Regulation: SANS 1545-5 Lift, escalator and passenger conveyor regulations of 2010

If you missed the Government Gazette announcement in 2017, here’s a quick overview and checklist relating to all hoists installed before 30 September 2015.

To summarise
•  Goods and passenger hoists are now subject to the same compliance rules                         surrounding safety and maintenance
•  Suitable certificates, maintenance and service records to be available on request         by Department of Labour or other appointed authority
•  Lack of compliance leads to lifts and hoists being legally condemned

Minimum criteria:
•  Length/breadth no less than 1000mm ea; min floor area 1m²
•  Height no less than 1200mm, floor to top of car

 YOUR COMPLIANCE CHECKLIST 

1.  Machinery spaces (note MS = machinery spaces)

•  Machinery kept in safe lockable spaces
•  MS safe to access; no obstruction, storage or refuse
•  Ladders for permanent access to MS / wells
•  Clear height in working spaces, no less than 1,5m
•  Lighting in MS, no less than 300LUX;
access passages, no less than 150LUX
•  220v electrical plug socket in all MS
•  Record books and certificate holders in all MS

2.  Machinery
incl structural materials, design, load bearing capacity, other…

•  Rotating elements guarded or painted hazard yellow
•  Slack rope device
•  Safety gears on hoists with two or less ropes
•  Safety systems under the lift car, not on top of crown beams
•  Sheaves for suspension ropes, 25x the diameter of rope
•  Automatic tensioning devices on lifts with more than 1 suspension rope

3.  Control systems

•  Main switches lockable; placed at access to MS.
•  Wiring diagrams; well-maintained, up-to-date, durable, legible
•  Controllers to have two contactors for main motors – main & up, or main & down.
•  Two independent contacts of the motor contactors to be in series with the brake         coil
•  Reverse phase protection on 3-phase installations
•  All units to have top and bottom final limit switches

•  Inspection controls on top of the car where a person rides on top for inspection       or  repairs
•  Overload devices and signals on all cars
•  NO controls inside cars
•  Push-pull emergency stop switches on top of the car and in the pit. If lift doors           are perforated, similar switches installed on each landing
•  Landing door locks to have two contacts in the circuit; one to ensure door is                 closed and the second to ensure lock is made
•  Tamper proof gate switches (out of reach of users) on car doors.
•  220v light and socket outlets earth leakage protected

4.  Shaft enclosures

•  Shafts enclosed to a height of 2,5m in all areas accessible to persons; enclosure         to withstand 3000N forces
•  No perforated doors on cars travelling faster than 0,25m/s
•  Shaft lighting not less than 100LUX at any point
•  Electro-mechanical locking on landing doors; two contacts in control circuits.
•  Triangle unlocking devices on all landing doors
•  Where landing doors are not perforated, indicators to show car has stopped at         landing
•  Visible and durable notices on each landing, showing load capacity and banning         passengers from riding cars
•  In pits which do not provide the necessary refuge space, properly designed                 “bumping” poles provided to ‘land’ the cars
•  Car to landing sill clearances not to exceed 35mm
•  Clearly defined safe spaces on top of the car and in well / pit
•  Bi-parting and/or vertical rise doors counter balanced with suitable handles or         pull  straps

5.  Car structure, design and safety

•  Car equipped with gates, scanners or ‘load shift bars’; must not be possible to             move the car unless these devices are closed
•  Car roof covers full floor area of the car
•  Car roof able to carry the full weight of two persons anywhere on the roof                   (minimum 150kg)
•  Visible and durable notices inside the car showing load capacity and banning               passengers from riding cars
•  Lighting inside the car no less than 100LUX
•  Positive drive units to have buffers on top of the cars which shall not make                   contact before the final limits open
•  Positive drive units with limited head room on top of the car inspection controls       to have extendable bumping poles with safety switches on top of the cars

6.  Registration of the hoist with the Department of labour

Compliance with the Lift, Escalator and Passenger Conveyor Regulations, 2009.

The key impact of this is:
1.  A formal maintenance contact must be in place with a valid maintenance provider
2.  Maintenance is required monthly unless special conditions are agreed
3.  Regulatory inspections are required every two years

Should you require any further assistance with hoist and lifts regulations please feel free to contact Solutions for Elevating.

Howard Davey
info@s4e.co.za
Phone: 0861 222 556