Elevator Inspections & Why It's Important

As business owner’s we are all concerned about the impediment of government regulations negatively affecting our bottom line. However in many areas those regulations are important in maintaining a safe environment for our employees and the public. I don’t know of any business owners that start each day with the intention of not maintaining a safe environment for those affected by the equipment used. But inadvertently and unknowingly it happens all too frequently.
The requirement to have elevator (and by definition: escalators) is not new: that requirement has been in effect for many years. What has changed is how that requirement is enforced and monitored.
In the past an inspector would conduct a safety inspection annually for most elevator equipment. If the equipments owner had a elevator serving only two landings and a current maintenance contract with a registered elevator company, a annual safety inspection is not required in the State of Florida. The annual fee is still required and a safety test has to be performed and witnessed by a inspector. While this reduces the cost to the owner, we always recommend a inspection be done at the same time as the safety test; cost will be minimal as the inspector is already there and it may prove to be a great benefit if a legal claim is brought against the owner for a injury. In that all too common event, you would have the inspector’s data for evidence of diligence on your part to ensure the safety of the passenger’s. You’ve gone above the requirement.
The inspection process is not difficult nor does it have to be unduly expensive to the owner. By doing some due diligence and common sense evaluation of the procedure the owner can greatly reduce both costs and liability. Let’s take a look at a common scenario involving an owner with a maintenance contract with an elevator company and the elevator equipment serving a four (4) landing building:
1. Annual safety tests and inspection is required.
a. Owner contacts the elevator company to ensure those requirements are being scheduled and carried out.
b. The responsibility and cost for the third party required inspector is determined between the owner and elevator company.
c. The inspection and tests are completed and there are some minor violations that need to be resolved before the State will issue new certifications. Violations listed are in two areas: the elevator companies and the building owners.
d. An action plan and schedule are agreed upon and work is under way for resolve. A date is set for re-inspection with that cost determined.
e. Re-inspection reveals that all violations are taken care of and a “clean” inspection report issued.
f. All is well and repeated next year.
That’s the almost ideal scenario. The best scenario is for no violations to be recorded. Skip all steps c thru e. The reality is this:
Violations are recorded and you get a proposal for fixing those.
1. Are the violations repeated from previous inspections?
2. Are they responsibility of the owner or the elevator company?
3. Why are new violations recorded? Did code change and these are result of those changes?
4. Is the proper version of code being used? How up to speed on code is the inspector and elevator company mechanic?
5. Is the cost of corrections prohibitive? If so is there an alternative?
Let’s answer the questions:
1. If you note repetitive violations from past years, here may be the answer: in the not too distant past violations could be noted as corrected by sending a letter to the State elevator bureau stating that they were corrected and a certificate was issued. That was fine if everyone involved actually did the work instead of just the paperwork. “Paper-whipping the violations” was the term used. The State of Florida realized this was happening and now a re-inspection is required to physically determine the work was completed. So if the paper-whipping occurred you are now tasked with paying again for corrections: that ain’t right.
2. It’s always the owner’s responsibility regardless if you paid to have it done or not. You may have some relief from full responsibility if you can provide evidence of good faith in hiring professionals to do the work, but ultimately the bearer of burden is on the equipment owner.
3. Did conditions change in the building such as power, lighting, water intrusion are many variables. Was there code changes enacted that your equipment had to meet? If so your elevator company, in good business faith, should have made you aware of and a plan developed to deal with those changes.
4. All licensed inspectors are required to complete continuing education each year on code updates, as are licensed mechanics. I’s how this information is used and applied that makes the difference. We continually get questions about code that are prefaced with: “well, I heard that……or someone told me that…” Information regardless if accurate or not is passed from worker to worker without being verified. There are some grey areas in code but most are straightforward and simple but it does take some research and discipline to determine what applies and what does not. That research will make significant difference in cost. The owner can do much of that research themselves by following the links on our front page for code updates and information.
5. There may be alternatives to costly corrections that are available. Remember it’s the elevator company’s goal to separate as much money from you as legally allowable. That’s just business on their part. If they have two or more options available for your purchase isn’t it common sense that the most profitable one is the one that is pushed?
If properly applied for; there are some variances allowed by the State if otherwise a hardship is imposed on the business owner to make corrections straight away. Unsafe operation will not be allowed in any case, nor should it ever be. The equipments owner can apply for variances or hire a consultant or other professional to increase the odds of granting.
It’s regrettable but the reality of the inspection picture in Florida has been hit or miss. Good intentions that relied on the integrity of all involved.
Fact: inspections by a licensed third party was enacted several years ago by the State to ensure compliance in that all registered conveyances are inspected and meet code. The state employed inspectors simply could not keep up and elevators were go9ing several years without compliance.
Fact: the third party inspection business is very competitive in price that allows the profit per inspection to be slim. So some inspectors may attempt to squeeze in as many inspections and test witnessing as possible each day. They may not be as through as such and violations go unrecorded.
Fact: during the next year perhaps a more diligent inspection occurs or one of the State of Florida monitoring inspectors visits the location and finds more violations than the third part inspector and that third party inspector will increase the diligence of inspections. In any case the owner may find greater costs in doing corrections that may otherwise been absorbed over several past years and are now due in full. We also find that some inspectors have ties to former employers and while they may not intentionally grant lax inspections it can and does happen.
We find it behooves the owner, like all successful business owners, to have all costs (re: violations) known upfront so they can be dealt with in due course. Prompt thorough inspections reduce long term costs and in the case of litigation will establish a pattern of compliance and responsible ownership.