Important news for everyone active in the lift industry, architectural design, project development or building management. The third edition of the International Elevator & Escalator Symposium (IEES) will be held on 6 and 7 December 2021.
In March 2021, the scope of the ANAB* accreditation of Liftinstituut was extended. In addition to product certifications based on the ASME A17.7/CSA B44.7 performance based code, the Accredited Elevator/Escalator Certification Organization (AECO) Liftinstituut may now perform product certifications in North America on the basis of the ASME A17.1/CSA B44 prescriptive code. This will enable Liftinstituut to improve its services to all players in the sector of lifts and lift components.
After months of preparation, certification organisation Liftinstituut will start the first conversion from an EU to a UKCA-type certificate in early July. The process, which is taking place in close cooperation with a lift producer and the British certification partner LiftCert, is seen as a pilot project. ‘It brings us a chance to identify potential obstacles in the process at an early stage and to improve the process where necessary,’ says Liftinstituut account manager Dennis Lindeboom.
Elena Mauro took up her role as certification product specialist at Liftinstituut on 12 April. After working for many years as a safety consultant in the process industry, she now hopes to use her functional safety expertise in certification projects of lifts, safety components and machines. "It's a whole different ball-game but the principles of functional safety are the same."
On February 1, Belgium welcomed a new External Service for Technical Inspection (EDTC). Liftinstituut vzw now offers safety inspections and certifications of lifts, escalators, and other hoisting and lifting machines in accordance with local and EU laws and regulations. With the expansion into Belgium, Liftinstituut has added another country to its international network. The group, which originally started in the Netherlands, is already helping customers in Ireland, Finland, Turkey, Dubai, Singapore, and the Caribbean to guarantee the safety of their installations.
The SS 550:2020 (Code of Practice for Installation, Operation and Maintenance of Electric Passenger and Goods Lifts) was launched on 8 January 2021 at the Webinar “SS 550:2020 Code of Practice for Installation, Operation and Maintenance of Electric Passenger and Goods Lifts”, organised by Enterprise Singapore.
With Brexit on the way, many producers of lifts and safety components are concerned about the validity of their EU safety certificates in the United Kingdom. Business Manager Albert-Jan van Ommen van Liftinstituut: “From January 1, many products require UKCA marking. The difference between an EU certificate and UKCA marking is negligible. The UK has almost the same safety regulations as the EU. So the new certificate will mainly be an administrative act.”
Annual random checks (EU) and surveillance assessments (North America) are used to check whether a product in stock still matches the product for which an EU or AECO type certificate was initially issued. During the COVID-19 period, Liftinstituut can also provide these checks and assessments remotely. This guarantees the continuity of your certification and assures you that your products comply with the latest laws and regulations.
Stacy Georges, product manager at the US company Hollister Whitney, asked Liftinstituut to certify three new rope grippers. Partly because of COVID-19 and resulting travel restrictions, the certification took place remotely. The test coordinator in the Chinese laboratory performed the various tests, while Stacy and Liftinstituut certification specialist Hessel Kramer monitored everything remotely. What were their experiences with this method of certification?
Has Liftinstituut previously certified your lift, escalator or safety component? And is the product certificate expiring soon? The certification experts of Liftinstituut can now temporarily extend your product certificate for a maximum of six months. This will allow you to continue conducting your business even during COVID-19 times.
During these COVID-19 times, it is in your company’s best interest to continue to operate as normally as possible. You cannot afford to put the launch of a new product on hold. But what if your new lift, escalator or safety components cannot be certified due to the fact that our certification experts cannot come to your production and/or development location because of COVID-19 restrictions?
Since our first energy measurement of lifts in 2009, the norms have continued to develop. Along with the VDI 4707-1 guideline, there is now ISO 25745 that describes the norms for escalators and moving walks. In part 1 of the ‘ISO 25745 under the microscope’ series, we shall examine: How is the standard designed? Why doesn’t this norm form the basis for type certification? And does the norm take sustainability aspects into consideration?
Along with the VDI 4707-1 guideline, there is now ISO 25745 that describes the norms for energy measurements of lifts, escalators and moving walks. In part 2 of the ‘ISO 25745 under the microscope’ series, we shall examine: How does Liftinstituut apply this norm to energy measurements? And why does the first measurement not always produce the desired result?
Liftinstituut has a lot of experience with measuring the energy use and producing energy labels in conformance with EN-ISO 25745. The measurements according to the new standard offer more opportunities for building owners, building managers and manufacturers of lifts, escalators and moving walks. A building scores additional BREEAM points when it has an EPC certificate. And with an energy measurement, the manufacturer can directly demonstrate the energy-saving effect of the investments in modernisation.
For a number of years Liftinstituut has been making conscious choices to reduce carbon emissions. As of today, we offset the remaining emissions, making Liftinstituut a carbon neutral organization. Our certification specialists are involved in certification projects worldwide, ensuring safety for millions of passengers. As of today, we will further shape this social responsible role by operating carbon neutral.
At airports, train and metro stations, escalators form the important lifeline in vertical transport flows. Most station or airport managers would prefer to avoid an escalator that stops running during rush hour. That is why they prefer to invest in a solid escalator with a long service life. Escalator manufacturers respond to this with so-called ‘heavy duty escalators’ in their product portfolio. “However, not all heavy duty escalators are the same”, escalator expert Azaad Santoe of Liftinstituut says.
The technological developments and innovations within the world of lift systems and lift components follow each other in quick succession. So how does a government deal with the growing number of products that deviate from the standard? How do you offer more technological and innovation freedom while ensuring national lift safety? An increasing number of governments contacts Liftinstituut with these types of questions. “We help them draw up or adjust the inspection regime and implement the legislation to ensure any deviations from the standard are implemented safely.”
In the lift industry, functional safety is more than ever a hot topic. During our four free webinars on this theme, we have noticed that it is an important issue in the branch. No fewer than 400 interested persons signed up for them. Did you miss the webinars? You can watch them all for free.
"With the designation ‘energy efficient lift’, the lift manufacturer indicates that it has done everything possible to minimize energy consumption. However, how energy efficient the lift really is depends on the location and other factors.” The person speaking is Hessel Kramer, product specialist Certification at Liftinstituut. Every year he performs dozens of energy performance measurements on site.
The European Lifts Directive is clear: safety components and new technologies that deviate from the standard must in any case be certified by a Notified Body. Third party certification, however, is not always mandatory for other systems and installations developed and marketed by manufacturers within the standard. According to Liftinstituut managing director John van Vliet, it is precisely those products that should also be reviewed by an external certifying body. According to him, the knife cuts both ways.
