REMINDER: For reasons of safety and code compliance, property owners and managers need to be aware that there are requirements that must be adhered to, and that the deadline is rapidly approaching!

First up is regarding Elevator Door Lock Monitoring. The New York City Department of Buildings has announced that – by January 1, 2020 – all "automatic passenger and freight elevators must provide a system to monitor and prevent automatic operation with faulty door contact circuits."

Elevator Door Lock Monitoring

The code is a requirement of Appendix K3, Rule 3.10.2, stating that the car doors must be monitored to prevent the following two issues:

1. To prevent operation of the car if the car door is not closed, regardless of whether the car-door contact and interlock contact circuits are open or closed (excluding the access switch operation and inspection operation)
2. To prevent power closing of the doors if the door is open and the car door contact circuit is closed or bypassed, or if the interlock circuit is closed (excluding during Firefighters' Service Phase II). Primarily, this determines if jumpers or other means of bypassing normal operation are being used

Elevators installed or modernized prior to July 1, 2009 will require a software and possibly a hardware update. Controllers installed or modernized after July 1, 2009 may already be partially compliant and may require installation of additional hardware or software – this will need to be confirmed by the elevator contractor. Elevators installed or modernized after January 2, 2015 may be equipped to be made fully compliant but, may need hardware or software installed. This also should be confirmed by the elevator contractor. If the controller cannot be adapted with the hardware or software upgrades, a modernization may be required. All modifications and/or software changes to the controller will require filing with the New York City Department of Buildings, and inspection and testing upon completion.

Further ahead, by 2027, Rope Grippers will be required by the NYC Building Code 2.19.2 and 2.8.4.1 Appendix K. Elevators without them will be considered non-compliant. Such devices – developed to safeguard passengers by stopping an elevator in case of a mechanical and/or electrical failure.

Rope Grippers

Rope Grippers will be required by the NYC Building Code 2.19.2 and 2.8.4.1 Appendix K. Elevators without them will be considered non-compliant. Such a device – developed to safeguard passengers by stopping an elevator in case of a mechanical and/or electrical failure – must be installed on all elevators by 2027. Rope grippers detect emergency situations, including if a car leaves a floor with the door open. They provide over-speed detection and unintended car movement with the door open when caused by brake, control or drive failure. 

D&D Can Help!

The experts at D&D Elevator stand ready to help you evaluate your particular needs – to cost-efficiently achieve code-compliance and safety – and boost your peace-of-mind!

For your convenience and future reference, we have created a 2-page fact sheet that you can print as a PDF and retain.  

Download Here

In a series of events this past Fall, D&D Elevator of Elmsford, NY opened its new Elevator Learning Center at 200 Corporate Boulevard in Yonkers, NY, just a few minutes north of New York City. In addition to classroom space, the 2,500-square-foot facility includes workshop areas where actual, real-life elevator mechanical equipment – donated by various companies throughout the elevator industry – is set up for use in hands-on training sessions. The setup also includes advanced communications technology that allows students anywhere to visually interact online with instructors, using high-definition video streamed with high-fidelity audio. 

At the October 3rd ribbon cutting event, D&D CEO and President Bobby Schaeffer demonstrated how the distance learning program will work, and spoke about how this would open opportunity and education to young people regardless of their location. “We’re working to develop new talent,” said Schaffer. “While most kids today are continuing to opt for pursuing college degrees, we’re looking to develop a viable opportunity for young people who prefer to pursue a different path. We believe it’s vital to make available this kind of education, to give young people incentive to join this trade, the elevator industry.”

“The reality is that college isn’t for everyone,” said Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano at an October 17th media conference as he welcomed the Elevator Learning Center to the city. “It is so exciting that D&D is enabling a solid middle-class living for kids and young people who would prefer working at a trade to an academic pursuit.” The Elevator Learning Center is in talks with the Yonkers school system about creating programming for its Trades and Technical High School, to create a feeder program for later entry into an apprenticeship program at the Center. 

At the media conference, Mayor Spano, accompanied by numerous Yonkers community leaders, presented D&D with a proclamation for its contribution to the Yonkers community. Schaeffer, alongside D&D partners Michael Bonardi and Nunzio Meccariello, stated that for him the formal opening of the Center was bringing great personal satisfaction. “For me it’s very exciting. I was involved early on in the actual process to create the Certified Elevator Technician (CET) program and the accreditation process. We have an accreditation from ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and ANSI (American National Standards Institute),” he said.

Schaeffer noted that since its founding in 1981, safety has been D&D’s number one concern, not only for the public that rides the elevators serviced by the company, but equally for the technicians who install them and keep them maintained.

“Safety is the number one important issue for us, and a leading factor in what we are teaching here now,” he emphasized. “Travel by elevator traditionally has been among the very safest forms of transportation and D&D is committed to doing what it can to keep it that way.”

Property owners and managers daily are faced with an ever-changing array of issues and challenges on which to remain current. Given this reality – plus the ongoing issues of “time to focus” and managing budgets and expenses – it is easy to slip into a pattern of avoiding matters that should or must be addressed for reasons of safety and code compliance. Ignoring these issues can lead to significant future costs in money and time, and, in a worst-case scenario, tragedy. This is especially true when it comes to preparing one’s elevators for emergencies, and we focus here on three specific categories: Emergency Phones, Emergency Lighting and Firefighter Services Operation, which is required by A.17.1 2000 Code & NYC DOB Code Appendix K.

Emergency Phones

Code now requires emergency “hands free” phones to be installed in all elevator cabs, with, per the American Disabilities Act, the ability for disabled persons to operate them and call quickly and effectively for help. Today’s typical configurations for emergency phone systems include the ability for trapped passengers to initiate a call with only the touch of a button, which triggers a process of reaching out for “human” help and acknowledging to entrapped passengers that it is on the way. This process also can convey to the service provider the exact location of where the entrapment is occurring.

Emergency lighting by GAL - note battery at rear

Emergency Lighting

Currently required by national code, emergency lighting systems are designed to illuminate the cab in the event of a power failure and provide visibility, comfort and safety to passengers trapped in a stalled elevator. Such systems must contain code-specified batteries that ensure that the cab is lit when emergency strikes.

Code additionally requires in part that not less than two auxiliary lamps shall be provided; that the illumination at the car threshold, with the door closed, shall be not less than 50 lx (5 fc) for passenger cars and half this for freight cars; that auxiliary lights shall be automatically turned on in all elevators in service after normal car light fails; and that the power system shall be capable of maintaining the above light intensity for a period of at least 4 hours.

Firefighter’s Service Operation

In spite of prominent building signage and the advice that has been common for decades about the dangerous chimney effect of elevator shafts, when a fire occurs in a building, many occupants reflexively make a beeline for the elevators. All too often, such behavior has been the cause of severe injury and death. Firefighter’s Service Operation consists of a set of devices that suspends all cabs from “normal” mode (disabling all hall and car calls), allows special operation by firefighters and emergency personnel, and sends the cars to a designated fire recall landing in the building. From there, passengers are much better able to safely exit the elevator and the building. Without such a system, elevators can continue their normal operation during a fire with potentially catastrophic consequences.

D&D Can Help!

When it comes to elevators, best practice is always to expect the unexpected. The experts at D&D Elevator stand ready to help you evaluate your particular “emergency” needs – to cost-efficiently guide you through the sometimes-bewildering maze of ASME and other national, regional and local code requirements – and boost your peace-of-mind!