the construction and certification of the systems of lifts and their components and for the affixing of the CE marking, guaranteeing compliance with the essential safety requirements of Annex I of the Order.

In Chapter II, on the other hand, they are set national rules that must be followed for proper commissioning of elevators in private service, for periodical and exceptional checks and maintenance of the facilities.

The Presidential Decree 162/99 came into force June 30, 1999, so all lifts installed from that date must comply with the provisions of Chapter I.

Lifts installed before that date, however, will have to comply, with respect to their technical and construction features, the national legislation in force at the time of their installation.

On the contrary, the provisions relating to the maintenance and periodic and extraordinary inspections, referred to in Chapter II of the Regulation, apply equally to all lifts in operation, regardless from the time of their installation.

It should also be noted that when you carry out repairs on the plants, with replacement of worn or broken parts, or modernization interventions more or less extended, the company has enabled the obligation, pursuant to Ministerial Decree 37/2008 (ex Law 46/90), to perform the work to “workmanlike” and delivered to the owner / purchaser the corresponding declaration of conformity must indicate where the good technical standards applied.

As for the interventions on the lifts, the technical reference standards are the UNI 10411-1 & 2 ( “Changes to existing electric lifts” and “Amendments to existing hydraulic lifts”) and UNI EN 81-80 ( “Rules for the improvement of safety of passenger lifts and elevators for existing goods “).

Installation and commissioning

A lift must be designed and installed in accordance with the provisions of the Lifts Directive 95/16 / EC and of the Presidential Decree 162/99, in compliance with the Essential Safety and Health requirements set at Community level.

At the completion of the design and installation, the installer must issue to the owner of the EC declaration of conformity, the contents of which may vary depending on the applied conformity assessment procedure.

It contains in each case:

1. name and address of the installer;
2. description of the lift, details of type or series, serial number and location;
3. year of installation;
4. all relevant provisions to which the lift (in particular the “harmonized standards” possibly used).

Concurrently with the production of the EC declaration of conformity, the installer provides for the CE marking to be affixed inside the cab clearly and visibly, accompanied by the identification number of the notified body involved in the manner provided by the validation procedure compliance.

After these formalities, in order to bring the system down, the art. 12 of Presidential Decree 162/99 obliges the owner to providing a special notice to the municipality responsible for the area. Communication must be within 10 days from the date of issue of the declaration of conformity by the installer and must contain:

1. The address of the building where the system is installed;
2. the speed, the flow rate, the race, the number of stops and the type of drive;
3. the name or business name of the installer or the manufacturer of the hoist or the hoist as defined by the elevator whose speed is not greater than 0,15 m / s, in accordance with Article 3, paragraph 3, of legislative decree 27 January 2010, 17;
4. copy of the declaration of conformity;
5. indication of the firm, authorized in accordance with the Decree of the Minister of Economic Development January 22, 2008, n. 37, where the owner has entrusted the maintenance of equipment;
6. indication of the person appointed to carry out periodic inspections on the system, in accordance with Article 13, paragraph 1, which have accepted the assignment.

The relevant department of the municipality assigns to the system within 30 days, a serial number and shall notify the owner or his legal representative by giving notice to the same entity responsible for conducting periodic audits.

The serial number must be affixed in the cab within an identifier implant plate.

The plant owner must then notify the municipality of any changes that may occur during the life of the plant (changing of the maintenance company, change of entity in charge of periodic testing, design modifications of the plant).

Ordinary maintenance

The reference standard is article 15 of the DPR 162/99 which establishes the obligation for the owner of a lift to entrust the elevator system maintenance “on a person with a certificate of competency or a specialist company.” And ‘therefore it is forbidden to keep in operation a lift if he is responsible for the maintenance at one of the authorized persons identified by law.

For a lift maintenance in accordance with Presidential Decree 162/99, the maintenance technician must perform two distinct types of activities on the system:

1. preventive maintenance visits, aimed at the smooth operation of the verification of the main components of the plant, in particular of the doors of the plans and the locks, the state of conservation of the ropes, as well as to perform routine cleaning and lubrication of the parts ;
2. visits, in order to verify the integrity and efficiency of all the devices and components from which the safety of the lift depend (parachutes, ropes, etc. alarm system).

As for the second type of activity the legislature established a minimum frequency ( “at least once every six months,” from which the definition of access “half-year”), so as to respect exhaustively, for preventive maintenance visits is not It indicated a precise frequency, since this depends on the “system requirements”.

Specifically, the right number of visits depends on the technical characteristics of the plant, its state of preservation, conditions and intensity of use. In general, considering the average characteristics of systems operating in Italy park, making an average of 8 to 12 annual visits (including also two six-month visits).

It ‘important that the maintainer, once taking over the maintenance of a plant, conducted a thorough initial inspection of it to assess the state of conservation and specifications and, once the conditions of use verified, should develop a maintenance program which will indicate, inter alia, the annual number of preventive maintenance visits necessary for a correct conservation of the lift, also taking into account any instructions in the user manual and maintenance of the system.

Extraordinary maintenance

As well as performing preventive maintenance activities, the maintenance technician is also required to promptly promote the repair and replacement of worn or broken parts (art. 15 c. 5, Presidential Decree 162/99).

Only a qualified maintenance technician can perform repairs on an elevator; in any case the owner can groped to repair it alone, for example by involving the caretaker or by calling other types of professionals (electricians, locksmiths). This not only because it is the law that requires the intervention of a qualified operator, but to a substantial need for security that would be jeopardized by the intervention on the system of unqualified people.

Normally it is always the undertaking to which it is contractually responsible for the maintenance one that deals with also perform repair work.

however, it is not excluded, and in fact sometimes happens, that the owner – in particular in case of extraordinary maintenance of some significance – may decide to entrust the work to a company other than authorized by the plant maintenance.

In such cases, however, given the relevant responsibilities of the company which is responsible for maintenance, it is the same law that requires the latter with regard to contract work, to “verify the successful, correct, run”.

With the result that, should it be found that the work has not been performed properly, the maintenance technician can solve the maintenance contract for deed or fault of the owner / purchaser.

Periodic checks

As mentioned References to legislation, in order to keep operating a lift owner must instruct an authorized body to make, once every two years, a periodic review.

The body responsible for the periodic inspection must be indicated in the license plate to be fitted inside the elevator cab. If the entity in charge is replaced with another, the change should be informed by the competent Municipality special notice of the owner.

The verification must be done by engineers at ASL or ARPA responsible for the area or a certification body authorized by the Ministry of Economic Development and notified to the European Commission.

In case of systems installed in factories or farms, checks will be carried out by the Provincial Directorate of the Ministry of Labour Employment and Social Policy responsible for the territory.

During the verification must be present on the system maintainer, who will perform the verification tests on the recommendation of the engineer verifier.

The person who performed the periodic verification shall deliver to the owner, as well as to the organization contracted to provide maintenance, the minutes and, if negative, it communicates the results to the city office that will provide to affix seals to the system to prevent it from working up the restoration of security conditions.

The periodic verification tests are aimed at ascertaining whether the parties which are associated with the plant operational safety are in conditions of efficiency, if the safety devices are operating normally, and it has been complied with the requirements that may be issued in previous audits.

The costs for the execution of the periodic checks shall be borne by the owner of the building where the system is installed.

Extraordinary audits

The Presidential Decree 162/99 is also, in Article 14, of the extraordinary inspections, which are conducted by the same persons authorized to carry out periodic checks.

To be entrusted with the extraordinary verification of a lift in three different cases:

1. as a result of verbal periodic verification with negative results, in order to allow the restarting of the plant operation stopped by the City;
2. in the event of incidents of considerable importance, even if they are not followed by an injury, when the owner or his legal representative must immediately notify the city office that has, immediately, the system standstill;
3. as a result of significant changes made to the elevator, more precisely in the following cases:

3.1. change of speed;

3.2. change in scope;

3.3. change of the race;

3.4. change the type of drive, such as the hydraulic or electric;

3.5. replacement of machinery, the carrier with its casing, the electrical panel, the cylinder-piston assembly, landing doors, of no shaft and other key components.

In all these cases the owner must instruct the body authorized to carry out the verification and will be able to put the plant into operation only if the entity issues a verbal successfully; the costs of the audit shall be borne.

Maintenance contract

Entrusting the maintenance of a lift to enable an enterprise it is usually formalized in a written contract.

Many times was required to ANACAM to develop a unique model of the maintenance contract, which refer in the opening of a new relationship or an amendment of an existing relationship. We think it is realistic proposition to establish a single universally valid contract model, because many and varied are the technical characteristics of the plants and their conditions of use, as well as highly variable are the needs of different customers and contractual terms that determine on the open market.

As an association, to ensure the needs and expectations of the elevator users, as regards the content of the services covered by the maintenance contract, we have developed a Code of Ethics and a Charter of Services that all participating companies are expected to meet.

This section of the site, therefore, we simply analyze some relevant aspects of maintenance contracts.

Essential elements of a maintenance contract

The technical standard UNI 10146 deals with the “Criteria for the formulation of a contract for the supply of services for the maintenance” and can be taken as a reference to identify what are the essential elements of a maintenance contract:

1. object and purpose;
2. description of the work – maintenance plans;
3. Working environment;
4. charges borne by the buyer; borne Assumptor charges;
5. safety standards;
6. duration;
7. Price, invoicing, payments.

Object of the contract the type of maintenance should be well specified, which is guaranteed by the maintenance and what the services actually provided.

On the Italian market model contracts for the maintenance of the elevators can be grouped into three basic types:

1. ordinary or simple maintenance, which normally includes the preventive maintenance tasks required by the law (preventive maintenance visits + semi-annual visits) and sometimes even the failure to call during normal business hours; It is by far the most widespread type of contract;
2. semicompleta maintenance and or semitotale, which in addition to the typical performance of simple maintenance can also include repairs with spare parts and consumables;
3. Full or complete maintenance, which includes a complete service of all services associated with the elevator, including the repair and replacement of important system components.

In the job description it should be described in sufficient detail of the planned transactions – reported in the maintenance plan developed tailored to the facility, taking into account the characteristics of the plant, its age, the conditions of use and the instructions contained in the booklet of use and maintenance of the lift – and highlights the frequency and duration of maintenance interventions.

The duration of a maintenance contract is agreed between the parties, freely, according to the needs of each.

A contractual commitment of at least three years, by empowering the maintainer, ensures better and more efficient preventive maintenance, to the advantage of the functionality, security and then the user’s needs. Throughout the three years will then ricompresa least a periodic review by an independent body, which will help the owner to assess, at least indirectly, the work of the maintainer.

In recent times a number of operators, not being able to leverage their professional skills and the quality of its services, have been trying to win new customers by offering a year-long maintenance contracts, stating in general terms that the long-term contracts would be “oppressive” and therefore null and proposing to replace the existing maintainer, often with abnormally low maintenance fees.

In proposing to take over, many of these operators refer to a mysterious “Bersani” decree under which it would be possible to give notice for a service contract without recognizing any compensation to the maintainer for the early termination, confusing (willfully) as provided by ‘art. 5 of Decree Law 31/1/2007 n. 7 into law by Law 02/04/07 n. 40, which amended Article. 1899 cc governing the duration of the insurance contract, providing that “in case of multi-year, the policyholder is entitled to withdraw annually from the contract without charge and with advance notice of sixty days.”

This provision is applicable only to insurance relations and does not extend by analogy to situations not provided for by the law.

Meaning it can not be invoked to terminate the agreement early by other contracts, as indeed from maintenance contracts for elevators.

In maintenance contracts the price of service is obviously indicated, usually by indicating an annual fee, and the methods of billing (usually each semester or quarter) and payment and penalties for late payments.

It ‘also always included, as is normal in long-term contracts, even a price revision clause, to adjust the rent trend in prices of wages, goods and services related to the provision of maintenance.

To this end, ANACAM has developed a number of years a special weighted index, based on ISTAT index, which reflects the performance of the main costs associated with the maintenance of elevators.

For owners and administrators tips

1. Entrust lift maintenance to specialized company and in compliance with all legal requirements. In particular:

1.1. make sure that it is recorded in the commercial register of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Crafts and place dell’abilitazione to operate the elevators according to the decree of the Minister of Economic Development n. 37/2008, art. 1 c. 2 letter f);

1.2. make sure that the same is ensured by appropriate ceilings for third-party liability in the quality of contracted as the maintenance of your system;

1.3. Also make sure that the maintenance technician is equipped with a certificate of maintenance elevators and control his personal insurance position, INPS and INAIL.

2. The installation manual should be kept by the owner, possibly in the machine room. Check that the elevator booklet are reports the indications provided by law, ie in particular:

2.1.   name of the owner;

2.2.   indication of the person appointed to carry out periodic inspections also taking care that the booklet is regularly updated with each change.

3. Having to change manutentrice fingers, make sure that the new company in your area has a well-equipped headquarters and personnel with specific practical knowledge, as well as theoretical, the plant you intend to entrust him.
4. Trust in manutentrice company you have chosen for the facility and do not ever intervene electricians, carpenters, painters and other companies for interesting works the elevator, without the control of the same company manutentrice.
5. Do not allow anyone to carry out operations which are the specific responsibility of the maintenance service and avoid, in any way, any tampering.
6. Make sure that the company manutentrice regularly write down the serial booklet details the results of audits of the security features: operation that according to the law must be made at least every six months.
7. Do not allow access to the machinery spaces and pulley anyone unfamiliar with the maintenance and security service.
8. Arrange so that in the case of lift to stop with people on board of the cabin, the emergency maneuver to lift people is carried out by personnel trained for this purpose. Followed in each case the signs of behavior specifically provided by manutentrice company.
9. After emergency response forgive not operate the system before the check is the manutentrice company, bearing in mind that, except in cases of power failure, the elevator stops due to tripping of safety devices prepared by the system manufacturer for the safety of people. Carefully read the instructions on the appropriate notice provided to the “Instructions on emergency maneuver”.
10. Carefully read the report that the engineer of the Supervisory releases following verifications of law and complied with the requirements relating to means of manutentrice company and directly with regard to your expertise.
11. Do not give custodial staff or assignments cleaning stairs which are not of their narrow competence, with the exception of normal cleaning the inside of the cabin and, if the facility is in the stairwell, the exterior of said compartment but not beyond the limit of the defenses and security networks.
12. Provide a timely manner to the middle of the manutentrice jurisdiction, to restore the efficiency of the alarm sound system and, when present, of the two-way communication device and its telephone line, as well as the cabin illumination, the local engine and the streets of access.
13. Take immediately suspend the operation of the lift in case of any accident, even if not followed by injury, which occurred in the system, and reported as soon as possible to the company manutentrice the same incident, as by law .
14. Ask for the maintenance engineer to draw up a detailed maintenance plan for the elevator, also in order to minimize the out of service time without compromising safety.
15. Ask the maintainer and the surveillance body that you have chosen to advise on possible improvements in the safety and functionality of the elevator. In line with technological advances, also in order to increase the lift accessible to persons with reduced mobility.

GECOSEI of Giuseppina Napolitano